Understanding Houston

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Regional data indicator projects exist to collect, analyze, and share data on key trends to provide data-driven insights that support decision-making and action. 📊

Why are they important? Community indicator initiatives help advance collective action.

🔗To jump into our region’s data, visit www.understandinghouston.org.

Understanding Houston, an initiative led by Greater Houston Community Foundation, is a regional data indicators initiative launched in partnership with Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. 📊 The initiative provides hundreds of county-level data indicators for our region’s three most populous counties (Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery), allowing everyone in our community to track trends and progress on essential quality-of-life data indicators.

Dive into the rich data landscape of Houston's three counties and unlock insights into thriving opportunities and diverse communities.www.understandinghouston.org

⏰ Don’t forget! There’s still time to complete the Understanding Houston Impact Survey—and help your favorite nonprofit win $1,000.
Your insights take less than 10 minutes and make a real difference for our community.

🗓 Deadline: Friday, December 31, 2025
🎁 Bonus: 3 participants will each direct a $1,000 grant!

Take the survey 👉 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TCFR9GD

More than 900,000 children in Texas don’t have any form of health insurance — that’s about one in eight.

Even more concerning, nearly a quarter of those uninsured children live in the Houston area, where 13.5% of children are uninsured — more than double the national rate (5.4%).

These numbers highlight the urgent need to expand access to affordable healthcare and ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive.

📊 Explore more data and insights at https://www.understandinghouston.org

Complete the Understanding Houston Impact Survey and you could help your favorite nonprofit win $1,000!
It takes less than 10 minutes to make a difference — your insights help us understand what matters most to our community.
🗓 Deadline: Friday, December 12, 2025
🎁 Bonus: 3 participants will each direct a $1,000 grant!
Take the survey 👉 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TCFR9GD

🛍️ This Small Business Saturday, we’re shining a spotlight on the small business owners who are the heart of our community. From creative boutiques to family-run services, small businesses provide not just jobs, but opportunity and resilience — especially when founders face extra obstacles like credit access or lack of generational wealth. Understanding Houston highlights how locally-owned businesses support economic vitality and grow inclusive wealth.

We’re proud to stand alongside and support the many entrepreneurs making a difference locally. If you can, please shop small, share a business you love, or simply say thank you to a local owner today.

Read more about the role of small businesses right here: https://www.understandinghouston.org/topic/economic-opportunity/small-business

Happy Thanksgiving! We are grateful to all our fundholders and partners, past and present, who help us ignite meaningful change with and for our community.

In October, the Understanding Houston team was honored to share data insights with Charter 100 Houston—a network of women leaders across industries who come together to exchange ideas, uplift one another, and drive positive change in our region.

If your organization or group is interested in a customized data briefing to better understand the issues shaping Greater Houston, we’d love to connect!

📩 Reach out to the Understanding Houston team to learn more: https://www.understandinghouston.org/contact

Today, we honor the courage, selfless dedication, and enduring strength of the veterans who have served our country. These remarkable individuals exemplify leadership, resilience, and a deep commitment to a cause greater than themselves.

We’re especially grateful to Cody McGregor, Greater Houston Community Foundation Member and veteran, for sharing their reflections on service and community. Read their full piece on our blog:
👉 https://www.understandinghouston.org/blog/honoring-veterans

💡 Your voice = real impact!
Tell us how Understanding Houston has made a difference—and you could help your favorite local nonprofit win $1,000!

🕒 It only takes 7 minutes to share your thoughts in our Impact Survey.
✨ 3 participants will be randomly selected to direct a $1,000 grant to a nonprofit they love!
📅 Deadline: Friday, December 12, 2025

Take the survey 👉 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TCFR9GD

The ongoing federal shutdown is more than a pause in government operations — it’s a disruption with measurable consequences.

In Greater Houston alone, 770,000 residents—half of them children—rely on SNAP benefits that are now halted.

With food prices up 30% since 2020 and 39% of households already food insecure, the data underscores how deeply public benefits sustain economic stability for Houston families.

📊 Explore the full analysis on persistent poverty and the critical role of public benefits: 🔗 https://www.understandinghouston.org/blog/beyond-the-shutdown-persistent-poverty-and-the-role-of-pub...