# Cinco Ranch, Texas

Cinco Ranch is a census-designated place and master-planned community located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city of Houston within Fort Bend and Harris counties in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.9 square miles (12.8 km$^2$).The population was 16,899 at the 2020 census. It lies approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of the Harris County seat of Houston and 10 miles (16 km) north of the Fort Bend County seat of Richmond. Cinco Ranch is considered to be part of the Greater Katy area and is roughly 10 miles southeast of the city of Katy.

## History

The Cinco Ranch community goes back to before Texas became a republic. In the 1820s, pioneer Moses Austin was granted by the Spanish government the authority to settle 300 families in the valleys of the Brazos and Colorado rivers. He died before he was able to accomplish this, but his son Stephen F. Austin was able to complete his father's wishes, even under the newly established Mexican government. One of the men who moved into these 300 slots of land (each one over 4,000 acres/16 km$^2$) was Randolph Foster, whose land spread across Fort Bend and Waller counties and upon which Native Americans lived along with wild horses, deer, and buffalo.
Foster's daughter married Thomas Blakeley, cattleman and future sheriff of Fort Bend County. Their son, Bassett Blakeley, took after his father and grandfather and soon grew into a cowboy and cattleman. Bassett Blakeley owned 15,000 acres (61 km$^2$) of land and 14,000 head of Brahman cattle, along with his grandfather's land. The cowhands of his Blakeley Ranch annually drove 10,000 head of cattle to the railheads in Kansas.
In 1937, Blakeley sold the working ranch to William Wheless, who convinced four of his friends, J.S. Abercrombie, W.B. Pryon, H.G. Nelms, and R.A Ramos to become partners at the ranch. In a nod to its Spanish roots, they called it Cinco Ranch (cinco means "five" in Spanish). Only the Wheless family lived on the ranch, but all of the families visited on many holidays and weekends, making use of a huge clubhouse complete with two-bedroom wings. The ranch was not merely involved in cattle—it also had several acres of rice—for years, the main output of Katy, Texas—and peanut production.
In February 1984, the largest raw land transaction in the history of Houston took place when Cinco Ranch Venture, consisting of U. S. Home, the Mischer Corporation, and American General Corporation, purchased Cinco Ranch for a 5,000-acre (20 km$^2$) master-planned development. American General eventually bought out the other partners. In 1997, Cinco Ranch and other American General land development assets were purchased by Terrabrook, a wholly owned subsidiary of real estate investor Westbrook Partners. In 2003, Cinco Ranch and other Terrabrook developments were purchased by San Diego–based Newland Real Estate, LLC (Newland). Also in 2003, Newland purchased 1,828 acres (7.40 km$^2$) west of the Grand Parkway (SH-99) and contiguous to Cinco Ranch. This acquisition along with several smaller parcels that were subsequently purchased by Newland ultimately increased the size of Cinco Ranch to approximately 7,600 acres (31 km$^2$). In 2010, Newland purchased an additional 492 acres (1.99 km$^2$) for future Cinco Ranch expansion. This land is located at the intersection of FM 1463 and Corbitt Road, and is not contiguous with the rest of Cinco Ranch. Cinco Ranch now totals 8,092 acres (32.75 km$^2$) and is expected to have over 14,000 homes at build-out, which is currently projected to be around 2016.

## Amenities
### Cinco Ranch Pools

Cinco Ranch has 12 community pools:
* Water Park
* Beach Club
* Equestrian Village
* North Lake Village
* Greenway Village
* South Ranch
* Highland Park
* Ridgewood
* Springwood Lake House
* Rosewood
* Westridge Creek
* Del Rio Lake

### Golf

The Golf Club at Cinco Ranch, owned by ARCIS Golf, is an 167-acre (0.7 km$^2$) 18-hole, par-71 daily fee course, with numerous bunkers and water hazards. The Golf Academy at Cinco Ranch hosts junior golf instructional clinics throughout the year and in the summer.

### Parks and greenbelts

The parks of Cinco Ranch range from neighborhood pocket parks to major neighborhood recreation centers containing things like swimming pools and tennis courts. Lakefront parks are located along 14-acre (57,000 m$^2$) South Lake, which offers fishing, sailing and paddle boating for residents. A 3-acre (12,000 m$^2$) recreation area is nestled along the shore of Park Lake, the second-largest lake.
Cinco Ranch has a growing network of greenbelt trails, making it possible to jog, bike or rollerblade between almost anywhere in Cinco Ranch, including recreational facilities and schools in the community. The multi-station Exer-Trail is for workouts. There is also the Bayou Nature Trail, extending nearly four miles and preserving almost 70 acres (280,000 m$^2$) of woodland and wetland habitat. Plans are currently underway to connect the Bayou Nature Trail to the Buffalo Bayou Hike And Bike Trail. This will allow residents of Cinco Ranch to ride their bikes from the Grand Parkway to Beltway 8 - a 26-mile (42 km) bike trail.

### YMCA

The Katy Family YMCA's 40,000-square-foot (4,000 m$^2$) building has 5,000 square feet (500 m$^2$) of cardio and free weight equipment, including treadmills, bikes, stairclimbers, EFX Cross Trainers and a Cybex strength training circuit. The group exercise program offers more than 75 classes in aerobics, kickboxing, pilates, yoga among others.
The YMCA offers free Child Watch and Kid Watch services for members. The YMCA also offers Before and After School programs for children ages 5–12 in most KISD elementary schools. Other activities include Spring Break and Winter Break camps.
The YMCA's youth sports programs include soccer, flag football, volleyball, basketball and baseball. Other youth activities include Taekwondo, Dance, Teen Fitness and Babysitting Certification.
The YMCA was originally named after Ken Lay; in the wake of the corruption scandal that led to the downfall of Enron Corporation, a major Houston-based energy company which Lay headed, he asked for his name to be removed from the YMCA in June 2006, shortly before his death.

