Montgomery County, Texas

Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 620,443. The county seat is Conroe. The county was created by an act of the Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 14, 1837, and is named for the town of Montgomery. Between 2000 and 2010, its population grew by 55%, the 24th-fastest rate of growth of any county in the United States. Between 2010 and 2020, its population grew by 36%. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the estimated population is 711,354 as of July 1, 2023.

Montgomery County is part of the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1077 sqmi, of which 1042 sqmi are land and 35 sqmi (3.3%) are covered by water.

Adjacent counties

 * Walker County (north)
 * San Jacinto County (northeast)
 * Liberty County (east)
 * Harris County (south)
 * Waller County (west)
 * Grimes County (northwest)

National protected area

 * Sam Houston National Forest (partial)

Cities

 * Cleveland (most of the city is in Liberty County)
 * Conroe (county seat)
 * Cut and Shoot
 * Houston (most of the city is in Harris County)
 * Magnolia
 * Montgomery
 * Oak Ridge North
 * Panorama Village
 * Patton Village
 * Roman Forest
 * Shenandoah
 * Splendora
 * Willis
 * Woodbranch

Towns

 * Stagecoach
 * Woodloch

Census-designated places

 * Pinehurst
 * Porter Heights
 * The Woodlands (small part of the CDP located in Harris County)

Unincorporated communities

 * Chateau Woods (former city)
 * Decker Prairie
 * Dobbin
 * Egypt
 * Grangerland
 * Imperial Oaks
 * New Caney
 * Porter
 * River Plantation
 * Spring (larger part in Harris County, which includes the CDP part)
 * Tamina

Demographics
''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

As of the 2010 census, there were 455,746 people, 162,530 households, and 121,472 families residing in the county. The population density was 423 /mi2. There were 177,647 housing units at an average density of 165 /mi2.

In 2010, the racial makeup of the county was 83.5% White, 4.3% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.0% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. 20.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. At the 2020 census, the racial and ethnic makeup was 59.86% non-Hispanic white, 5.51% African American or Black, 0.30% Native American, 3.45% Asian alone, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.41% some other race, 3.92% multiracial, and 26.45% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.

At the 2010 census there were 162,530 households, out of which 36.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.70% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.30% were non-families. 20.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the county, 27.60% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 26.60% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.29 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.94 males.

At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $50,864, and the median income for a family was $58,983. Males had a median income of $42,400 versus $28,270 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,544. About 7.10% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.90% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.

Politics
Montgomery County has given Republican candidates 70 percent or more of the vote since 2000, and the county has not been won by a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964, when native Texan and favorite son Lyndon Johnson won 60.9% of the county's vote.

In 2004, county voters gave 78.1 percent of their vote to Republican candidate George W. Bush. In 2008, 75.8% of the voters supported the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin. In 2016, this was the only county in the United States where Republican nominee Donald Trump won against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by a margin of greater than 100,000 votes. In 2020, Trump won Montgomery County again, with an expanded margin of 119,000 votes.

Public schools
Several school districts operate public schools in the county:
 * Conroe ISD
 * Magnolia ISD
 * Montgomery ISD
 * New Caney ISD
 * Richards ISD (partial)
 * Splendora ISD
 * Tomball ISD (partial)
 * Willis ISD (partial)

Private schools

 * Pre-K to 12
 * Covenant Christian School
 * Christ Community School
 * Esprit International School
 * The Woodlands Christian Academy
 * The John Cooper School
 * The Woodlands Preparatory School
 * Porter Christian Academy
 * Cunae International School
 * Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy
 * Willis Classical Academy
 * Pre-K to 8
 * St. Anthony Of Padua Catholic School of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

The closest Catholic high school is Frassati Catholic High School in north Harris County; the planners of the school intended for it to serve The Woodlands.

Colleges and universities
The county is also home to two campuses of the Lone Star College System (formerly North Harris-Montgomery Community College District): Montgomery and The University Center.

Lone Star College's service area under Texas law includes, in Montgomery County: Conroe, Magnolia, Montgomery, New Caney, Splendora, Tomball, and Willis ISDs. The portion in Richards ISD is zoned to Blinn Junior College District.

Former colleges for black students in the pre-desegregation era included Conroe Normal and Industrial College and Royal College.

Libraries
The county operates the Montgomery County Memorial Library System.

Healthcare
In 1938, the Montgomery County Hospital, a public institution, opened, the first public hospital in the county. It had 25 beds. The Montgomery County Hospital District opened in the 1970s, and the purpose of the district was making a new hospital, which opened in 1982 and replaced the former hospital.

Airports
Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport, a general aviation airport, is located in Conroe.

The Houston Airport System stated that Montgomery County is within the primary service area of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, an international airport in Houston in Harris County.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-45 (TX).svg|20px]] Interstate 45
 * [[Image:I-69 (TX).svg|20px]] [[Image:US 59.svg|20px]] Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59
 * [[Image:Texas 75.svg|20px]] State Highway 75
 * [[Image:Toll Texas 99.svg|20px]] State Highway 99 - Grand Parkway Toll Road
 * [[Image:Texas 105.svg|20px]] State Highway 105
 * [[Image:Texas 242.svg|20px]] State Highway 242
 * [[Image:Toll Texas 249.svg|20px]] [[Image:Texas 249.svg|20px]] State Highway 249 - a.k.a. MCTRA 249 Tollway (from Spring Creek to Pinehurst) and the Aggie Expressway (Pinehurst up to Todd Mission)

Toll roads
Montgomery County has several toll roads within its borders, most of which are operated as "pass-through toll roads" or shadow toll roads.

There are two "true" toll roads within Montgomery County. One toll road consists of a section of mainlanes of State Highway 249 between the Harris County line at Spring Creek to FM 1774 in Pinehurst and is signed as MCTRA 249 Tollway (maintained by the Montgomery County Toll Road Authority). North of Pinehurst, the toll road continues as the TxDOT maintained Aggie Expressway (SH 249 Toll) up north to FM 1774 near Todd Mission then as a two-lane freeway up to State Highway 105 near Navasota. The other toll road within Montgomery County (also maintained by TxDOT) is Grand Parkway (State Highway 99) between the Harris County line at Spring Creek, with an interchange at I-69/US 59 near New Caney, and reentering Harris County before continuing into Liberty and Chambers Counties.