In a one-year snapshot of changing attitudes in Greater Houston, residents expressed the largest drop in confidence about regional job opportunities in more than four decades, according to survey results released April 27 from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Increased financial pressure, coupled with concern about extreme weather and pollutants, indicates residents across the region are feeling more discouraged compared to this time last year, according to the study. However, researchers found that strong community relationships and social cohesion could pave the way for progress.
About the data
Rice University researchers collected nearly 9,000 responses between January and February from the Greater Houston Community Panel, which includes residents from Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.
The 45th annual Kinder Houston Area Survey provides a snapshot of the changing attitudes and experiences of Greater Houston communities, according to the Institute. The 2026 survey included a new focus on social wellbeing, asking residents to answer questions about connection in relation to their wealth, health and sense of safety.
While the survey can help “diagnose problems,” solutions must come from local elected officials, businesses and other community leaders, the report states.
The overview
One quarter of residents across all three counties named the economy as the “biggest problem” facing the Houston area this year, compared to 16% in 2025, survey results show. Additionally, researchers saw a 30% dip in the number of residents who rated the region’s job opportunities as “good or excellent”—the largest one-year decline since the early 1980s.
About one in six residents in each county listed crime and safety as the biggest concern, making it the second-most commonly identified issue facing the region.
Additionally, residents in Harris County named the cost of housing as a pain point—14% listed it as the top concern—while respondents in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties focused more on traffic frustrations.
Another detailAffordability and financial pressures continue to challenge Greater Houston residents, and survey results suggest they’re feeling the impacts more in 2026.
The percentage of residents reporting they are “just getting by” or “finding it difficult to get by” increased across all income groups in the past year, survey results show. The largest increase—10 percentage points since 2025—was among households earning less than $25,000.
Many residents also indicated they would not be able to independently cover a sudden $400 expense, one of several metrics used by researchers to determine financial well-being. Low- and middle-income earners across the board reported the greatest financial shifts since last year.
Also of noteResearchers dove into regional concerns about a wide range of environmental challenges, including extreme weather, pollutants and exposure to contaminants from the built environment.
While responses varied slightly by income level, most residents across all three counties expressed moderate to extreme concern about the environment in their local communities:
- More than 7 in 10 are moderately, very or extremely concerned about extreme weather, most notably flooding and extreme heat.
- More than 6 in 10 are moderately, very or extremely concerned about pollutants, including burning fossil fuels, unpleasant odors and noise.
- More than 6 in 10 are moderately, very or extremely concerned about contamination from the built environment, such as broken and aging municipal pipes, lead exposure from paint and illegal dumping of waste.
- About 7 in 10 residents are moderately, very or extremely concerned about the environment’s effects on their health.
One more thingThe report also found a strong correlation between physical and mental well-being and social cohesion, or how well residents feel connected to their community.
In an analysis of responses collected between October and November, social cohesion was found to be the second-strongest predictor of self-rated physical health, behind annual income. Similarly, the report found that helping people better connect with neighbors is associated with the same boost to mental health as raising their annual household earnings by at least $100,000.
Additionally, residents with stronger social cohesion were less likely to report feeling unsafe in their neighborhoods, survey results show.
Quote of note
“The Kinder Institute’s annual survey provides community leaders and the public with a map of where we’ve been on key issues, where we are now and what’s of looming importance,” said Dan Potter, co-director of the institute’s Houston Population Research Center and lead researcher on the project. “It allows everyone to work together toward a better future for our city and our region. This survey is the embodiment of our core mission—to conduct research as a public good.”
