MONTGOMERY County, TX

Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 620,443. The county seat is Conroe. The county was created by an act of the Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 14, 1837, and is named for the town of Montgomery. Between 2000 and 2010, its population grew by 55%, the 24th-fastest rate of growth of any county in the United States. Between 2010 and 2020, its population grew by 36%.

Montgomery County is part of the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (3.3%) are covered by water.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

2020 census

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2010 Census

As of the 2010 census, there were 455,746 people, 162,530 households, and 121,472 families residing in the county. The population density was 423 people per square mile (163/km²). There were 177,647 housing units at an average density of 165 per square mile (64/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.5% White, 4.3% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.0% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. 20.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the 2010 census, its population was 455,746. A 2019 estimate places the population at 607,391.

There were 162,530 households, out of which 36.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.70% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.30% were non-families. 20.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the county, 27.60% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 26.60% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.29 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.94 males.

As of the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $50,864, and the median income for a family was $58,983. Males had a median income of $42,400 versus $28,270 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,544. About 7.10% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.90% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.

From 2010 to 2016, 54% of all vehicle-related fatalities in the county were related to the use of controlled substances, including alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine and synthetic drugs. According to Tyler Dunman, former Montgomery County assistant district attorney, approximately 60-70% of all crime in the county is connected to substance abuse.

Politics

Montgomery County is one of the most heavily Republican counties in Texas, giving 78.1 percent of its vote to George W. Bush in 2004 and 75.8% of its vote to John McCain in 2008. The county has not been won by a Democratic presidential candidate since native Texan Lyndon Johnson won 60.9% of the county's vote in 1964. In 1968, George Wallace, running as a third-party candidate, won the county, whilst in 1948, “States’ Rights” candidate Strom Thurmond had previously won over 29 percent of the vote to make Montgomery his fourth-strongest county in Texas, and in 1992, Ross Perot, another third-party candidate received more votes than Democratic candidate Bill Clinton. In 2016, it was the only county in the United States which Republican nominee Donald Trump won against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by a margin of greater than 100,000 votes.

Even with the dramatic leftward turn of Texas' suburbs, especially in Houston, Dallas and Austin, Montgomery County has trended leftwards at a much slower pace, with Trump remaining above 70% in both of his runs for president, and even expanding the raw vote margin to the largest in the county's history.

United States Congress

Texas Legislature

Texas Senate

Texas House of Representatives

Education

Public schools

Several school districts operate public schools in the county:

Private schools

;Pre-K to 12

;Pre-K to 8

The closest Catholic high school is Frassati Catholic High School in north Harris County; the planners of the school intended for it to serve The Woodlands.

Colleges and universities

The county is also home to two campuses of the Lone Star College System (formerly North Harris-Montgomery Community College District): Montgomery and The University Center.

Lone Star College's service area under Texas law includes, in Montgomery County: Conroe, Magnolia, Montgomery, New Caney, Splendora, Tomball, and Willis ISDs. The portion in Richards ISD is zoned to Blinn Junior College District.

Libraries

The county operates the Montgomery County Memorial Library System.

Transportation

Airports

Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport, a general aviation airport, is located in Conroe.

The Houston Airport System stated that Montgomery County is within the primary service area of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, an international airport in Houston in Harris County.

Major highways

Toll roads

Montgomery County has several toll roads within its borders, most of which are operated as "pass-through toll roads" or shadow toll roads.

There are two "true" toll roads within Montgomery County. One toll road consists of a section of mainlanes of State Highway 249 between the Harris County line at Spring Creek to FM 1774 in Pinehurst and is signed as MCTRA 249 Tollway (maintained by the Montgomery County Toll Road Authority). North of Pinehurst, the toll road continues as the TxDOT maintained Aggie Expressway (SH 249 Toll) up north to FM 1488 east of Magnolia; an extension of the tolled expressway north to FM 1774 near Todd Mission is under construction. The other toll road within Montgomery County (also maintained by TxDOT) is Grand Parkway (State Highway 99) between Spring Creek to I-69/US 59 near New Caney with an extension east to Liberty and Chambers Counties currently under construction.

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Healthcare

In 1938, the Montgomery County Hospital, a public institution, opened, the first public hospital in the county. It had 25 beds. The Montgomery County Hospital District opened in the 1970s, and the purpose of the district was making a new hospital, which opened in 1982 and replaced the former hospital.