### Katy Amateur Radio Society

The Katy Amateur Radio Society (KARS) has about 45 amateur radio operators. The KARS net operates every Tuesday at 8:00 PM on the KT5TX 147.20 MHz repeater. KARS monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of every month at the West I-10 Fire Station #4 on Franz, just east of Grand Parkway.

## Geography

Cinco Ranch is located at 29°44′29″N 95°45′30″W﻿ / ﻿29.74139°N 95.75833°W﻿ / 29.74139; -95.75833 (29.741522, -95.758343).

## Government and infrastructure

Fort Bend County does not have a hospital district. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital which the county contracts with. The hospital district for Harris County is Harris Health.

## Demographics

Cinco Ranch first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. Census.

### 2020 census

Cinco Ranch CDP, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. :
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 9,325 | 12,537 | 10,054 | 83.29% | 68.61% | 59.49% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 315 | 634 | 556 | 2.81% | 3.47% | 3.29% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 23 | 38 | 22 | 0.21% | 0.21% | 0.13% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 739 | 2,343 | 2,470 | 6.60% | 12.82% | 14.62% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 2 | 6 | 9 | 0.02% | 0.03% | 0.05% |
| Other Race alone (NH) | 35 | 52 | 111 | 0.31% | 0.28% | 0.66% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 103 | 315 | 787 | 0.92% | 1.72% | 4.66% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 654 | 2,349 | 2,890 | 5.84% | 12.85% | 17.10% |
| Total | 11,196 | 18,274 | 16,899 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 16,899 people, 5,882 households, and 5,037 families residing in the CDP.
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,196 people, 3,375 households, and 3,064 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,270.0 inhabitants per square mile (876.5/km$^2$). There were 3,594 housing units at an average density of 728.7 per square mile (281.4/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the CDP was 87.92% White, 2.85% African American, 0.23% Native American, 6.63% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.06% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.84% of the population.
14% of Cinco Ranch residents report German ancestry, another 14% report English ancestry, and 10% report Irish. These are the three most common reported ancestries.
There were 3,375 households, out of which 63.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.9% were married couples living together, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 9.2% were non-families. 7.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.32 and the average family size was 3.52.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 38.3% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 3.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.9 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $111,517, and the median income for a family was $114,550. Males had a median income of $90,117 versus $42,304 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $37,747. About 1.5% of families and 1.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

### Ethnic groups

By 2017 the Cinco Ranch area and the vicinity was known as "Katyzuela" as there were about 5,000 ethnic Venezuelans living in the area.

## Education
### Primary and secondary schools
#### Public schools

Pupils in Cinco Ranch are zoned to schools of the Katy Independent School District in and around Cinco Ranch.
Elementary schools in Cinco Ranch:
* Betty Sue Creech Elementary School
* Bonnie Holland Elementary School
* Edna Mae Fielder Elementary School
* Odessa Kilpatrick Elementary School
* James E. Williams Elementary School
* Jo Ella Exley Elementary School
* Stan Stanley Elementary School
* Tom Wilson Elementary School
* Fred & Patti Shafer Elementary School
* MayDell Jenks Elementary School
Other elementary schools serving Cinco Ranch:
* Michael L. Griffin Elementary School
Junior high schools in Cinco Ranch:
* Rodger & Ellen Beck Junior High School
* Beckendorff Junior High School
* Cinco Ranch Junior High School
* Seven Lakes Junior High School
Other junior high schools serving Cinco Ranch:
* Joe Adams Junior High School (opening Fall 2019)
* James & Sharon Tays Junior High School
* Garland McMeans Junior High School (Meadow Ridge, Park View, & Park Hollow neighborhoods)
High schools in Cinco Ranch
* Cinco Ranch High School (uninc. Fort Bend County)
* Seven Lakes High School (uninc. Fort Bend County)
* Obra D. Tompkins High School (uninc. Fort Bend County)
Other high schools serving Cinco Ranch
* James E. Taylor High School (Meadow Ridge, Park View, & Park Hollow neighborhoods)
* Jordan High School (Cinco Ranch II)
Schools within the CDP boundaries are Fielder Elementary, Williams Elementary, McMeans Junior High (partial), and Cinco Ranch High.

#### Private schools

As of 2019 The Village School in the Energy Corridor area has a bus service to Cinco Ranch.

### Higher education

The Houston Community College System serves areas in Katy ISD, and therefore Cinco Ranch. The Northwest College's Katy Campus is in an unincorporated section of Harris County.

### Public libraries

Cinco Ranch is served by the Cinco Ranch Branch Library of the Fort Bend County Libraries system, located across from Cinco Ranch High School and one block from Texas State Highway 99 (Grand Parkway). The library first opened as the Katy/Fort Bend Branch Library in a room on the campus of the University of Houston System at Cinco Ranch in June 1998. In 1999 the branch, which outgrew its first location, moved to the former Cinco Ranch development company sales office as a result of the efforts of the Katy/Fort Bend Friends. The community asked for a larger library, and Fort Bend County judge Jim Adolphus organized efforts to have a library established. Adolphus negotiated the donation of a library site from Terrabrook, a developer in Cinco Ranch, and secured a challenge grant. In addition, Adolphus and Fort Bend County judge candidate Bob Hebert co-hosted a fundraising gala for the challenge grant. The Cinco Ranch community, led by the Katy/Fort Bend Friends association, worked with Fort Bend County officials to find funds for the construction of a new library. The current 33,500 square feet (3,110 m$^2$) library opened on April 3, 2004.

## Shopping

* LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch
* Katy Mills