Communities
West University Place vs. Bellaire: what Houston buyers should know before choosing
Quick answer. West University Place and Bellaire are each their own city in Harris County, with a city hall, a tax rate, and a zoning ordinance. The Harris County Tax Office lists West University Place’s adopted 2026 city rate at $0.222219 per $100 and Bellaire’s at $0.4174 per $100. Houston ISD’s adopted 2026 rate is $0.8421 per $100. The tax units, the flood zone, and the zoned schools still have to be read for the exact address.
By Michael O'Neal, Broker and REALTOR®, Keller Williams Realty Northeast
Published November 9, 2026
I read the city, county, Census, and school-district pages on November 9, 2026. Every figure below links to the page it came from. I am a broker. I am not a tax adviser, surveyor, or flood engineer. Confirm anything that changes your offer with the office that published it.
What kind of place is each city?
The Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimate puts West University Place at 15,158 people as of July 1, 2025. The April 1, 2020 Census counted 14,955. The same QuickFacts table lists a 2020 land area of 2.00 square miles. City Hall is at 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, TX 77005. Source Source
Bellaire’s Vintage 2025 estimate is 17,434 as of July 1, 2025. The April 1, 2020 Census counted 17,202. QuickFacts lists a 2020 land area of 3.60 square miles. City Hall is at 7008 S. Rice Avenue, Bellaire, TX 77401. Source Source
Each one shows up on the Harris County tax roll as its own city. Start with the West University Place guide and the Bellaire guide, then the side-by-side worksheet if you want the longer checklist. Buyers who are also looking at Houston neighborhoods can use the Inner Loop Houston page and the buyer guide.
What do the 2026 tax rates say?
The Harris County Tax Office publishes adopted rates under Tax Code section 26.16. These are rates per $100 of taxable value for tax year 2026, as that table showed them on November 9, 2026. A rate is not a tax bill. Exemptions, taxable value, and which units are on that account change the amount. West University Place’s tax page lists the county units below for its residents. On a Bellaire house, read the units on the account before you treat a countywide rate as part of that bill.
- City of West University Place: $0.222219 (maintenance and operations $0.175432, debt $0.046787). The 2025 adopted city rate on the same table is $0.229441.
- City of Bellaire: $0.4174 (maintenance and operations $0.3089, debt $0.1085). The 2025 adopted total is also $0.4174, with a different split: maintenance and operations $0.3036 and debt $0.1138.
- Houston ISD: $0.8421 (maintenance and operations $0.6754, debt $0.1667).
- Harris County: $0.4175.
- Harris County Flood Control District: $0.05266.
- Harris County Hospital District: $0.19528.
- Port of Houston Authority: $0.00603.
- Harris County Department of Education: $0.004797.
- Houston City College: $0.098802.
West University Place’s own Taxes page still needs a careful read. Its comparison table labels tax year 2025–2026 at $0.229441 per $100, which matches the county table’s 2025 adopted rate, and it still prints a “current tax rate” of $0.24193 per $100, which matches that page’s 2024–2025 column. The county table is the one that lists a 2026 adopted rate of $0.222219. The city says the Harris County Tax Office bills and collects the city tax. Read the rate on the statement for that account. Source
West University Place offers no general homestead exemption. It offers a $185,000 exemption for owners who are over 65 or disabled. Houston ISD lists a homestead exemption of $140,000 plus 20 percent of appraised value, and an additional $60,000 plus a $5,000 local option for homeowners who are 65 or older or disabled. West University Place’s tax page also lists Houston ISD, Harris County, the Flood Control District, the Port of Houston Authority, the Hospital District, the Department of Education, and Houston Community College District as jurisdictions its residents pay. Whether Houston City College is on a Bellaire account is a line on that account, not a guess from the citywide rate. Look the account up at the Harris Central Appraisal District. Source Source Source
If you want to add a mortgage, insurance, and the exemptions that apply to you, use the true cost of ownership calculator and type the rates in yourself. I do not pre-fill a house payment here.
What can you change on the lot?
