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The downtown Houston skyline is seen looking west toward U.S. 59, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.<\/p>\n
Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Houstonians are feeling a financial strain<\/a> as confidence in the economy drops the most in a single year since the oil bust of the 1980s, according to a new survey by Rice University\u2019s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 45th annual Kinder Houston Area Survey<\/a>, which measures the attitudes of thousands of Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery County residents, found that residents in all three counties most commonly identified the economy as the \u201cbiggest problem\u201d facing the Houston area. \u00a0<\/p>\n In recent years<\/a>, Harris County residents most often said that crime was the area\u2019s biggest problem, while Fort Bend and Montgomery County residents pointed to traffic as their most pressing concern. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n This year\u2019s results were particularly concerning because, unlike in other years, there wasn\u2019t a single incident researchers could point to that clearly dampened attitudes toward the economy, said Dan Potter, director of the institute\u2019s Houston Population Research Center, which conducts the annual study.<\/p>\n SUBURBAN SPRAWL: Houston suburbs are still booming. But how long will it last?<\/a><\/p>\n Rather, the concerns appear to reflect a sense of broader financial insecurity that is extending to a larger number of\u00a0Houstonians.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no singularity to point to here, and that creates additional levels of concern because whatever forces are at play that are dragging economic perceptions down, it\u2019s unclear if those are over,\u201d Potter said. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Economic uncertainty \u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, nearly 75% of Houstonians felt that job opportunities in the area were \u201cgood or excellent,\u201d according to the Kinder survey. This year, that number dropped to 48%, the largest single-year decline since the oil bust between 1982 and 1983.\u00a0<\/p>\n A quarter of respondents said the economy was the biggest problem facing the area, up from roughly 16% in 2025. And\u00a0the percent of residents who said they were \u201cfinding it difficult to get by\u201d rose across income brackets, with especially notable increases among those who made less than $25,000 a year. \u00a0<\/p>\n Potter said that while researchers cannot pinpoint a single event that triggered a downturn in attitudes toward personal finances, the responses appear to reflect other data points that indicate challenges facing the local and national economies. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that Houston’s labor market contracted<\/a>\u00a0by 0.1% between 2024 and 2025, mirroring losses felt across the rest of the state and country.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe appreciate that our responses are (people\u2019s) perceptions, so we wanted to know if this is sort of an indirect sentiment of the political climate or a general national malaise,\u201d Potter said. \u201cAnd I think in particular, when you look at jobs created this past year, the sentiment matches the circumstances.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Closer than we believe\u00a0<\/p>\n This year, for the first time, Kinder researchers polled Houstonians not only on their own attitudes, but also on how they thought people with different political beliefs might answer certain questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an era of increasing political and social division, Potter said, researchers thought it might be helpful to gauge people\u2019s perceptions of each other\u2019s beliefs and compare them to reality. The results were illuminating.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we ended up finding here was that we do not know what other people are thinking,\u201d Potter said. \u201cAnd oftentimes, what we think they are thinking is wildly off, and on important issues as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Across the board, respondents misjudged how closely those who disagree with them hold their beliefs on sensitive social, political and cultural issues.<\/p>\n BOOMING NEIGHBORHOODS:\u00a0Midtown is Houston’s fastest-growing neighborhood. It’s also becoming one of the most diverse.<\/a><\/p>\n On the issue of whether people supported universal background checks on gun buyers, for example, Democratic respondents assumed that only a third of Republicans were in favor of the measure, while Republicans predicted that 75% of Democrats were supportive.\u00a0<\/p>\n In reality, over 90% of both Republican and Democratic respondents supported universal background checks, according to the survey.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cNot only are the two groups aligned on the issue, they have nearly universal support for it, and yet we walk around talking as if it’s a third rail issue or some controversial stance,\u201d Potter said. \u201cIt\u2019s a moment to recognize our power and ability to drive government… and when we don\u2019t understand how aligned we are, we give up that power.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Community connectedness\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0The Kinder Institute\u2019s survey also queried Houstonians on their attitudes toward\u00a0environmental issues and social connections.\u00a0<\/p>\n A majority of residents expressed at least moderate concerns about extreme weather, pollution and contamination in their community, with lower-income residents particularly worried about effects on their health.\u00a0<\/p>\n Residents\u2019 responses also reflected a growing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community and indicated that those who felt more connected to their neighbors and communities tended to report stronger levels of physical and mental health. \u00a0<\/p>\n