City · Brazoria County, Texas

Pearland, Texas

Pearland is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, part of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area. It has 127,514 residents. Pearland, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 48 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,097 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #142 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on child poverty rate (low), child care cost burden (low) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on average commute time (high), grocery stores (low) and effective property tax rate (high).

48Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,097 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #142 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 127,514 (2020-2024)
Land area: 49 mi²
Density: 2,591.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4856348

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety62#5,915/15,637
Economy95#773/15,631
Housing33#9,986/14,977
Health74#4,072/15,609
Healthcare43#8,912/15,650
Environment10#13,842/15,453
Education76#3,796/15,649
Infrastructure63#5,816/15,650
Community17#13,004/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,261/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Pearland, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Brazoria County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Child poverty rate · low2.6%
99/100Texas 17.9%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Child care cost burden · low20.8%
93/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBrazoria County value
Comfortable days · high33.6%
92/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBrazoria County value
Broadband subscriptions · high97.1%
90/100Texas 91.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Frequent mental distress · low15.0%
89/100Texas 18.5%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Math scores · high3.38
89/100Texas 3.15United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBrazoria County value

Weaknesses

Average commute time · high32.7 min
5/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
6/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrazoria County value
Effective property tax rate · high2.00%
7/100Texas 1.40%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Hot days · high95 days
11/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBrazoria County value
High ozone days · high7 days
12/100Texas 7 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBrazoria County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low2.2 /10k
13/100Texas 3.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBrazoria County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
5.8 /1k (2021) → 0.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−92%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.8% (2015-2019) → 50.9% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.0% (2015-2019) → 30.4% (2020-2024)
+3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
94.1% (2015-2019) → 97.1% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$104,504 (2015-2019) → $118,842 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Pearland, Texas improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Property tax−0.5 points2.49% → 2.00%
Household income+14%$104,504 → $118,842

Declined4

Rent burden+10 points40.8% → 50.9%
Inequality+0.0270.371 → 0.399
Rent / income+3.4 points27.0% → 30.4%
Price / income+0.7×2.3× → 3.0×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Pearland, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	33.6 min2015-2019	32.7 min2020-2024	−0.9 min	Within the margin of error	59%
Bachelor's degree or higher	47.2%2015-2019	47.1%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Broadband subscriptions	94.1%2015-2019	97.1%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Child poverty rate	3.0%2015-2019	2.6%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Effective property tax rate	2.49%2015-2019	2.00%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	90%
High school diploma or higher	94.8%2015-2019	94.9%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	38%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3712015-2019	0.3992020-2024	+0.027	Declined	28%
Median household income	$104,5042015-2019	$118,8422020-2024	+14%	Improved	22%
Poverty rate	3.5%2015-2019	4.1%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Rent as share of income	27.0%2015-2019	30.4%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Declined	31%
Rent-burdened households	40.8%2015-2019	50.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	23%
Unemployment rate	3.2%2015-2019	3.3%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.7%2015-2019	8.3%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	39%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Pearland, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pearland, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Pearland, Texas itself moved −9.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

127,514 residents (±79)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

44,410 households (±1,075)

Pearland, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k6.5%2,886
$25k–50k10%4,471
$50k–75k12%5,234

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

44,410 households (±1,075)

Pearland, Texas
Texas share

Own76%33,855
Rent24%10,555

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

64,009 workers (±1,675)

Pearland, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone77%49,286
Carpool6.8%4,337
Public transit0.5%†310

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Brazoria County, the county holding most of Pearland's residents.

Brazoria County has 6,650 employer establishments, 166 for every 10,000 residents (0.67× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Texas's), with 98,916 paid employees at an average annual pay of $59,629. The Census Bureau also counts 42,156 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,650; 42,156 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 166; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 98,916
Average annual pay: $59,629; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Brazoria County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	740	18.5	0.89×About typical	5,824	$56,888	2,195
Restaurants and other eating places	644	16.1	0.88×About typical	14,120	$19,424	270
Specialty trade contractors	356	8.9	0.57×Fewer than typical	8,467	$61,332	3,678
Lessors of real estate	273	6.8	0.55×Fewer than typical	780	$42,023	2,937
Limited-service restaurants	269	6.7	0.84×About typical	6,931	$17,497	77
Full-service restaurants	254	6.3	0.83×About typical	6,065	$21,870	129
Offices of physicians	247	6.2	0.95×About typical	1,303	$89,832	351
Building equipment contractors	193	4.8	0.80×About typical	1,938	$60,348	739
Religious organizations	182	4.5	0.82×About typical	1,410	$23,319	—
Offices of other health practitioners	171	4.3	0.70×Fewer than typical	855	$47,522	778
Offices of dentists	156	3.9	0.97×About typical	1,072	$52,162	119
Truck transportation	155	3.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	1,195	$72,349	1,463

Rank places for an industry Open Brazoria County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 400,433 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pearland, Texas: $13.75 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.8M; −62% vs FY2025
Per resident: $13.75; US $1,994
Sole-source: 27%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.1%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$1M58%
Office of the Chief Financial Officer$459.3K26%
Department of the Navy$265.2K15%
Department of Veterans Affairs$17.4K1.0%
Federal Acquisition Service$4380.0%

Top recipients

TC CHEMICALS, LLC$884.2K50%
7TH ECHELON LLC$459.3K26%
FORENSIC GENEALOGY SERVICES, LLC$240.1K14%
RONALD HICKEY$79.2K4.5%
JAMES MARLO WILLIAMS$30.6K1.7%

Spending by fiscal year

5.3MFY2017
19.6MFY2018
4.1MFY2019
5.5MFY2020
5.6MFY2021
13.1MFY2022
7.7MFY2023
8M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other chemical product and preparation manufacturing · 3259$884.9K50%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$459.3K26%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$240.1K14%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$50.7K2.9%
Electric lighting equipment manufacturing · 3351$25.1K1.4%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Pearland, Texas

USDA/OASCR: CENTER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS OPERATIONS (CCRO)/ DATA AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT DIVISION (DRMD)/ COMPLIANCE AND POLICY DIVISION (C&P): CONTRACT SUPPORT SERVICES$1.7M
7TH ECHELON LLC· Brazoria County, TX· Professional services· Sep 20, 2024 – Jun 4, 2026· 12314424F0602
8511840586!INHIBITOR,ICING,FUE$616K
TC CHEMICALS, LLC· Brazoria County, TX· Other equipment & supplies· Jan 5, 2026 – Jan 5, 2026· SPE60226FC32F
MEDVAMC PHYSICIAN GENETIC TESTING MEDICALLY NECESSARY IN DIAGNOSIS. - 36C25626N0009 ORDERING YEAR TWO$224.3K
AILIFE DIAGNOSTICS, INC.· Brazoria County, TX· Health & medical· Oct 1, 2025 – Oct 1, 2025· 36C25626N0009

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Pearland, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Pearland, Texas's figures are part of those of Brazoria County, TX, Harris County, TX and Fort Bend County, TX ($4.7B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Pearland is mostly in Brazoria County.

See federal money in Brazoria County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Pearland, Texas is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).