West University Place publishes a zoning ordinance as Appendix A of its code, and it publishes a GIS zoning map. I am not quoting setback or height numbers in this post. Confirm the current code section for the lot before you plan a new house. Source
Bellaire’s Development Services FAQ says Bellaire is a zoned community. It gives R-1 as a district for single-family detached homes and UV-D as a district for a mix of commercial, office, civic, and entertainment uses. Setbacks come from the zoning map, then the city’s setback sheet or Chapter 24. The city does not enforce deed restrictions. Copies come from the Harris County Clerk, and the legal description is on the appraisal-district account. Source
In Bellaire, a permit is required before work begins. The same FAQ says even painting generally requires a floodplain development permit, and replacing windows or window frames requires a permit. Fill brought onto a lot is limited to no more than a 1 percent slope from the back of the curb, or 8 inches of dirt. A new residence with living space above the second story needs an automatic fire sprinkler system. Some homes also need sprinklers when the driveway-to-rear distance exceeds 150 feet, as decided by the Fire Marshal. Source
Bellaire’s tree permit covers a protected tree. The FAQ defines a significant tree as a large tree 12 inches or more in diameter, anywhere in the city. A large tree is 6 inches or more. Large trees in a front yard, a corner street-side yard, a right-of-way, or anywhere on a site with a development or pre-development permit are protected. The tree ordinance was adopted May 6, 2024. The text is Chapter 9, Article XI. Source Source
West University Place requires a tree-removal application for a tree of at least 10 inches on a site tied to pre-development or construction. Outside that, a permit is required for any tree of 12 inches or more anywhere in the city, and for a tree of 10 inches or more in a front-yard setback, a corner side-street setback, or the right-of-way. Removed trees are evaluated for replacement inches. For every 10 replacement inches, at least one 4-inch tree, or a 100-gallon class 1 or 2 tree, has to be planted. The city also offers a donation to the West University Tree Trust when the inches will not fit on the site. A dead, diseased, dying, or hazardous tree does not require replacement. Source
Bellaire Ordinance No. 25-108, adopted November 17, 2025, prohibits a short-term rental of 30 days or less in a residential district. It took effect March 17, 2026. A leaseback to a prior owner as part of a sale is excluded from that definition. Permitted short-term rentals are allowed in nonresidential districts. Source
How do you research flood risk for one house?
West University Place says its current effective flood maps are dated June 18, 2007, and that they can be viewed at the Building Department, 3826 Amherst Street. The city says most of its floodplain is adjacent to the City of Southside, near Poor Farm Ditch, in the Buffalo Bayou and Brays Bayou watersheds. All development in the floodplain, including new construction, filling, grading, and paving, needs a permit. A repair or improvement that reaches 50 percent of the building’s market value is held to the same standard as new construction. That standard includes building at least two feet above the base flood elevation, and the equipment that serves the building, such as an air conditioner, is included. The city says the higher standard does not eliminate the flooding threat. Source Source
Bellaire requires a permit for development, and it says development in the floodplain without a permit is illegal. A substantial improvement is work over 365 days that equals or exceeds 50 percent of the structure’s market value before the work. That work has to meet the same construction requirements as a new building. Bellaire’s higher standard requires construction at or above the Design Flood Elevation. The city points owners to an elevation certificate or FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer viewer, and its FAQ describes blue on that viewer as Zone AE and orange as Zone X. Development Services can be reached at 713-662-8230, and Harris County Flood Control at 713-684-4000. Source Source
Use the address, not the city name. West University Place points residents to FEMA’s Map Service Center for current and historical maps, and to the Harris County Flood Education Mapping Tool for a county view. The city says those county maps do not replace FEMA’s maps. Our Houston flood maps page collects the same official tools. Source Source
How do schools and the final choice work?
West University Place’s tax page lists Houston ISD as a taxing jurisdiction its residents pay. That line does not name the elementary, middle, or high school for a given house. HISD publishes 2026–2027 elementary, middle, and high school attendance boundary maps and says its demographics office handles address questions. School assignments can change. Confirm the assigned schools with Houston ISD before you rely on them. For a Bellaire house, read the school district on the appraisal-district account, then confirm the campus the same way. Source Source Source
Here is the order I use with a buyer. Pull the appraisal-district account and the county tax units. Ask each city’s permit desk about the tree and the floodplain before you price a rebuild. Confirm the schools with the district. Then walk the two streets at the time of day you would actually live there. I previously lived in this part of Houston, and Bellaire is a city I specialize in. I can set the showings up.
This article does not include a median sale price. A neighborhood figure is not the price of the house you are writing on. Ask me for a pricing review on that address. HAR neighborhood figures we have already checked sit in the comparison guide.
Want to see West University Place and Bellaire in person? Call me and I will show you around.
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