With each passing year, Houstonians’ views on social and political issues continue to subtly shift — and 2026 proved no different.
New results from the 45th Kinder Houston Area Survey show how the region’s outlook on LGBTQ+ groups, the legalization of marijuana, gun rights, school funding and book bans have evolved over time.
About 8,800 residents of Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties participated in the annual survey, the nation’s longest-running snapshot of attitudes and experiences in a major metro area. Some survey questions are posed annually, while others are asked periodically. The results are weighted to reflect Houston’s demographics.
Here are the latest findings from the survey on five topics shaping local, state and national politics.
LGBTQ+ acceptance keeps rising
Kinder Houston Area Survey participants in Harris County have been asked 14 times since 1997 whether they believe homosexuality is morally acceptable. This year, a record 65% agreed it is, up 2 percentage points from the last time survey participants were asked the question in 2021.
About 64% of Montgomery County residents described homosexuality as morally acceptable this year, up from roughly 45% in the mid-2010s. In Fort Bend County, 60% of respondents deemed homosexuality morally acceptable, rising from about 50% in the mid-2010s.
When asked whether being transgender is morally acceptable, 55% of respondents across the three counties agreed. The rate is higher than the one-quarter of residents who called undergoing a sex-change operation morally acceptable in 2007, the last time respondents were asked about transgender people. (The survey language was updated this year.)
Notably, respondents who know a transgender person were more likely to approve (78%) than those who don’t (46%).
Agreement, differences on gun regulations
Houstonians are near-unanimous in their support for universal background checks for all gun sales, regardless of political affiliation, race, ethnicity or income bracket. Regionwide, support totaled 95%.
They’re also unified in striking a balance between preserving gun rights and instituting some level of gun control.
Just over 40% of Houstonians called protecting the right of Americans to own guns “very important, about 40% described it as “somewhat important” and nearly 20% labeled it “not important.”
About 60% of respondents said it’s “very important” to control gun ownership, while slightly more than 30% called it “somewhat important” and just under 10% described it as “not important.”
Yes to legalizing marijuana
Nearly two-thirds of Houstonians support legalizing recreational marijuana, which remains illegal to possess in Texas. (Medical marijuana is legal for Texans with certain qualifying conditions.)
One-third of respondents said they “strongly favor” legalization, while just under one-third “slightly favor” it. Residents of Harris and Montgomery counties were slightly more supportive of legalization than those in Fort Bend County.
Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia had legalized small amounts of cannabis as of mid-2024, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
School funding support strong, but sliding
Slight majorities in Houston want significantly more money funneled to public schools and early education, though the number is down from prior years.
About 60% of residents agreed that public schools need significantly more funding to provide a quality education. Harris County residents showed the most support for a big boost, with 64% backing an increase, but that tally is down from 70% in 2020 and 2022.
Roughly 55% of Houstonians also support raising taxes to pay for universal prekindergarten across the region, but that level of support is down about 10 percentage points from 2018.
Texas public school districts must offer free, full-day pre-K to many qualifying 4-year-olds, including those deemed economically disadvantaged or emergent bilingual by the state. Four-year-olds who don’t qualify typically must pay tuition to attend pre-K at a public school. Districts are not required to provide pre-K to 3-year-olds, though a small but growing share of schools offer a limited number of seats.
Texas only provides the equivalent of half-day funding, plus an extra early education allotment and grants, to cover pre-K costs. In some districts, that isn’t enough to pay for all expenses.
Throwing the book at book bans
As public libraries and school districts across the region grapple with what titles belong on their shelves, most Houstonians are united in opposing book bans.
About 70% of residents disagreed that “a book most people disapprove of should be kept out of public libraries.”
The strongest opposition to removing books came from residents of Montgomery County, where access to books has been a significant political issue over the past few years. County commissioners created a citizen-led book review board in 2024, while the county’s former library director alleged last year that local political leaders fired her for opposing restrictions on the availability of books with LGBTQ+ themes.
