Nearly half of Harris County residents can’t afford a $400 emergency. Just 1-in-5 public school graduates earn a living wage within six years of high school graduation.
Those aren’t separate issues, they’re one story. And public education exists as integral to keeping that path to prosperity open.
This week, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research released its 2025 Kinder Houston Area Survey, the most expansive in the report’s 44-year history. With responses from over 10,000 residents across Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties, and a remarkable 81% response rate, this year’s findings offer a credible, nuanced portrait of a city that’s growing fast and grappling with what it means to build a future for everyone.
“If you can dream it, you can make it happen in Houston.”
Camden CEO Ric Campo said during the Kinder luncheon that “if you can dream it, you can make it happen in Houston.” His words captured the spirit of the event and the findings of the Kinder report: people move to Houston seeking economic opportunity, and stay because they find community, diversity, and connection.
But, for many, the promise of opportunity is increasingly challenged by economic instability:
- 45% of Harris County residents say they couldn’t afford a $400 emergency.
- 1 in 3 Harris County residents name not being able to afford to move elsewhere as one of the reasons they still live in the Houston area.
- Even households earning well above the median income are struggling to afford median-priced homes.
- Only 27% of Harris County residents say they are “living comfortably.”
“Our earnings have not kept up with the rising cost of housing,” said Ruth López Turley, director of the Kinder Institute.
This tension is playing out across the city, and perhaps nowhere more clearly than in our public schools.
Public Education as Both Mirror and Lever
Students in Houston’s public schools are showing up with big dreams and clear goals: to build a future and access the same opportunities that draw so many people to this region. But too many graduate unprepared for the economic reality that awaits them. Fewer than 20% of Houston-area graduates earn a living wage within six years of finishing high school. This disconnect between ambition and outcome is not just a personal loss– it’s a growing threat to Houston’s long-term economic health and equity.
At Good Reason Houston, we see the potential every day. Families are invested. Educators are working hard. Schools are filled with energy, hope, and determination. But structural challenges are holding students back from reaching the opportunities they’re striving for.
While 49% of newcomers move to Houston for jobs, and many stay because they see a future here, only 27% of current residents report living comfortably. If we don’t close the gap between education and economic opportunity, we’re not just limiting student futures, we’re weakening Houston’s talent pipeline, workforce sustainability, and ability to grow equitably.
We can’t afford to treat public education as a side issue, it is the heartbeat of our future. The systems we invest in today will decide whether Houston’s promise is real for every child, not just a lucky few. If we want to be a city of real opportunity, of true mobility, then we must make our schools the foundation of that vision. Because the same spirit that draws dreamers to Houston must also lift up the children already here, so they don’t just watch opportunity pass by, they walk boldly into it.
