Sugar Land Floor Numbers: Houses, Air, Soil, Water and Published Prices
Last reviewed 2026-10-29. Journalists, researchers, and community groups are welcome to cite any figure on this page with attribution and a link.
This page gathers the public figures behind coated concrete floors in Sugar Land and its Fort Bend County neighbors: how old and how car-heavy the houses are, how wet and hot the air gets, what NRCS says about the ground, how high the Brazos has run, which flood and code rules apply, and what national price surveys and federal wage data print. Each table names its source and vintage. A share marked with an asterisk is our own arithmetic, a Census count divided by its total, and the Census Bureau does not print it.
Two cautions run through the tables. The National Weather Service's Houston/Galveston office keeps climate pages for five stations and Sugar Land is not one of them, so the weather columns come from Houston Hobby and Houston Intercontinental and describe outdoor air at an airport, not a slab. And no survey in our files prices a floor in Sugar Land; every price row is national. Epoxy Flooring Sugar Land Co. last reviewed the figures on this page on 29 Oct 2026. What each number means for a coating is set out in our guide to Fort Bend slabs, humidity and floods.
1994
Median year built of Sugar Land's housing units, so half of them date from 1994 or earlier; the median for Fort Bend County as a whole is 2005
Census ACS 2020-2024, table B25035
93
Average morning relative humidity, in percent, at Houston Intercontinental in July and August, above the 85% ceiling printed on the ArmorSeal 1000 HS epoxy data sheet
NOAA NCEI Comparative Climatic Data, 1969-2018
55.19 ft
Record crest of the Brazos River at the Richmond gauge, reached on 1 Sep 2017 in Hurricane Harvey and still marked preliminary; major flood stage there is 50 feet
NOAA NWS gauge RMOT2
100.5
Normal days per year at Houston Hobby whose high reaches 90 degrees F, for 1991-2020; the National Weather Service tally for 2025 was 136
NWS annual climate summary, Hobby, 2025
The houses: age, type, ownership and cars, place by place
Sugar Land's housing is older than the county's. The city's median year built is 1994 and Fort Bend County's is 2005 (ACS 2020-2024, table B25035); the 1990s are Sugar Land's largest decade in table DP04, 13,273 units out of 39,946. Among the towns, Fulshear's median is 2016 and Sienna's 2010, while Richmond's is 1984 and Missouri City's biggest decade is the 1970s, with 6,071 units. In Sugar Land, 34,537 of the 39,946 units are 1-unit detached houses, and 9,751 of 38,485 occupied homes have three or more vehicles available.
For a floor, read the age column first. Stonhard writes that for slabs "over 25 years old, there is a risk that a moisture barrier was not installed," and by our arithmetic from the median years built, the median housing unit in Sugar Land, Missouri City, Stafford, Rosenberg, Pecan Grove and Richmond is past that age. Detached shares run from about 44 percent in Stafford to about 95 percent in Sienna and Pecan Grove. Unmarked shares are printed by the Census Bureau in its DP04 profile; shares marked * are our arithmetic on Census counts, a count divided by its total and rounded. Garage systems for these houses are on our garage floor epoxy page.
| Place | Median year built | 1-unit detached, % | Owner-occupied, % | 3+ vehicles, % of households |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Land city | 1994 | 86.5 | 80.3 | 25.3 |
| Fort Bend County | 2005 | 82.9 | 77.0 | 26.1* |
| Missouri City | 1993 | 88* | 82* | 27* |
| Stafford | 1993 | 44* | 39* | 14* |
| Richmond | 1984 | 47.4 | 53.5 | 12.5 |
| Rosenberg | 1997 | 56* | 54* | n/a |
| Fulshear | 2016 | 92* | 90* | n/a |
| Katy | 2003 | 85* | 81* | n/a |
| Sienna (CDP) | 2010 | 95* | 96* | 33* |
| Pecan Grove (CDP) | 1997 | 95* | 92.5 | 31.3 |
Source: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), 5-year estimates for 2020-2024. Median year built: table B25035. Unmarked shares: table DP04. * = our arithmetic from Census counts in tables B25024, B25003, B08201 and B25044 (count divided by total, rounded), not printed by the Census Bureau. n/a = no share worked out from the counts read.
