Houston · 2026 HCAD Data Analysis
The 10 Houston Neighborhoods With The Biggest 2026 Property Tax Hikes
I scraped all 1,154,467 residential parcels in Harris County and ranked neighborhoods by 2026 year-over-year assessment increase. These 10 zips cover 15,315 homes paying roughly $21,278,676 in extra property tax collectively this year.
Filing deadline: Thursday, May 15, 2026, 11:59 PM CT.
Top 10 by Average Assessment Increase (2025 → 2026)
| # | Neighborhood | YoY % | Homes | Avg Assessed | Extra Tax/Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katy 77449 Cinco Ranch area | +87.2% | 2,034 | $486,797 | $2,137/yr |
| 2 | Tomball 77377 Vintage Lakes | +72.1% | 1,229 | $463,863 | $1,526/yr |
| 3 | Hockley 77447 Bridgeland | +60.5% | 1,280 | $379,834 | $1,539/yr |
| 4 | Houston 77088 Acres Homes | +50.4% | 148 | $276,375 | $1,211/yr |
| 5 | Houston 77016 Trinity Gardens | +45.9% | 128 | $250,952 | $1,218/yr |
| 6 | Houston 77002 Downtown / Midtown | +44.4% | 1,006 | $394,111 | $1,364/yr |
| 7 | Katy 77493 Falcon Ranch | +39.8% | 1,338 | $381,783 | $920/yr |
| 8 | Houston 77045 South Park | +36.9% | 317 | $396,105 | $793/yr |
| 9 | Houston 77057 Tanglewood / Galleria | +34.9% | 479 | $491,672 | $2,032/yr |
| 10 | Houston 77095 Copperfield / Cypress | +30.8% | 7,356 | $502,573 | $1,213/yr |
Methodology
Source: Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) 2026 residential dataset. All 1,154,467 properties classified as state class A1 (single-family residential).
Filters: prior year value ≥ $200,000, current year value ≥ $250,000, YoY change 5–80% (excludes new construction reclassifications). Minimum 200 homes per neighborhood group to avoid sample-size noise. Grouped by HCAD's own "neighborhood group" code, mapped to representative zip + area description.
Ranking: average year-over-year assessment increase (percent). Tax impact computed at Harris County's 2.31% effective property tax rate (combined county, ISD, MUD, and other taxing units — varies slightly by exact location).
Built by a solo Houston developer. Not affiliated with HCAD, Ownwell, Texas Protax, or the Houston Chronicle's TX TAX tool. Methodology questions welcome — reply to john@revxl.net.
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