Texas
Buying Land in Montgomery County, Texas
Montgomery County, seat Conroe, is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country -- The Woodlands alone covers roughly 27,000 acres of MUD-financed development. Groundwater here is regulated more aggressively than almost anywhere else in Texas, for a specific, checkable reason: land subsidence.
Growth, MUDs, and how land actually gets subdivided here
Montgomery County is not a typical rural Texas county, and its subdivision landscape reflects that: this is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, with population projected to climb roughly 108% by 2060 and pass a million residents within about 25 years of recent estimates. That growth has been built almost entirely through Municipal Utility Districts -- The Woodlands, the county's largest community, was developed across roughly 27,000 acres using MUDs to finance water, sewer, drainage, road, and park infrastructure through bonds, which are then repaid through a MUD tax layered on top of regular county, school, and (where applicable) city taxes. Texas Water Code requires the seller to give a buyer written notice of a MUD's current tax rate and bonded indebtedness before the buyer signs a purchase contract, and since June 2023 that notice must also be posted on the district's own website or filed with the county's property records -- read that notice closely and pull the district's own bond disclosure filings before assuming a quoted MUD tax rate will hold. Beyond MUD-served development, Montgomery County maintains its own general Subdivision Rules and Regulations (dating to 1984, revised as recently as 2021) governing plats, roads, and drainage for new subdivisions countywide, and land inside a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction -- extending a half-mile beyond city limits -- can also be subject to that city's own subdivision rules.
Septic, floodplain, and the county's public land
Montgomery County holds TCEQ OSSF authorized-agent status, meaning the county's own Environmental Health Services office in Conroe reviews site evaluations, issues septic permits, and inspects installations directly rather than referring applicants to a TCEQ regional office -- expect a county permit fee on top of a flat $10 state fee. On floodplain risk, Montgomery County updated its design rainfall standard after Hurricane Harvey: the 24-hour, 1%-annual-chance (100-year) storm figure used for Conroe rose from roughly 12 inches under the older standard to roughly 16.1 inches under the current one, a meaningful tightening of what 'the floodplain' actually requires new construction to plan for. The Texas General Land Office separately approved roughly $11.2 million in Harvey-recovery funds for Montgomery County to fund drainage improvements and a buyout program for repetitively flooded residential properties -- worth checking whether a specific parcel or its neighborhood was part of that program's footprint. On the amenity side, Sam Houston National Forest reaches into the county, and the 21,000-acre Lake Conroe reservoir -- completed in 1973 by the San Jacinto River Authority, with the City of Houston holding a two-thirds ownership interest and the SJRA one-third -- is real, jointly-owned local infrastructure whose shoreline and flood-pool management can affect land near the lake.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Montgomery County
Montgomery County has no general zoning ordinance for its unincorporated area, consistent with the statewide default -- for a parcel inside a MUD, get that district's own contact information and current bond disclosure directly, since each MUD is a separate governmental entity from the county. For a parcel inside Conroe, The Woodlands Township, or another city's limits or ETJ, contact that city or township directly instead.
Wells / Private Water
Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District
Well registration, permitting, and current groundwater pumping rules for a Montgomery County parcel.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Montgomery County Environmental Health Services
On-site sewage facility (septic) permit applications for unincorporated land.
Subdivision & Land Development
Montgomery County Permits Office
Subdivision plat approval, road standards, and development permitting for unincorporated land.
Floodplain / Stormwater
Montgomery County Environmental Health Services -- Floodplain Management
FEMA flood hazard maps, floodplain development permits, and current design rainfall standards.
Assessor / Property Tax
Montgomery Central Appraisal District
Assessed value, property tax, and agricultural valuation questions for a specific parcel.
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Get local guidanceTopics Specific to Montgomery County
Sources
- History — Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District (accessed 2026-09)
- New groundwater rules set to abolish previous pumping restrictions in areas including The Woodlands — Community Impact (accessed 2026-09)
- Septic Permits — Montgomery County, Texas (accessed 2026-09)
- Montgomery County Subdivision Rules and Regulations (1984, rev. 2021) — Montgomery County, Texas (accessed 2026-09)
- What Is a MUD in Real Estate? Texas MUD Tax Guide — Redfin (accessed 2026-09)
- Floodplain — Montgomery County, Texas (accessed 2026-09)
- History of Lake Conroe — San Jacinto River Authority (accessed 2026-09)
- San Jacinto River Authority: History, Operations, and Water Management — Texas State Historical Association (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09