The air a slab lives in: Hobby normals and Intercontinental humidity
The weather table pairs two airports because Hobby has no row in NOAA's humidity table. NWS Houston/Galveston's monthly normals pages give Hobby's 1991-2020 highs and lows, which top out at 93.5 degrees F in August. NOAA's Comparative Climatic Data gives Houston Intercontinental's average relative humidity for a morning and an afternoon reading, from 85 percent on January mornings up to 93 on July and August mornings, and NCEI's 2023 Local Climatological Data summary gives Intercontinental's mean dew point month by month, 74.5 degrees F in July. NOAA does not print the hours of the two humidity readings.
Read the humidity column against a data sheet, not against comfort. Sherwin-Williams' ArmorSeal 1000 HS data sheet prints "Relative humidity: 85% maximum" and wants the surface "At least 5 degrees F (2.8 degrees C) above dew point"; Intercontinental's morning averages meet or pass that ceiling in every month, while its afternoon averages stay between 56 and 62 percent. Every figure in this table is outdoor air at an airport. The readings that decide whether a coat goes down are the ones we take at the slab on the day.
| Month | Hobby normal high / low, degrees F | IAH average relative humidity, morning / afternoon, % | IAH mean dew point, degrees F |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63.8 / 46.1 | 85 / 62 | 45.7 |
| February | 67.6 / 50.1 | 86 / 61 | 49.0 |
| March | 73.4 / 55.9 | 87 / 59 | 54.7 |
| April | 79.3 / 61.8 | 89 / 57 | 60.6 |
| May | 85.9 / 69.3 | 91 / 58 | 68.1 |
| June | 91.0 / 74.9 | 92 / 59 | 73.1 |
| July | 92.9 / 76.6 | 93 / 57 | 74.5 |
| August | 93.5 / 76.7 | 93 / 56 | 74.3 |
| September | 89.3 / 72.9 | 92 / 58 | 70.3 |
| October | 82.1 / 63.9 | 90 / 56 | 62.7 |
| November | 72.6 / 54.0 | 89 / 59 | 54.3 |
| December | 65.7 / 48.0 | 87 / 62 | 48.4 |
| Year | 79.8 / 62.5 | 89 / 59 | 61.3 |
Temperatures: NWS Houston/Galveston monthly normals pages for Houston/Hobby, 1991-2020; the year row is the normal average maximum and minimum in the NWS annual climate summary for Hobby, issued 1 Jan 2026. Humidity: NOAA NCEI Comparative Climatic Data (CCD-2018), Houston Intercontinental, WBAN 12960, period 1969-2018, observation hours not stated. Dew point: NOAA NCEI Local Climatological Data, 2023 annual summary, Houston (KIAH).
The ground: NRCS soil series in and near Fort Bend County
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Official Soil Series Descriptions record what each soil is and how it behaves. Lake Charles and Brazoria have their type locations in Fort Bend County, Bernard was established as a series here in 1952, and Pledger's type location was moved out of the county to Brazoria County. Four descriptions carry a cracking sentence, Lake Charles, Edna, Pledger and Kaman; Kaman, typed in Harris County, says outright that it has high shrink-swell potential; the loamy Asa and Norwood carry no cracking or shrink-swell sentence.
