Insights

Houston’s build-to-rent market keeps growing. Will federal legislation bring it down?

Houston’s small but fast-growing build-to-rent segment — in which companies construct new single-family homes and townhouses specifically to lease them — faces a major threat from federal legislation that would force most developers to sell their new properties.

Anti-Asian discrimination persists in Houston, survey data shows

A Kinder Institute survey found 40% of Houston-area Asian residents had recently been victims or known victims of discrimination.

How Texas plans to tie school accountability grades to college success, job wages

Texas plans to weight postsecondary readiness metrics in its academic accountability system starting in 2031, with the goal of getting more students on track to college and career success.

An average life expectancy of 80? This Rice researcher says a ‘universal basic neighborhood’ can make it happen.

Kinder Institute co-founder Michael Emerson argues minimum neighborhood standards can boost life expectancy.

With 1 million trees planted, Houston nonprofit charts expansion to combat canopy loss

‘Set up for failure’: Houston residents take expensive payday loans at sky-high rates, survey finds

Texas school vouchers promise choice. Geography may influence who has options in Houston.

While some Houston families live near private schools accepting vouchers, others reside miles from the nearest campus.

Are corporate buyers hogging single-family homes in Harris County? Here’s what the data shows.

A Kinder Institute analysis shows nine large companies own about 1% of single-family homes in Harris County.

Uncertified teacher hiring soared in Texas schools after the pandemic. Now, it’s slowing down.

A rapid rise in Texas public schools hiring uncertified teachers slowed in 2024-25, though it remains triple pre-pandemic rates, state data shows.

Houston’s Asian population has blossomed for decades. These maps and charts document its rise.

Asian residents now account for nearly 10% of the local population, driven by a multiethnic embrace of the region.

School vouchers, slowing growth and food insecurity: What Kinder Institute researchers are watching in Houston in 2026

The new year will bring big changes to key education, health and housing policies that shape the city.

Houston’s poorest neighborhoods are still drowning in illegally dumped trash — even after federal intervention

Federal oversight brought more eyes and dollars to Houston’s persistent illegal dumping problem, but city data suggests trash continues to pile up across the city.

A decade of stagnation: New data reveals Houston’s trouble getting some youth into school, workforce

1 in 5 Texas students are still missing lots of school — and attendance isn’t getting much better

Roughly 20% of Texas public school students were chronically absent in 2023-24, new data shows, a marginal decline from the prior year and well above than pre-pandemic levels.

Despite glut of existing homes for sale, Houston leads nation in new-home permitting