Cypress, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cypress, Texas
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 Cypress, Texas
Location in Texas
Cypress, Texas
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Harris |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 200,839 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes |
77429, 77433
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| Area code(s) | 281/346/713/832 |
Cypress is a large area in Harris County, Texas, United States. It's not an official city, but it's a big community located just outside of Houston. You can find Cypress about 24 miles (35 km) northwest of Downtown Houston, right along U.S. Route 290. It's known for being one of the top 100 urban areas in the U.S. with high incomes.
Starting in the 1980s, many homes and businesses were built here. This changed Cypress from a quiet countryside into one of the biggest suburbs around Houston. If Cypress were to become its own city, it would be the second largest in the Greater Houston area.
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History of Cypress, Texas
People have lived in the Cypress area for a very long time! Scientists found an old tool called a San Patrice projectile point near Cypress Creek. This shows that people were here as far back as 7500 BC. Later, Native American tribes like the Atakapa and Akokisa lived in this area. However, they soon moved away after German settlers arrived in the 1840s.
You can still see the German influence in some of the road names, like Huffmeister and Telge Roads. A famous Texas leader, General Sam Houston, and his army even camped here on March 22, 1836. They were on their way to a big battle called the Battle of San Jacinto.
Cypress stayed mostly rural until the early 1990s. That's when builders started creating large, planned communities with lots of homes. The area is often called Cy-Fair or Cypress-Fairbanks. This name comes from when two schools, Big Cypress School and Fairbanks High School, joined together in the 1930s. They formed Cy-Fair Senior High School and the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.
In 2008, the Cypress Historical Society (CHS) was created. This group works to find, teach about, collect, and save historical items and papers from the Cypress area. They hold events to help people learn about the history and culture of Cypress.
Geography of Cypress
Cypress is located near where US Highway 290 and Spring-Cypress Road meet. The area is part of the Cypress Creek and Little Cypress Creek watersheds, which means water from these areas flows into those creeks. There aren't exact official borders for Cypress. However, people generally consider FM 529 road as the southern edge, HWY 6 and FM 1960 as the eastern edge, and HWY 249 as the northern edge.
Cypress has two different types of landscapes, separated by Highway 290. The area northeast of US 290 is covered in thick forests. But the area southwest of 290 is mostly open ranch land and grassy fields. You'll see scattered small trees like Live oaks and Post oaks there.
Many neighborhoods in Cypress are built around man-made lakes, which adds to the beauty of the area. The main roads that help people get around are Highway 290 to the south and State Highway 249 to the east.
Climate in Cypress
The weather in Cypress has hot, humid summers and winters that are usually mild to cool. This type of weather is called a humid subtropical climate.
Because Cypress is close to the gulf coast, it sometimes gets hit by tropical storms and hurricanes. Some of the biggest storms that have affected the area recently include Hurricane Alicia in 1983, Hurricane Ike in 2008, and Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Experts say that Cypress has a small risk of flooding in the next 30 years. This means that flooding could possibly affect daily life there. About 20% of all properties in Cypress have a greater than 26% chance of serious flooding in the next three decades.
People of Cypress
In 2020, about 200,839 people lived in the two main zip codes that make up Cypress. There were also 66,150 homes in the area.
The average yearly income for households in Cypress, Texas, was about $138,261. The middle income (median) for households was $116,054.
Healthcare in Cypress
Cypress has two main hospitals. They are HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress and Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital.
A new hospital, Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital, is being built. It is expected to open in early 2025.
Economy of Cypress
Cypress is a popular place for people to buy homes. In 2023, a company called OpenDoor.com named Cypress (specifically the 77433 zip code) as the number one "hottest" zip code for home buyers in the United States.
In 2010, a large food service company called Sysco bought a building in Cypress. They turned it into a shared services center for their distribution centers across North America.
Education in Cypress
Public Schools
Most of Cypress is served by the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD). A smaller part is served by Tomball ISD. CFISD is the third largest school district in Texas. It is also one of the fastest growing school districts in the United States. As of 2010, CFISD served almost 107,000 students.
High school students in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD attend many different high schools. These include Cy-Fair Senior High School, Cypress Lakes High School, Jersey Village High School, Cypress Creek High School, Cypress Falls High School, Cypress Woods High School, Cypress Springs High School, Langham Creek High School, Cypress Ridge High School, Cypress Ranch High School, Cypress Park High School, and Bridgeland High School.
There is also Windfern High School. This school offers a different way to earn a diploma for students who are accepted from the other high school areas.
Private Schools
Cypress has several private schools. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School is a Roman Catholic school for students from kindergarten to 8th grade. Cypress Christian School is a private school for students from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade.
Covenant Academy is another private school that teaches students from kindergarten to 12th grade using a Classical Christian approach. The Oaks Adventist Christian School is also located in Cypress.
For Catholic high school students, nearby options include Frassati Catholic High School and Saint John XXIII High School. St. Thomas High School, an all-boys high school in central Houston, also offers a bus service for students from the Cypress area. Silverline Montessori School is a private Montessori school in Cypress.
Colleges and Universities
Lone Star College serves the Cypress community. The Cypress-Fairbanks ISD area joined this college district in 2000. Cypress is home to the Lone Star College–CyFair campus, which offers many different courses and programs.
Public Libraries
The Harris County Public Library (HCPL) operates public libraries in the Cypress area.
The LSC-Cyfair Library is a special library that works with both HCPL and Lone Star College System. It is located on the Lone Star College–CyFair campus at 9191 Barker-Cypress Road. Another library, the Northwest Branch Library, is located at 11355 Regency Green Drive.
Notable People from Cypress
Many talented people have come from Cypress! Here are a few:
- Chiney Ogwumike – An American basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks. She went to Cy-Fair Senior High School.
- Cat Osterman – An American softball player who won two Olympic medals. She attended Cypress Springs High School.
- Cammile Adams – An Olympic swimmer who grew up in Cypress.
- Mary Kay Ash – The founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. She was born in Hot Wells, which is now part of Cypress.
- James Bonamy – A singer.
- Bryce Callahan – A professional football player for the Denver Broncos.
- Danielle Bradbery – The winner of NBC's The Voice. She attended Cypress Ranch High School.
- De'Aaron Fox – A professional basketball player. He attended Cypress Lakes High School.
- Nneka Ogwumike – A professional basketball player. She attended Cy-Fair Senior High School.
- Robbie Grossman – A professional baseball player.
- Jonathan Horton – An Olympic gymnast who grew up and lives in Cypress.
- Iris Kyle – A ten-time Ms. Olympia professional bodybuilder.
- Jared Lakind – An American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher.
- Tony Oller – An actor and singer-songwriter, known as a former Disney Channel star. He grew up in Cypress.
- Shane Baz – An American baseball player for the Tampa Bay Rays, born in Cypress.
- Bradley Bourgeois – An American soccer player for the FC Tulsa, born in Cypress.
- Didi Richards – A basketball player for the New York Liberty. She attended Cypress Ranch High School.
- Fred Whitfield – A famous rodeo cowboy.
- Ryan Kaji – A child YouTube star, born in Cypress.
