Unemployment rate
4.6%
-0.4 pp vs Aug
-0.2 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Houston metro economy by the numbers
The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area is shown here through Harris County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, Brazoria County and Galveston County: Houston, Pasadena, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Pearland, League City, Conroe and Galveston. These are the official monthly and quarterly numbers for the metro's jobs, housing, wages and prices, each one dated and linked to its source, updated the day the agency publishes.
Unemployment rate
4.6%
Sep 2026 · -0.2 pp from a year earlier
Next metro jobs releaseDec 2, 202610:00 ETFull calendar →
Unemployment
4.6%
Sep 2026 · -0.2 pp y/y
Payrolls y/y
0.7%
Sep 2026 · +0.3 pp y/y
House prices y/y
3.4%
Q2 2026 · +1.6 pp y/y
Listing price
$353,995
Sep 2026 · -1.6% y/y
Weekly wages
$1,665
Q1 2026 · +2.4% y/y
CPI y/y
3.7%
Sep 2026 · +1.0 pp y/y
Jobs
Civilian labor force
3,926,342
+0.0% vs Aug
+0.1% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Nonfarm payroll employment
3,494.1K
-0.4% vs Aug
+0.7% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED
Payroll employment, year over year
0.7%
-0.4 pp vs Aug
+0.3 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Housing
Housing units authorized by building permits
3,651
-14.7% vs Aug
-28.7% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro), via FRED
FHFA house price index (all transactions)
414.2
+0.8% vs Q1
+3.4% vs Q2 2025
Q2 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED
House prices, year over year
3.4%
+1.8 pp vs Q1
+1.6 pp vs Q2 2025
Q2 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Median listing price
$353,995
-1.4% vs Aug
-1.6% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Active listings
35,898
-0.1% vs Aug
+5.3% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Median days on market
55
+5.8% vs Aug
-1.8% vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED
Wages
Average weekly wages, all covered employment
$1,665
-0.5% vs Q4
+2.4% vs Q1 2025
Q1 2026 · seasonally adjusted · BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro), via FRED
Prices
Consumer prices, South region, year over year
3.7%
+0.3 pp vs Aug
+1.0 pp vs Sep 2025
Sep 2026 · not seasonally adjusted · BLS Consumer Price Index, South region, all items, via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs
Unemployment by county
| County | Rate | Year ago | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harris County | 4.6% | 4.9% | -0.3 pp |
| Fort Bend County | 4.5% | 4.6% | -0.1 pp |
| Montgomery County | 4.3% | 4.4% | -0.1 pp |
| Brazoria County | 4.8% | 5.0% | -0.2 pp |
| Galveston County | 4.6% | 4.7% | -0.1 pp |
Sep 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED.
Why Houston
Houston's payrolls move with energy prices, the port and petrochemical construction, and its housing stock is among the most elastic in the country, so permits and listings respond fast to rates. The South region CPI is the closest official monthly measure of prices.
Questions readers ask
- What is the unemployment rate in Houston?
- The Houston metro unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Local Area Unemployment Statistics figure for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan statistical area, not seasonally adjusted, published about six weeks after the month ends. The headline at the top of this page is the latest print; the county table shows how Harris County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, Brazoria County and Galveston County compare.
- How many jobs does the Houston metro have?
- Nonfarm payroll employment counts jobs on employer payrolls in the metro, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, from the BLS Current Employment Statistics survey. The year-over-year line shows whether hiring is accelerating or slowing; it is the cleanest single read on the local labor market.
- Are Houston home prices going up or down?
- Two measures are shown. The FHFA house price index tracks repeat sales of the same homes each quarter, so it measures price change rather than the mix of what sold. The Realtor.com median listing price is the monthly asking price of homes on the market; with active listings and days on market it shows how the market feels to a buyer today.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- Every series is a public federal statistic (BLS, Census Bureau, FHFA) or Realtor.com's monthly housing inventory, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database. Each figure links to its source series. MarketIntelLabs computes the year-over-year changes and writes the fact sheet; nothing on this page is estimated or modelled.
Fact sheet
Every figure above, as one dated sentence each. This is the text our desk writes from; a local newsroom may quote it with attribution to the source named in each line.
- Houston metro unemployment rate: 4.6% in September 2026, down 0.2 percentage points from 4.8% in September 2025; prior reading 5.0% (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro civilian labor force: 3,926,342 in September 2026, up 0.1% from 3,923,430 in September 2025; prior reading 3,924,944 (August 2026). Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro nonfarm payroll employment: 3,494.1 thousand in September 2026, up 0.7% from 3,469.0 thousand in September 2025; prior reading 3,508.7 thousand (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro payroll employment, year over year: 0.7% in September 2026, up 0.3 percentage points from 0.4% in September 2025; prior reading 1.1% (August 2026). Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro housing units authorized by building permits: 3,651 in September 2026, down 28.7% from 5,120 in September 2025; prior reading 4,278 (August 2026). Source: Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro FHFA house price index (all transactions): 414.2 in Q2 2026, up 3.4% from 400.6 in Q2 2025; prior reading 410.9 (Q1 2026). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro house prices, year over year: 3.4% in Q2 2026, up 1.6 percentage points from 1.8% in Q2 2025; prior reading 1.6% (Q1 2026). Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (metro), via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro median listing price: $353,995 in September 2026, down 1.7% from $359,950 in September 2025; prior reading $359,000 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro active listings: 35,898 in September 2026, up 5.3% from 34,090 in September 2025; prior reading 35,920 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro median days on market: 55 in September 2026, down 1.8% from 56 in September 2025; prior reading 52 (August 2026). Source: Realtor.com Housing Inventory (metro), via FRED; not seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro average weekly wages, all covered employment: $1,665 in Q1 2026, up 2.4% from $1,625 in Q1 2025; prior reading $1,673 (Q4 2025). Source: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (metro), via FRED; seasonally adjusted.
- Houston metro consumer prices, South region, year over year: 3.7% in September 2026, up 1.0 percentage point from 2.7% in September 2025; prior reading 3.4% (August 2026). Source: BLS Consumer Price Index, South region, all items, via FRED; year-over-year change computed by MarketIntelLabs; not seasonally adjusted.
- Harris County unemployment rate: 4.6% in September 2026, down 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Fort Bend County unemployment rate: 4.5% in September 2026, down 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Montgomery County unemployment rate: 4.3% in September 2026, down 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Brazoria County unemployment rate: 4.8% in September 2026, down 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
- Galveston County unemployment rate: 4.6% in September 2026, down 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Source: BLS LAUS (county), not seasonally adjusted.
Fact sheet id 84a0b1200486 · data through Sep 2026
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