The Houston Boom? Uncovering ZIP Codes with High-Tech Heat and Real Estate Rise

Dennis Lee
Jul 10
2 min read

by Dennis Lee, CEO at Market Stadium

According to The Real Deal, “Houston is the hottest market along the Sun Belt. According to a Census Bureau report from May, the long-time energy hub is the second fastest-growing city in the country, with new residents flocking to find work in the city’s booming health and tech sectors.”

So after reading the above, I became curious about which areas within Houston have seen an increase in residents with high-tech jobs and rising housing values. Using Market Stadium data, I analyzed the relationship between the growth of high-tech employment and housing value appreciation across the top 50 ZIP codes in Houston (by population). The chart below shows the percentile growth between 2024 and 2025 for both metrics:

In the scatterplot below:

The x-axis represents the percentile score of residents with high-tech jobs (2024–2025 growth).
The y-axis represents the percentile score of housing value growth (2024–2025).

This allows us to identify ZIP codes by quadrant:

Quadrant Overview

Q1 – High Growth in Both Metrics

Characteristics: These ZIP codes saw both high-tech job resident growth and housing value appreciation.
Examples: Pearland, Friendswood, Alvin
Location Insight: Concentrated in the southern part of Houston, indicating potentially strong job-driven demand.

Q2 – Housing Value Growth Only

Characteristics: Strong housing price appreciation, but not necessarily driven by high-tech resident influx.
Implication: Other demand drivers (e.g. investor activity or lifestyle amenities) may be influencing value growth.

Q3 – Low in Both Metrics

Characteristics: Minimal growth in high-tech jobs and housing value.
Implication: Currently lower momentum; could be overlooked for now.

Q4 – High-Tech Growth, Low Housing Price Growth

Characteristics: A fast-growing population of high-tech workers, but housing values haven't caught up—yet.
Examples: League City, Dickinson, 77077, 77042, 77082, 77365, 77338
Strategic Insight: These are areas of potential future housing value growth due to spill-over effects from nearby Q1 ZIP codes.

Location-Based Mapping

To make the trends easier to visualize, we created a location-based ZIP code map (below). You’ll notice that Q1 ZIP codes—those with strong dual growth—tend to cluster in the southern part of Houston (e.g., Pearland, Friendswood, Alvin).

Of particular interest are Q4 ZIP codes that are adjacent to Q1 areas. These might benefit from future spillover effects, making them prime candidates for emerging investment. Notably, ZIP codes such as League City and Dickinson, along with others like 77077, 77042, 77082, 77365, and 77338, appear adjacent to these rapidly growing Q1 areas.

Major ZIP Codes by Quadrant Based on High-Tech Job Resident Growth and Housing Value Growth

⚠️ Note: This analysis focuses only on growth (2024–2025 trends), without incorporating current baseline metrics such as absolute home prices or existing number of residence with tech jobs. That is a potential limitation worth exploring in future studies.

Food for Thought

What if the next real estate hot spot isn’t where people are, but where they’re about to be? Growth often moves in waves—and knowing where the ripples begin is the investor’s edge.

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