The Post-Tensioning Institute's page on slabs-on-ground presents post-tensioned slabs as a solution for houses on shrink-swell soils, and Sugar Land's residential permit page wants post-tension designs signed and sealed by an engineer. The drainage column matters as much as the cracking one: very slow permeability describes how slowly water moves through these clays, and Stonhard says the ground beneath a slab "is almost always damp with a relative humidity of 100%." No column says which series lies under a particular house.
| Series (OSD revision) | Where NRCS places it | Drainage and class | Cracking wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Charles (03/2016) | Coastal prairie; typed near Guy, Fort Bend County | Moderately well drained, very slow permeability; a Vertisol | 1 to 5 cm surface cracks when dry; open 60 to 90 cumulative days in most years |
| Bernard (02/2015) | Coastal plain flats; established in Fort Bend County, 1952 | Somewhat poorly drained, very slow permeability; about 500,000 acres | No cracking sentence; the typical pedon notes crack fillings |
| Edna (08/2016) | Ancient meander ridges; typed in Wharton County | Somewhat poorly drained; water perches 2 to 4 weeks after extended heavy rain | Cracks when dry, rarely up through the A horizon |
| Pledger (09/2015) | Lower Brazos and Colorado floodplains; type location moved to Brazoria County | Moderately well drained, very slow permeability; floods rarely to frequently unless protected | Cracks more than 1 cm (0.4 in) wide from the surface when dry |
| Brazoria (09/2015) | Brazos and Colorado floodplains; typed in Fort Bend County | Moderately well drained, very slow permeability; floods rarely or commonly unless protected | Slickensides, 5 to 80 in (14 to 203 cm) down |
| Asa (02/2018) | Lower Brazos and Colorado floodplains | Well drained, loamy alluvium; floods rare to frequent unless behind levees | None stated |
| Norwood (01/2015) | Lower Brazos and Colorado rivers and tributaries | Well drained, moderately permeable; floods rare to frequent unless behind levees | None stated |
| Kaman (07/2014) | Southeast Texas; typed in Harris County; Fort Bend not named | Somewhat poorly drained, very slow permeability; wet for long periods | High shrink-swell potential; deep wide cracks open and close with the weather |
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Official Soil Series Descriptions, with each description's revision date as shown on it. Wording quoted or closely paraphrased from each description.
The water and the rules: Brazos crests, Atlas 14, floor elevations
The river rows come from the National Weather Service record for the Brazos River at Richmond, gauge RMOT2. The NWS calls 20 feet bankfull and sets minor, moderate and major flood stages at 45, 48 and 50 feet; at 50 it says homes in Richmond flood, and at 53 it expects street flooding on Sienna Parkway between McKeever Road and Steep Bank Trace. Harvey set the record, 55.19 feet on 1 Sep 2017, a value the record still marks preliminary. The rain rows are the NWS Houston/Galveston office's Harvey storm totals for two Fort Bend stations, the highest listed in the county and the one listed as 0.5 SE Sugar Land.
The rule rows are the City of Sugar Land's unless marked. The City adopted NOAA Atlas 14 rainfall on April 2, 2019, and says Sugar Land now has "a 4 percent chance for 12.5 inches of rain to fall in 24 hours (1 in 25)", up from 1 percent before the study; it counts a building as substantially improved once repairs or remodeling reach 50 percent of the building's market value, counting five years of work cumulatively; it holds Community Rating System Class 6, with a discount of up to 20 percent; and its 2024 ICC codes took effect on January 21, 2026. Fort Bend County publishes its own interim Atlas 14 drainage and slab elevation criteria, effective January 1, 2020, and slab repair after a flood is covered on our concrete resurfacing and repair page.
