Jobs, pay and daily life in Sugar Land, from official statistics with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Sugar Land is a city in Texas with 110,016 residents. The median household earns $136,217 a year and the median rent is $1,957 a month, which is 17.2% of the median household income. It is part of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area, where BLS counts 3,289,720 jobs.
How Sugar Land compares. Among the 120 largest places in Texas, Sugar Land is #38 by population, #9 for college degrees (#1 = most), #12 for household income (#1 = highest), #14 for homeownership (#1 = highest). Its county, Fort Bend County, is #61 of 254 counties for average pay ($62,566).
Sugar Land has 110,016 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 0.4% of the population of Texas. It covers 40 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 2,719 people per square mile. The median age is 42.8, 20% older than the state median (42.8 against 35.6).
The median gross rent is $1,957 a month (rent plus utilities), 39% above the state median ($1,957 against $1,403). Over a year that is 17.2% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is $430,200, which is 3.2 times the median household income ($136,217); a ratio under 4 usually means ownership is within reach for many households. 80.3% of households own their home, 28% above the state average (80.3% against 62.6%).
The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area has 3,289,720 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $49,410 a year, 3% below the national median ($49,410 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are office and administrative support (379,010 jobs, median $45,850); transportation and material moving (314,010 jobs, median $43,570); food preparation and serving related (307,980 jobs, median $28,530). The area is most specialised in architecture and engineering (1.4 times) and construction and extraction (1.3 times), where the share of workers is above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are management ($126,630) and legal ($105,240). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Fort Bend County was 4.5%. 63.3% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Fort Bend County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.
Among workers, 65.4% drive alone, 0.5% use public transit, 0.5% walk, 23.7% work from home. 21.1% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 25% above the state average (21.1% against 16.9%). Remote work is more common than in the state as a whole, which widens the set of employers a resident can work for without moving.
63.0% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 86% above the state share (63.0% against 33.8%). 35.7% of residents were born outside the United States, 103% above the state share (35.7% against 17.6%). The poverty rate is 5.5%, 60% below the state rate (5.5% against 13.8%).
The warmest month is Aug, averaging 84°F (28.9°C), and the coolest is Jan at 52°F (11.3°C). About 1,257 mm (49 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Sep is the wettest month (138 mm) and Feb the driest (61 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.
Closest cities in this guide: Missouri City (6 miles, similar rent); Mission Bend (7 miles, rent 11% lower); Rosenberg (12 miles, rent 30% lower); Fulshear (17 miles, similar rent). Rent differences are against Sugar Land; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.
Federal jobs in Texas (1,541) →State guide: TexasCountry guideFort Bend CountyTexas rankings
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
There are 1,541 federal postings open in Texas (USAJOBS, state level; we do not have a city filter for them). Private-sector jobs are not in this feed.
| Occupation ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Location quotient ⇅ | Median pay (year) ⇅ | Entry (10th pct.) ⇅ | Top (90th pct.) ⇅ | Median vs US ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 105,810 | 1.30 | $27,570 | $21,630 | $35,210 | -12% |
