School Districts
Buying a home in Katy ISD.
How big is Katy ISD?
Katy ISD spans 181 square miles across three counties west of Houston and welcomed more than 97,000 students across 100+ campuses and facilities for 2025-26 — and it keeps growing, with two new elementaries opening this school year alone.
Niche ranks Katy ISD the #1 school district in the Houston area for the fifth straight year, and #10 in Texas . Of the nine districts ranked ahead of it statewide, none serves more than 22,000 students — Katy ISD is the top-ranked large district in Texas.
What is the market doing in Katy ISD?
Katy is the city-level reference here; school-district boundaries differ. HAR reports a single-family median active listing price of $370,000 in September 2026 , down 5.13% year over year, with 3,198 active listings, up 11.04% . Median active-listing days on market were 41. Year-over-year changes are calculated from HAR's September 2025 and September 2026 rows.
For buyers: HAR's September 2026 single-family active inventory grew 11.04% year over year. For sellers: HAR reports 28 median days on market for Katy single-family homes sold in August 2026. Realtor.com's June 2026 snapshot reported sales 1.52% below asking on average. The district reaches well beyond the city of Katy, so your community's comparable sales are what a Lippincott Team pricing analysis measures.
What does your budget buy in Katy ISD?
Katy ISD runs from the low $200s in older pockets to $650,000-plus in Grand Lakes and Seven Meadows. Entry-level communities trade between $272,500 and $315,000; the premium golf-course communities start near $575,000 (Realtor.com, June 2026).
Bars scale to Grand Lakes' $650,000 median (Realtor.com, June 2026). Community-level medians matter more than any district average: a starter home in Brenwood and a golf-course lot in Grand Lakes are both "Katy ISD", but they are different markets. We price against your specific community and attendance zone.
How good are the schools in Katy ISD?
Katy ISD overall grade: #1 Best School District in the Houston Area, fifth year running.
Seven Lakes High School's Texas ranking, with a 98% graduation rate.
Students across 100+ campuses — the top-ranked large district in Texas.
| High school | Texas rank · U.S. News 2026 | Graduation rate |
|---|---|---|
| Seven Lakes | #51 | 98% |
| Tompkins | #73 | 98% |
| Jordan | #90 | N/A |
| Cinco Ranch | #139 | 95% |
| Taylor | #181 | 93% |
U.S. News ranks all nine high schools in the district ; the five above are the campuses most relocating buyers ask about first.
School zoning is the reason most families choose Katy ISD, and it moves prices street by street. The district opens new campuses almost every year, so attendance zones shift — a home's current zoning is not a guarantee of its future zoning. Before you tour, we map your shortlist to exact attendance zones and flag every announced rezoning that touches them.
Which Katy ISD community fits you?
Seven Meadows and Grand Lakes are the gated golf-course communities; Cane Island is the newer amenity showcase; Elyson is the new-construction frontier on the district's north side.
Seven Meadows Gated golf-course living off the Grand Parkway Median $589,999 
Cane Island Newer neighborhoods around a central conservatory Median $575,000 
Elyson New construction on the district's north side Explore Elyson → Medians are Realtor.com, June 2026. Each community has its own HOA, MUD tax rate and attendance zones. We compare all three before you commit.
What is there to do in Katy ISD?
Daily life centers on community amenities: shopping at Katy Mills and LaCenterra, summer days at Typhoon Texas, and parks and trails threaded through every community.
- Katy Mills — outlet shopping and dining
- LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch — shops, dining and Central Green events
- Villagio Town Center — boutiques and restaurants
- Mary Jo Peckham Park — fishing lake, trails and mini golf
- MKT Trail — hike-and-bike path through old Katy
- Katy Heritage Park — the town's historic homes and bandstand
- Typhoon Texas — waterpark next to Katy Mills
- Dewberry Farm — seasonal festivals and pumpkin patch
- Community pools, splash pads and sports leagues in every community
You do not drive into Houston for a good weekend: most residents' routines stay inside their community, with pools, trails, sports leagues and school events.
How far is Katy ISD from Houston?
The city of Katy sits 30 miles west of downtown Houston , with I-10 and the Grand Parkway (SH-99) as the two main corridors. The district's eastern boundary reaches Houston's Energy Corridor — the shortest big-employer commute in the northwest suburbs.
The daily spine east through the Energy Corridor and Memorial City to downtown Houston .
The outer belt: north to US-290 and Cypress , south toward Fulshear and the Fort Bend growth corridor.
The alternate east-west route into Westchase and the Galleria area , bypassing I-10.
Rush hour on I-10 is the trade most residents accept for the schools; the average Katy commute runs 31.3 minutes against a 26.4-minute national norm . If commute time is your top constraint, tell us your workplace first: we shortlist communities by drive time before we shortlist by floor plan.
