Housing in Central Southwest at a glance
- Population
- about 74,443
- Housing units
- about 27,555
- Median value, owner-occupied homes
- $198,000Houston: $277,800 (-29%)
- Median gross rent
- $1,610 a monthHouston: $1,361 (+18%)
- Owner-occupied homes
- 59%Houston: 42.1%
- Homes built before 1980
- 33.5%
- Median year built
- 2001
Central Southwest breaks the usual link between low house values and low rent. Owners report $198,000, 29% under the Houston figure and ninth of ten sectors, but tenants pay $1,610 every month, 18% over the city and fourth-highest. Residents here are much more likely to own than elsewhere in Houston: 59% of households do, compared with 42.1% for the city, and only Kingwood Area ranks higher. Newness helps explain the rent, since the typical home dates from 2001 and just 33.5% of the stock predates 1980. Among the neighbours, Sharpstown carries $228,000 in value and a 25.1% owner share, Mid West carries $266,000, and Greater Uptown carries $515,000, which shows how steeply prices climb toward the middle of the city from this southern sector. It is the sector where owners report a low value yet renters face one of the higher rents, a gap few other parts of Houston show, and it lies south of the city's population centre.
Questions about Central Southwest
What is the median home value in Central Southwest, Houston?
$198,000 for owner-occupied homes, against $277,800 for Houston as a whole (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary). It is the owners' own estimate of their home's value, not a sale price.
What is the median rent in Central Southwest?
$1,610 a month in gross rent (rent plus utilities paid by the renter), against $1,361 in Houston (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Do most people in Central Southwest own or rent?
Most own: 59% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, against 42.1% in Houston (Payotte estimate from Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year data for the census tracts within the official boundary).
Data and method
Data as of: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (retrieved 2026-11-02).
Estimate from the 12 census tracts whose internal point lies within the official boundary: counts are summed, and each median is recomputed from the summed value, rent and year-built brackets (grouped median, linear interpolation). The gap with the city is measured with the same method on the whole city.
Central Southwest is one of the 10 most populous of 88 super neighborhoods of Houston: estimated population about 74,443 (Payotte estimate: Census ACS 2020-2024 populations of the census tracts whose internal point lies inside the boundary; boundaries from City of Houston GIS, Super Neighborhoods (COH_Super_Neighborhoods_view), consulted 2026-11-02).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B01003, B25001, B25003, B25034, B25063, B25064, B25075, B25077; U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer files (census tract internal points). City figures: the same survey, published for Houston as a whole. Home values are owners' estimates, not sale prices.
Near Central Southwest
The closest sectors of Houston, by distance between population centres.
Other sectors of Houston
Five trades, one spot each
Payotte lists one professional per trade in Central Southwest. No one is listed yet: every spot is open.
- Real estate agentOpen spot
- Mortgage loan officerOpen spot
- Home inspectorOpen spot
- Real estate attorneyOpen spot
- AppraiserOpen spot
Work in one of these trades in Central Southwest? Ask for your spot.