| General and Operations Managers | 97,320 | 1.31 | $119,600 | $50,490 | $296,070 | +13% |
| Retail Salespersons | 78,960 | 0.96 | $31,340 | $23,350 | $45,670 | -11% |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 72,970 | 1.22 | $36,890 | $28,740 | $46,910 | -1% |
| Registered Nurses | 65,910 | 0.92 | $99,830 | $74,860 | $130,440 | +2% |
| Customer Service Representatives | 65,510 | 1.19 | $40,380 | $28,600 | $59,840 | -10% |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 63,820 | 0.70 | $23,440 | $22,240 | $31,920 | -35% |
| Cashiers | 54,950 | 0.84 | $29,350 | $22,320 | $36,990 | -11% |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 52,520 | 0.84 | $38,000 | $29,660 | $52,270 | -6% |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 51,330 | 1.07 | $22,080 | $17,480 | $47,290 | -37% |
| Office Clerks, General | 50,040 | 0.96 | $40,370 | $24,570 | $63,190 | -10% |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 49,750 | 1.14 | $56,840 | $38,320 | $79,490 | -3% |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 48,880 | 1.05 | $30,650 | $23,200 | $44,820 | -17% |
| First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 36,940 | 1.22 | $65,990 | $45,100 | $105,670 | -5% |
| Project Management Specialists | 35,550 | 1.58 | $99,510 | $58,560 | $168,070 | -3% |
| Construction Laborers | 34,080 | 1.47 | $41,350 | $34,880 | $58,310 | -12% |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 33,710 | 0.93 | $46,750 | $29,770 | $65,940 | -2% |
| Cooks, Restaurant | 32,710 | 1.10 | $35,050 | $24,600 | $38,370 | -6% |
| Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 32,050 | 0.99 | $46,710 | $31,620 | $76,210 | -6% |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | 31,290 | 1.21 | $36,410 | $23,870 | $62,140 | -17% |
| Occupation ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Location quotient ⇅ | Median pay (year) ⇅ | Entry (10th pct.) ⇅ | Top (90th pct.) ⇅ | Median vs US ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | 4,160 | 1.90 | $307,690 | $104,110 | $456,570 | +33% |
| Physicians, All Other | 7,010 | 0.97 | $292,490 | $73,390 | $457,450 | +10% |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 680 | 0.62 | $275,310 | $169,310 | $342,260 | +16% |
| Chief Executives | 1,920 | 0.44 | $275,270 | $121,650 | $633,110 | +29% |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | 1,030 | 0.72 | $274,410 | $67,400 | $441,290 | +7% |
| Anesthesiologists | 1,160 | 1.42 | $210,230 | $83,920 | $488,670 | -46% |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 13,090 | 0.92 | $172,160 | $106,600 | $275,130 | -2% |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | 5,330 | 1.14 | $172,020 | $124,910 | $285,950 | +0% |
| Financial Managers | 18,570 | 1.04 | $166,910 | $102,400 | $310,750 | +0% |
| Lawyers | 16,810 | 1.05 | $157,980 | $80,210 | $363,120 | -1% |
| Marketing Managers | 8,930 | 1.07 | $153,030 | $80,760 | $259,100 | -8% |
| Managers, All Other | 14,930 | 1.13 | $144,820 | $78,340 | $229,200 | +2% |
| Human Resources Managers | 5,890 | 1.26 | $142,110 | $88,380 | $224,150 | -5% |
| Pharmacists | 6,410 | 0.94 | $140,470 | $83,200 | $170,170 | -0% |
| Database Architects | 780 | 0.55 | $139,100 | $78,820 | $192,390 | -0% |
| Purchasing Managers | 2,630 | 1.47 | $139,050 | $87,970 | $210,420 | -6% |
| Chemical Engineers | 1,510 | 3.40 | $138,120 | $99,890 | $217,260 | +10% |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | 840 | 0.52 | $137,740 | $82,200 | $195,190 | -15% |
| Physician Assistants | 2,390 | 0.70 | $137,240 | $90,920 | $168,240 | +1% |
| Sales Managers | 16,430 | 1.22 | $135,880 | $68,680 | $269,000 | -8% |
These figures are for the whole Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area, not the city alone.
Median pay across all occupations: $49,410 (US $50,980); unemployment 4.6% (2026M09).
