Data
Houston Property Values by ZIP Code: Who Protests and Who Doesn't
Houston's appraisal map has two stories on it. The first is the obvious one: the gap between a $1.6 million median in Memorial and a $123,000 median in South Park. The second is quieter and, for anyone paying a tax bill, more important. The neighborhoods with the most expensive homes protest their appraisals at nearly six times the rate of the neighborhoods with the cheapest ones.
We pulled both stories from the same place: the Harris Central Appraisal District's 2026 roll and protest history for every residential account in the county, part of a 3.6 million-record dataset we maintain across nine Texas counties. Here is what it shows.
Median appraised value by ZIP code
Among Harris County ZIP codes with at least 3,000 homes appraised at $50,000 or more, the countywide median is $275,796. The ten most expensive:
| ZIP | Area | Homes | Median appraised value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77024 | Memorial | 9,434 | $1,632,050 |
| 77005 | West University Place | 7,502 | $1,535,000 |
| 77056 | Galleria / Tanglewood | 3,421 | $1,060,632 |
| 77401 | Bellaire | 6,141 | $1,054,414 |
| 77019 | River Oaks / Upper Kirby | 5,348 | $786,454 |
| 77079 | Memorial west / Energy Corridor | 8,322 | $716,800 |
| 77057 | Galleria / Briargrove | 4,508 | $633,374 |
| 77006 | Montrose | 4,852 | $617,978 |
| 77055 | Spring Branch | 9,872 | $603,922 |
| 77008 | Houston Heights | 14,113 | $589,124 |
And the eight least expensive:
| ZIP | Area | Homes | Median appraised value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77033 | South Park | 8,848 | $123,441 |
| 77026 | Fifth Ward / Kashmere Gardens | 6,372 | $129,258 |
| 77029 | Pleasantville / Jacinto City area | 5,313 | $130,684 |
| 77028 | Trinity Gardens | 6,355 | $133,434 |
| 77078 | Northeast Houston | 4,189 | $137,316 |
| 77016 | Scenic Woods | 10,257 | $139,317 |
| 77506 | Pasadena | 6,513 | $143,234 |
| 77093 | Northside / Aldine area | 10,172 | $143,494 |
A thirteen-fold spread between the top and bottom of the county is striking on its own. What it means for tax bills is where the second story starts.
Who protests: the value gradient
Every one of these homes gets valued by the same mass-appraisal process, and every owner has the same right to challenge the result. Only some of them use it. We grouped homes by appraised value and checked HCAD's records for whether each account has ever filed a protest:
| Appraised value | Homes | Have ever protested |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 to $150,000 | 125,066 | 24.2% |
| $150,000 to $250,000 | 352,942 | 26.8% |
| $250,000 to $400,000 | 426,533 | 33.1% |
| $400,000 to $700,000 | 183,255 | 49.1% |
| $700,000 and up | 83,774 | 65.1% |
Countywide, about 35% of homes have protested at least once. Above $700,000, it is nearly two in three. Below $150,000, fewer than one in four.
The dollar stakes explain some of this. A 7% reduction on a $1.6 million appraisal cuts the bill by more than $2,000; on a $130,000 home it cuts it by under $200. But the gradient is steeper than the stakes alone predict, and it lines up with something else: expensive neighborhoods are full of people who have protested before, who know a neighbor who did, or who received a mailer from a protest firm. Cheaper neighborhoods, largely, are not.
The ZIP codes that protest the most
| ZIP | Area | Have ever protested | Median appraised value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77401 | Bellaire | 70.0% | $1,054,414 |
| 77024 | Memorial | 69.4% | $1,632,050 |
| 77005 | West University Place | 68.9% | $1,535,000 |
| 77019 | River Oaks / Upper Kirby | 65.5% | $786,454 |
| 77056 | Galleria / Tanglewood | 65.2% | $1,060,632 |
| 77008 | Houston Heights | 63.2% | $589,124 |
| 77007 | Rice Military / Washington Ave | 61.7% | $507,760 |
| 77006 | Montrose | 60.7% | $617,978 |
| 77094 | Energy Corridor west | 60.6% | $531,148 |
| 77079 | Memorial west | 59.4% | $716,800 |
In Bellaire, West University, and Memorial, protesting is simply what you do each spring. Seven of the ten most-protesting ZIP codes are also among the ten most expensive.
The ZIP codes that protest the least
| ZIP | Area | Have ever protested | Median appraised value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77093 | Northside / Aldine area | 11.7% | $143,494 |
| 77060 | Greenspoint | 12.5% | $184,812 |
| 77037 | Aldine | 13.2% | $177,536 |
| 77506 | Pasadena | 15.4% | $143,234 |
| 77029 | Pleasantville / Jacinto City area | 16.1% | $130,684 |
| 77039 | Aldine east | 16.4% | $175,401 |
| 77012 | East End / Magnolia Park | 16.4% | $156,510 |
| 77076 | Northline | 16.6% | $171,688 |
| 77087 | Gulfgate / Southeast Houston | 16.9% | $167,903 |
| 77016 | Scenic Woods | 16.9% | $139,317 |
In 77093, with more than 10,000 homes, fewer than 1,200 have ever filed a protest. These are also, not coincidentally, many of the same ZIP codes where homestead exemption coverage is lowest. The two gaps compound: a home with no exemption and no protest history pays full freight on an unchallenged number.
What our model sees
Our valuation model compares each home against nearby comparable sales and flags accounts where the appraisal looks high. Across the Houston metro it flags a potential reduction on roughly nine in ten homes; the median estimated first-year tax savings is about $250 on a typical home and rises steeply with value (a median above $2,100 in 77024). Those are model estimates, not guarantees, and the actual outcome depends on the evidence and the hearing. In our 2026 season, 96% of the protests we filed won a reduction.
The practical point for a homeowner in a low-protest ZIP code: the odds that your appraisal is wrong are no lower than in Memorial. The odds that anyone has ever checked it are much lower.
How to check your own appraisal
- Look up your home on HCAD and note the 2026 appraised value.
- Compare it with what similar homes on your street actually sold for in the last year. A real estate agent, a recent neighbor's sale, or our free savings estimate can give you a number.
- If your appraisal is higher than the comparable sales support, file a protest by the deadline (May 15, or 30 days after your notice was mailed, whichever is later). Our guide to protesting property taxes in Texas covers every step, and the Harris County protest guide covers HCAD's iFile and iSettle systems specifically.
- Check that your homestead exemption is on file while you are there. See how to check and file it.
Methodology
We analyzed the Harris Central Appraisal District's residential roll as of June 2026: 1,171,631 residential accounts with an appraised value of at least $50,000 (the floor removes vacant lots and placeholder values). "Have ever protested" reflects HCAD's account-level protest history. ZIP-level figures include only ZIP codes with at least 3,000 qualifying homes. Neighborhood names are approximate descriptions of each ZIP code's best-known areas. Estimated savings come from our comparable-sales model and are labeled as estimates throughout.
This article is general information, not tax advice.
Photo: 1421 Heights Boulevard, Houston by 25or6to4 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.