Population down, median age up in Bellaire, West University Place over past 5 years

Population levels fell in the cities of Bellaire and West University Place between 2017 and 2022, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Dec. 7.

In Bellaire, the population fell by 7.1% over that time frame, while it fell by 3.3% in West University Place, mirroring trends from census bureau data released one year ago.

The city of Houston, by comparison, saw population levels increase slightly by 1.3%, a slower rate of growth than was seen in the 2021 data.

The median age in each city trended up when comparing 2022 and 2017. The portion of the population that fell into the 20-34 age range was significantly higher in the city of Houston than in Bellaire and West University Place, the latter two cities having a larger percentage of people fall into the 55-74 age range.

The percentage of Bellaire and West University Place residents who are nonwhite grew between 2017 and 2022. All three cities saw the percentage of Hispanic residents grow over the past three years.

All three cities also saw education attainment levels increase between 2017 and 2022. More than 99% of West University Place residents have a high school diploma level of education or higher.