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Brazos at Richmond: action stage, called bankfull | 20 ft | NWS NWPS, gauge RMOT2 |
| Minor / moderate / major flood stage | 45 / 48 / 50 ft | NWS NWPS, gauge RMOT2 |
| Record crest, Harvey, 1 Sep 2017 (preliminary) | 55.19 ft | NWS NWPS, gauge RMOT2 |
| Second-highest crest, 2 Jun 2016 | 54.74 ft | NWS NWPS, gauge RMOT2 |
| Historic crests, November 1940 and October 1994 | 51.4 ft; 50.3 ft | NWS NWPS, gauge RMOT2 |
| Harvey storm total, 2 SE First Colony (highest listed in Fort Bend) | 39.17 in | NWS Houston/Galveston, Harvey page |
| Harvey storm total, 0.5 SE Sugar Land | 36.36 in | NWS Houston/Galveston, Harvey page |
| Atlas 14 rainfall adopted | April 2, 2019 | City of Sugar Land, Flood Protection and Atlas 14 |
| Chance of 12.5 in of rain in 24 hours, before and after Atlas 14 | 1% (1 in 100) to 4% (1 in 25) | City of Sugar Land, Flood Protection and Atlas 14 |
| 100-year, 24-hour rainfall, interim criteria Table 1 | 16.50 in | Fort Bend County, effective January 1, 2020 |
| Substantial improvement threshold | 50% of the building's current market value, cumulative over the past five years | City of Sugar Land, Substantial Improvement |
| Minimum finished floor, outside levee districts | Highest of 2.0 ft over the Atlas 14 100-year BFE, 1.5 ft over the highest adjacent natural ground, 1.0 ft over top of curb | City of Sugar Land, Minimum Finished Floor Elevations |
| 2024 ICC codes in effect | January 21, 2026 | City of Sugar Land, Permits and Inspections |
| Community Rating System class | Class 6, discount up to 20% | City of Sugar Land, CRS page |
River stages in feet: NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service record for the Brazos River at Richmond (RMOT2, USGS 08114000), read 29 Oct 2026; the 2017 crest is marked preliminary, and the 1940 and 1994 crests are given by month only because the record stores them at midnight UTC. Harvey rain in inches: NWS Houston/Galveston Hurricane Harvey page, storm totals from 1200 UTC Aug 25 to 1200 UTC Aug 31, 2017. Rules: the City of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County pages named, most with no page date shown.
Published prices, area wages and the price level, each labeled
None of the price surveys we hold prints a figure for a floor in Sugar Land, in Fort Bend County or anywhere in the Houston metro, which is why each price row below names a national survey and the date on its page. HomeGuide's February 2026 page says "Epoxy flooring costs $4 to $10 per square foot installed on average"; Angi's, updated in August 2026, quotes $2 to $12 with materials and labor; and HomeAdvisor's June 2026 page says commercial and industrial work needs a 100% solids coating at $12 or more per square foot. How such ranges become a written quote is laid out on our epoxy floor cost page.
The other rows are not prices. O*NET OnLine's pages for ZIP 77478, citing "Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data", report what workers in four floor and concrete trades are paid in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro: wages to workers, not charges to customers. The Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parity is an index of the price level for all goods and services, with the nation at 100.0; BEA's 2023 table, which still prints the metro's older name, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, puts the area at 100.2 and its housing at 106.5. How we source and recheck these figures is described on our about page.
| What is measured | Figure | Source and date | Kind of number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epoxy flooring, installed, per sq ft | $4 to $10 | HomeGuide, Feb 3, 2026 | National survey price |
| Epoxy flooring, materials and labor, per sq ft | $2 to $12 | Angi, Aug 3, 2026 | National survey price |
| Two-car garage of 400 to 576 sq ft, epoxy | $1,600 to $5,800 | HomeGuide, Feb 3, 2026 | National survey price |
| Polyaspartic floor coating, per sq ft | $5 to $12 | HomeGuide, Nov 18, 2024 | National survey price |
| Polished concrete, basic finishes, per sq ft | $3 to $12 | HomeGuide, Feb 8, 2026 | National survey price |
| Staining existing concrete, per sq ft | $3 to $15 | HomeGuide, Feb 3, 2026 | National survey price |
