Homes cost less here. Renters feel the same squeeze as everywhere.

Where the numbers come from

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey asks households about their income, their rent and what their homes are worth. The figures here are its most recent five-year estimates, for 2020 through 2024, shown on the bureau's QuickFacts pages. Baytown's numbers carry a margin of error; the median household income, for example, is plus or minus about $6,200 at the bureau's 90 percent confidence level.

We also looked at the 2026 values the Harris Central Appraisal District set for single-family homes on the Harris County side of the city.

Owning: what homes are worth

The Census median value of an owner-occupied Baytown home is $197,300. The appraisal district's 2026 values tell the same story from a different angle. Of 18,476 single-family homes with buildings on the Harris County side, the middle one is valued at about $194,500. One in ten is valued under about $102,000, and one in ten above about $314,000. Only about 400 are valued at $400,000 or more.

Divide the median home value by the median household income and you get a rough measure of how hard it is to buy. Baytown comes out at about 3.3. Texas is about 3.6 and the U.S. about 4.1. By that measure, Baytown homes are valued lower relative to income than homes across Texas.

Rents are lower here, but so are renters' incomes, and the squeeze comes out about the same.

Renting: what it takes

About 52 percent of Baytown's occupied homes are owned and 48 percent are rented, compared with 63 percent owned statewide and 65 percent nationally.

The median gross rent, which includes utilities the tenant pays, is $1,307 a month, or about $15,700 a year. That is about 26 percent of Baytown's median household income. For Texas the same math gives about 21 percent, and for the U.S. about 21 percent. But that rough math sets renters' rent against the income of all households, owners included.

The Census also asks renters directly what share of their own income goes to rent. In Baytown, about 50.9 percent of renter households pay 30 percent or more, and about 25.7 percent pay half or more. In Texas the figures are 51.7 and 25.2 percent; nationally, 51.1 and 25.9 percent. Baytown's renters are as stretched as renters anywhere, not more.

By size, Baytown's median rents run below the state's: about $1,042 for one bedroom, $1,300 for two, $1,572 for three and $1,989 for four, against $1,237, $1,395, $1,650 and $2,111 statewide.

Rents are lower here, but so are renters' incomes, and the squeeze comes out about the same.

The rest of the picture

• Per capita income in Baytown is $29,957.
• About 18.2 percent of residents live below the poverty line.
• The average commute is 25.4 minutes, a little shorter than the state's 26.7.

What this means for the tax and water stories

A cheaper home means a smaller tax bill even at a high rate. That is why, in our tax comparison, Baytown's bill on a typical home is among the lowest of the cities we compared even though its rate is among the highest. It is also why a fixed increase, like the new water and sewer charges, weighs more on a Baytown budget than the same dollars would in a richer suburb.

Read the fine print

• Census five-year estimates average 2020 through 2024, so they lag today's prices and rents.
• The appraisal values cover only the Harris County side of Baytown and exclude homes with no building value recorded.
• Home value divided by income is a rough yardstick. The values are what owners report for homes they already own, not today's sale prices, and the measure ignores interest rates, insurance, taxes and down payments.
• The rough rent share uses the median income of all households, not renters alone; the cost-burden figures use each renter household's own income and leave out households whose share could not be computed.
• Rents by bedroom carry wider margins of error, about $40 to $210 a month in Baytown.

Before you go

• If you rent, ask what utilities are included before comparing rents.
• If you buy, file your homestead exemption the first year you can; our tax explainer shows what it saves.
• Check the flood zone and the insurance cost before you sign; our flood story explains why both matter.

More Baytown by the numbers: Same house, different city: what property tax really costs around Houston; Most Baytown-area flood claims came from outside the flood zone; A year of Baytown building permits: warehouses, a new ER, and 136 new homes.

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Baytown city, Texas (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/baytowncitytexas/PST045225)
• U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Texas (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/TX/PST045225)
• U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, United States (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045225)
• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024, table B19013, margin of error (https://data.census.gov/)
• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024, tables B25031 and B25070, via Census Reporter (https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US4806128-baytown-tx/)
• Harris Central Appraisal District, 2026 certified values, single-family parcels in Baytown (https://hcad.org/)

En español

Una casa típica en Baytown cuesta unos 3.3 años del ingreso de un hogar típico, menos que en Texas (3.6) o en todo el país (4.1). El valor medio de una casa aquí es de $197,300 y el ingreso medio del hogar es de $59,910, según la Oficina del Censo. La renta es otra historia: la renta media de $1,307 al mes equivale a cerca de 26 por ciento del ingreso medio de todos los hogares, frente a cerca de 21 por ciento en Texas y en el país. Pero medido con el ingreso de cada inquilino, cerca de la mitad de los inquilinos de Baytown paga 30 por ciento o más de su ingreso en renta, igual que en Texas y en el país. Las rentas aquí son más bajas, pero también los ingresos. Las cifras son estimaciones de 2020 a 2024.