| Industry (residents) ⇅ | Share of employed residents ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Education and health care | 23.5% |
| Professional, scientific, management, administrative | 20.0% |
| Retail trade | 9.7% |
| Manufacturing | 8.9% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate | 6.9% |
| Arts, entertainment, accommodation, food | 6.4% |
| Transportation, warehousing, utilities | 5.0% |
| Other services | 4.5% |
| Construction | 4.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 3.7% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining | 3.0% |
| Public administration | 2.9% |
| Information | 1.5% |
Cities have no official GDP or payroll count of their own. These figures are for the county where Sugar Land lies and cover the whole county, not only the city.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP (2024) ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs (QCEW 2024) ⇅ | Employer sites ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Job change vs 2023 ⇅ | Unemployment rate ⇅ | Labour force ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Bend County | 893,767 | $49,615 million | $55,513 | 251,283 | 18,369 | $62,566 | +3.6% | 4.5% | 486,124 |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 35,859 | 17.4% | $54,206 | 1.00 |
| Retail trade | 35,230 | 17.1% | $39,486 | 1.40 |
| Accommodation and food services | 26,122 | 12.7% | $24,844 | 1.14 |
| Manufacturing | 16,169 | 7.9% | $84,143 | 0.78 |
| Construction | 13,897 | 6.8% | $106,912 | 1.05 |
| Professional and technical services | 13,493 | 6.6% | $100,854 | 0.77 |
| Administrative and waste services | 12,456 | 6.1% | $59,148 | 0.84 |
| Wholesale trade | 10,556 | 5.1% | $95,681 | 1.07 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 10,531 | 5.1% | $53,447 | 0.99 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 6,959 | 3.4% | $43,414 | 0.92 |
| Finance and insurance | 6,004 | 2.9% | $107,989 | 0.59 |
| Educational services | 4,047 | 2.0% | $35,169 | 0.78 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 3,899 | 1.9% | $26,545 | 0.92 |
| Real estate and rental | 3,141 | 1.5% | $63,384 | 0.81 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 2,852 | 1.4% | $221,164 | 3.00 |
| Information | 2,010 | 1.0% | $69,964 | 0.43 |
| Management of companies | 1,153 | 0.6% | $124,510 | 0.27 |
| Utilities | 1,085 | 0.5% | $130,419 | 1.14 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 302 | 0.1% | $39,216 | 0.15 |
QCEW counts jobs covered by unemployment insurance; sectors with too few employers are withheld by BLS. Latest-month unemployment is preliminary.
| How residents get to work ⇅ | Share ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Drive alone | 65.4% |
| Public transit | 0.5% |
| Walk | 0.5% |
| Work from home | 23.7% |
| Commute of 45 minutes or more | 21.1% |
Shares are of workers aged 16 and over; they describe residents, wherever they work.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median household income | $136,217 |
| Income per person | $62,018 |
| Median gross rent per month | $1,957 |
| Yearly rent as share of median household income | 17.2% |
| Median home value | $430,200 |
| Homeowners | 80.3% |
| Poverty rate | 5.5% |
| Price level of the metro area (US = 100) | 98.6 |
| Metro median pay, all occupations | $49,410 |
Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.
State tax: No state tax on wages.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median age | 42.8 |
| High school or higher (25+) | 95.3% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 63.0% |
| Born abroad | 35.7% |
| Labour force participation (16+) | 63.3% |
Work permits are federal: see permits and first steps.
| Month ⇅ | Mean temperature (°C) ⇅ | Mean temperature (°F) ⇅ | Precipitation (mm) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.3 | 52 | 90 |
| Feb | 13.5 | 56 | 61 |
| Mar | 17.2 | 63 | 78 |
| Apr | 20.9 | 70 | 83 |
| May | 24.9 | 77 | 112 |
| Jun | 28.0 | 82 | 130 |
| Jul | 28.5 | 83 | 122 |
| Aug | 28.9 | 84 | 136 |
| Sep | 26.4 | 80 | 138 |
| Oct | 22.0 | 72 | 125 |
| Nov | 16.8 | 62 | 89 |
| Dec | 12.8 | 55 | 93 |
Satellite-reanalysis climatology on a grid of roughly 50 km, so it smooths local effects (hills, coast, city heat). It is not a weather-station record.
| City ⇅ | State ⇅ | Distance (straight line) ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri City | TX | 6 mi | 76,558 | $94,390 | $1,931 |
| Mission Bend | TX | 7 mi | 36,586 | $67,282 | $1,747 |
| Rosenberg | TX | 12 mi | 40,646 | $65,668 | $1,379 |
| Fulshear | TX | 17 mi | 34,868 | $187,035 | $1,952 |
| Pearland | TX | 19 mi | 127,514 | $118,842 | $1,860 |
| Houston | TX | 20 mi | 2,328,253 | $64,813 | $1,361 |
| Friendswood | TX | 27 mi | 41,030 | $126,508 | $1,688 |
| Pasadena | TX | 29 mi | 149,433 | $64,927 | $1,213 |
| Deer Park | TX | 32 mi | 33,967 | $100,382 | $1,318 |
| League City | TX | 32 mi | 116,215 | $121,099 | $1,684 |
Straight-line distance in miles, not driving distance.
Pick two cities.
vs
110,016 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimate).
$1,957 a month (ACS 2020–2024), which is 17.2% of the median household income.
$136,217 (ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars).
4.5% (BLS county, Fort Bend County (latest month 2026M09)).
Texas. See the state guide for minimum wage, taxes and pay.