Greater Katy Area

Greater Katy Area is the term often used to refer to a suburban region on the west side of the Greater Houston metropolitan area roughly corresponding to the boundaries of the Katy Independent School District. Many people and businesses in this area have a Katy address, but not part of the city of Katy. This area includes the suburbs that surround the Katy city limits west to Pederson road, roughly east to State Highway 6, north to FM 529 and south to FM 1093/ Westpark Tollway Parkway. While these boundaries are not exact, it gives a rough outline of what most people consider Greater Katy. Most of Greater Katy is to the east of the city of Katy toward Houston and includes surrounding suburban areas and unincorporated areas that are not in the Houston city limits. The region includes parts of Harris County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County much as the City of Katy does. Greater Katy is one of the fastest growing portions of the Houston metropolitan area and the state of Texas as a whole.

History

The City of Katy was formally incorporated in 1945, but was settled as Cane Island in 1872. As of 2015 the population of the Katy area is larger than that of the city limits of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Greater Katy versus the City of Katy

The City of Katy, Texas is a very small area surrounded by the Greater Katy area. The City itself has 14,102 residents as of the 2010 census (16,000 is the 2017 estimate), while the greater Katy area has an estimated 300,000 residents living within the Katy Independent School District boundaries as of 2015. Many people confuse Greater Katy with the City of Katy, however there is no city representation or services provided to people outside of the actual city limits of Katy. Some of this area is actually within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The city of Katy cannot annex this area without express permission from the City of Houston. This has occurred on several occasions in regards to relatively small tracts of land. This came into play with development of the Katy Mills Mall, which sat mostly within the City of Katy but about half was in the Houston ETJ. The developer and city of Katy threatened to build just a parking lot on the Houston area, depriving Houston of any real property tax revenue. For 1 million dollars Katy bought the right to annex the area desired.

*Katy Visitor and Tourism Bureau. Under the umbrella of the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce to promote the modest yet growing convention and tourism sector of the Greater Katy economy.

Economy

Several corporations are headquartered in the Greater Katy area.

As of 2014, within the area, the Katy Independent School District, having about 8,000 employees, is the largest employer. BP America, with about 7,000 employees, is the second largest.

Igloo Corporation is headquartered west of Katy in unincorporated Waller County. Academy Sports and Outdoors has its corporate offices and product distribution center in unincorporated western Harris County.

In 2008 KBR announced that a new office facility would appear at the intersection of the Grand Parkway and Interstate 10 in unincorporated western Harris County, Texas, between Houston and Katy. The new complex would have been be in close proximity to the Energy Corridor area of Houston. KBR planned to continue to have a corporate presence in Downtown. In December KBR said that it would not continue with the plans due to a weakened economy. In 2015 the former KBR property was sold to a development company, and has now become a Costco.

Th
Katy Area Economic Development Council
serves as the economic development organization for the area. Founded in 2003, the Katy Area Economic Development Council’s (Katy Area EDC) mission is to establish the Katy area as the premier location for families and businesses through planned economic growth and economic development. Since its inception, the Katy Area EDC has grown to over 210 members, has a budget of $900,000 and has assisted in the creation of over 16,200 jobs and more than $2.5 billion in capital investment. Katy Area EDC is a full-service private, non-profit, 501 (c) 6 economic development corporation.

Government and infrastructure

Harris County Leadership Academy (formerly Delta Boot Camp), a juvenile correctional facility of the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, is in Harris County near Katy. It is located on a plot of land in the northwestern portion of the county, in proximity to the Sharp Road and the Katy-Hockley Road Cutoff intersection. The juvenile boot camp, scheduled to open in November 1999, was originally scheduled to be located in proximity to Barker Cypress Road and south of Interstate 10. It had a price of $2 million, with most of the money coming from federal grants and $500,000 coming from taxpayers. It had survived a lawsuit filed by residents of the area surrounding its current northwest Harris location.

Harris Health System, formerly Harris County Hospital District (the county's hospital district), operates the Danny Jackson Health Center in the Bear Hunter Plaza in Greater Katy. Prior to Jackson's opening, the designated public health center was the Northwest Health Center in Houston. The nearest public hospital is Ben Taub General Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, Houston. Fort Bend County does not have a hospital district. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital which the county contracts with.

Demographics

By 2004 many Venezuelans fleeing the economic changes by the Hugo Chávez government settled in the Houston area due to the oil industry, and they specifically chose to move to the Katy area due to the Katy Independent School District's reputation and the proximity to their workplaces in west Houston. As a result, the Katy area received the nickname "Katyzuela". almost 50% of the people of Venezuelan origins in Greater Houston lived in Greater Katy, meaning almost 5,050 people of Venezuelan origins lived in Greater Katy. - note the article says "Nearly half of the more than 11,000 Venezuelans in Houston live in the 181 square miles that make up Katy." but the City of Katy itself is much smaller than that. In context, "Katy" here means "Greater Katy". Katy, Texas has among the largest Venezuelan American populations outside Florida.

In particular, as of 2012 Venezuelans are concentrated in Cinco Ranch. As of 2015 two restaurants, Budare Arepa Express and Delis Café, according to Florian Martin of Houston Public Media, "could be considered the social centers of the Venezuelan community in Katy. "Martin, Florian.
Venezuelan Expats Weigh In On Chavez’s Death

Archive
. Houston Public Media. March 8, 2013. Retrieved on February 9, 2016. St. Faustina Catholic Church has a Spanish worship service that attracts Venezuelan people. Naida Givvon established a Venezuelan cultural festival in 2011; it is held every year at the Southwest Equestrian Center.

The Asian American population of Greater Katy was about 40,000 in 2019, and from 2000 to 2010 that population increased 300%. There is a development called Katy Asian Town, which is large.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The Katy Independent School District operates public schools. Schools listed are in Greater Katy only.

Public high schools:
* Cinco Ranch High School
* Katy High School
*Mayde Creek High School
* Morton Ranch High School
* Seven Lakes High School
*James E. Taylor High School
*Obra D. Tompkins High School

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