Is Katy ISD expensive?
City-of-Katy households earn a $114,912 median income and 80.7% own their homes . The variable costs are property taxes and MUD/HOA dues, which differ by community.
Before you make an offer, we run the full monthly picture for your shortlist: mortgage, MUD and school-district taxes, HOA dues and utilities, not just the sticker price.
What are the downsides of Katy ISD?
The honest cons are I-10 rush-hour traffic, flood risk in the Barker reservoir watershed, and constant growth — new campuses, rezoning and construction come with a district adding thousands of students a year. Most residents judge the schools worth the trade.
- I-10 congestion at peak commute hours
- Flood risk in the Barker reservoir watershed, west of the dams
- Attendance zones shift as new campuses open
- Car-dependent daily life — 68.7% of workers drive alone
- A+ schools ranked #1 in the Houston area five straight years
- Direct Energy Corridor access at the district's east edge
- Master-planned amenities below Cypress price points ($370,000 vs $450,000 medians) · HAR city single-family listings, Sep 2026
- Resale demand anchored by the district's reputation
Risk concentrates in the Barker reservoir watershed: during Hurricane Harvey, reservoir releases flooded Katy's Canyon Gate neighborhood, part of 25,000 homes and businesses flooded on either side of the Addicks and Barker dams , and the long-term fix is still years away. Newer communities are built with modern detention and drainage. We pull flood history and elevation data on any home you tour, so the numbers reach you before the decision does.
Katy ISD or Cy-Fair ISD — which fits your family?
Katy ISD holds the #1 Houston-area ranking and the lower entry price; Cy-Fair ISD answers with newer master-planned scale on the northwest side. Both are A-rated relocation magnets, and the right answer is your commute and your campus list.
| 2026 schools · HAR Sep 2026 market | Katy ISD | Cy-Fair ISD |
|---|---|---|
| Niche grade | A+ | A |
| Houston-area standing | #1 district, 5th straight year | #2 district in Harris County |
| Top high school, Texas rank | Seven Lakes · #51 | Bridgeland · #126 |
| High schools | 9 | 12 |
| District scale | 97,000+ students | 3rd-largest district in Texas |
| Anchor city single-family median list | $370,000 (Katy) | $450,000 (Cypress) |
| Median active-listing days | 41 | 42 |
| Main corridors | I-10 and Grand Parkway | US-290 and Grand Parkway |
Katy ISD figures from Katy ISD and U.S. News ; Cy-Fair ISD figures from Niche and U.S. News . Single-family active-listing median prices, counts and median days are HAR.com September 2026 city data for Katy and Cypress . Active-listing days measure listing age, not time to a completed sale. City-level figures are reference points, not district-wide or campus-zone medians. The Lippincott Team sells across both districts and will show you the same comparable-sales data for each.
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Katy ISD, answered.
Is Katy ISD a good school district?
It is the top-ranked district in the region: A+ overall and #1 in the Houston area for the fifth consecutive year (Niche, 2026), serving more than 97,000 students across 100+ campuses.
How much is a home in Katy ISD in 2026?
Using Katy as the city-level reference, the single-family median active listing price was $370,000 in September 2026 (HAR.com). Entry communities start near $272,500; Grand Lakes and Seven Meadows run $575,000 to $650,000 (Realtor.com, June 2026).
Is Katy a buyer's market in 2026?
Realtor.com's June 2026 snapshot reported homes selling at 98% of asking. HAR's September 2026 single-family data shows 3,198 active listings, up 11.04% year over year, with 41 median active-listing days. These figures describe Katy, not every neighborhood or school attendance zone.
How long does it take to sell a home in Katy ISD?
HAR reports 28 median days on market for Katy single-family homes sold in August 2026. This is a city-level reference, not a district-wide median. Accurate pricing is the deciding factor.
What are the best high schools in Katy ISD?
Seven Lakes ranks #51 in Texas and Tompkins #73, both with 98% graduation rates; Jordan ranks #90 (U.S. News, 2026). All nine district high schools are ranked.
How far is Katy ISD from downtown Houston?
About 30 miles west via I-10, with the district's eastern boundary reaching the Energy Corridor. The average Katy commute runs 31.3 minutes (U.S. Census, 2024).
Does Katy, TX flood?
Risk concentrates in the Barker reservoir watershed — Harvey's 2017 reservoir releases flooded Katy's Canyon Gate neighborhood. Newer communities have modern drainage; check flood history per address before buying, which we do for every client.
What communities are in Katy ISD?
Cinco Ranch, Seven Meadows, Grand Lakes, Cane Island, Elyson and dozens more, from $272,500 starter communities to $650,000 golf-course communities (Realtor.com, June 2026).
Compare nearby communities.
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