| Concrete resurfacing, per sq ft | $3 to $7 | HomeGuide, Feb 3, 2026 | National survey price |
| Commercial and industrial, 100% solids coating, per sq ft | $12 or more | HomeAdvisor, Jun 20, 2026 | National survey price |
| "Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles" (47-2042.00), median | $20.68 an hour; $43,020 a year | O*NET, ZIP 77478, BLS 2025 wage data | Houston-area wage paid to workers |
| Painters, construction and maintenance (47-2141.00), median | $22.18 an hour; $46,140 a year | O*NET, ZIP 77478, BLS 2025 wage data | Houston-area wage paid to workers |
| Cement masons and concrete finishers (47-2051.00), median | $22.40 an hour; $46,600 a year | O*NET, ZIP 77478, BLS 2025 wage data | Houston-area wage paid to workers |
| Construction laborers (47-2061.00), median | $19.88 an hour; $41,350 a year | O*NET, ZIP 77478, BLS 2025 wage data | Houston-area wage paid to workers |
| Regional price parity, all items, Houston metro, 2023 | 100.2 (U.S. = 100.0) | BEA, Table 4, Dec 12, 2024 release | Price-level index |
| Regional price parity, housing services, Houston metro, 2023 | 106.5 (U.S. = 100.7) | BEA, Table 4, Dec 12, 2024 release | Price-level index |
Survey prices: national figures from the HomeGuide, Angi and HomeAdvisor pages named, as dated on each page; none prices Sugar Land. Wages: O*NET OnLine pages for ZIP 77478 (Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2025 wage data, site updated October 6, 2026; the median is the 50th percentile. Index: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Table 4 of the December 12, 2024 release (data year 2023), which BEA now marks superseded.
Sources & Methodology
Every figure above was taken from the primary sources below (accessed 2026-10-29). Where a number is derived (arithmetic on published figures) or covers a broader period or area, the text says so.
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Sugar Land city and Fort Bend County, Texas
- NWS Houston/Galveston, Houston/Hobby monthly normals, 1991-2020 (January page)
- NWS annual climate summary for Houston/Hobby, 2025
- NOAA NCEI, Comparative Climatic Data
- NOAA NCEI, Local Climatological Data, 2023 annual summary, Houston Intercontinental (PDF)
- USDA NRCS, Official Soil Series Description: Lake Charles
- NWS Houston/Galveston, Hurricane Harvey (August 25-29, 2017)
- City of Sugar Land, Flood Protection and Atlas 14
- City of Sugar Land, Substantial Improvement
- City of Sugar Land, Minimum Finished Floor Elevations
- City of Sugar Land, Permits and Inspections (2024 ICC codes)
- City of Sugar Land, Community Rating System (CRS)
- O*NET OnLine, Local Wages, ZIP 77478: Floor Layers (47-2042.00)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2023 (release PDF, Table 4)
Quick Answers
How old are the houses in Sugar Land, TX?
Half of Sugar Land's housing units were built in 1994 or earlier: that is the city's median year built in Census table B25035 (American Community Survey, 2020-2024), against 2005 for Fort Bend County as a whole. Construction from the 1990s accounts for 13,273 units, the city's largest decade, and the 1980s add 9,666 more. Slab age matters for a coating because Stonhard ties slabs over 25 years old to a risk of a missing moisture barrier, so we test moisture before we choose a system.
How humid is Sugar Land for coating a floor?
Humid enough that the average morning reading meets or passes the 85% ceiling on the ArmorSeal 1000 HS epoxy data sheet in every month. Sugar Land itself is missing from NOAA's humidity table, so the figures come from Houston Intercontinental, 1969-2018: morning means run from 85 percent in January to 93 in July and August, and afternoon means sit between 56 and 62 percent. Airport air is not garage air, and the number that settles a coat is our own reading in your garage on the day.
How high did the Brazos River get at Richmond during Harvey?
The Brazos River at the Richmond gauge crested at 55.19 feet on 1 Sep 2017, the gauge's record, which the National Weather Service still marks preliminary. Major flood stage there is 50 feet, the level at which the NWS says homes in Richmond flood. The second-highest crest, 54.74 feet, came on 2 Jun 2016, and the NWS Houston/Galveston office recorded that both the Brazos and the San Bernard saw record flooding in Fort Bend County during Harvey.