The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual Economic Outlook Conference on Feb. 6 to update residents and business owners on economic development and challenges across Montgomery County.
At a glance
Daniel Potter, director of the Houston Population Research Center at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, presented data on Montgomery County survey responses to several topics at the EOC.
Though surveys showed an increase in opportunities drawing people to the area, many people surveyed reported they still face traffic challenges, according to the data.
Over the last 15 years, Montgomery County saw a 50% increase in population, while home ownership among residents stayed above 70%, Potter said.
A closer look
Data showed that an evolving workforce has moved to the area for economic opportunities in Montgomery County, Potter said.
A total of 90% of surveyed workers in Montgomery County reported being “moderately very, or extremely satisfied” with their job, although 40% of workers age 18-29 said they want to change their careers in the next five years, he said. Reports also found that these responses varied with age.
“If you have a business, an organization, a company, where you are working with a lot of young adults, about 4 in 10 of those young adults are anticipating that they are going to change not just jobs, but careers in the next five years; that number drops quite a bit as you get towards older adults,” Potter said.
Measuring the impact
Also of note
Though the data shows the job market growing, reports also show that the biggest challenge reported by those surveyed in Montgomery County is traffic. The Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University reported that 24% surveyed in Montgomery County reported traffic is their “biggest concern,” while fewer—8%—reported infrastructure as their biggest concern. In Harris County, 24% of those surveyed said they see crime and safety as the biggest concern, and 9% responded that infrastructure is the biggest concern. In Fort Bend, 25% of those surveyed also saw traffic as the biggest concern, while 10% said cost of housing was the biggest concern.
Breaking down the numbers
What they’re saying
A survey from the Kinder Institute found that 53% of Montgomery County workers in 2023 spent a half-hour or more on their commute.
Rani Ramrakhiani, a business analyst at Lone Star College System Office in The Woodlands who attended the conference, said her commute from Tomball is 47 minutes long. However, she said regional growth increases demand at the college.
“We have about 97,000 students, and I’m glad to see the growth, because it’s every semester,” Ramrakhiani said.