Greater Katy is one of the fastest-growing portions of the Houston metropolitan area and the state of Texas as a whole.
[6] Academy Sports and Outdoors has its corporate offices and product distribution center in unincorporated western Harris County.
[7] In 2008 KBR announced that a new office facility would appear at the intersection of the Grand Parkway and Interstate 10 in unincorporated western Harris County, Texas, between Houston and Katy.
Since its inception, the Katy Area EDC has grown to over 210 members, has a budget of $900,000 and has assisted in the creation of over 16,200 jobs and more than $2.5 billion in capital investment.
Katy Area EDC is a full-service private, non-profit, 501 (c) 6 economic development corporation.
It had survived a lawsuit filed by residents of the area surrounding its current northwest Harris location.
[17] By 2004 many Venezuelans fleeing the economic changes by the Hugo Chávez government settled in the Houston area due to the oil industry, and they specifically chose to move to the Katy area due to the Katy Independent School District's reputation and the proximity to their workplaces in west Houston.
As of 2015 two restaurants, Budare Arepa Express and Delis Café, according to Florian Martin of Houston Public Media, "could be considered the social centers of the Venezuelan community in Katy.
[23] St. Faustina Catholic Church has a Spanish worship service that attracts Venezuelan people.
Naida Givvon established a Venezuelan cultural festival in 2011; it is held every year at the Southwest Equestrian Center.
[21] Prior to the growth of the Venezuelan community, circa the 1990s, the main Hispanic and Latino population in Greater Katy was Mexican American.
[32] As of 2019[update] The Village School in the Energy Corridor area has two bus services to Greater Katy, with one to Cinco Ranch.
[39] The HCPL Maud Smith Marks Branch Library is in unincorporated Harris County, east of Katy.
[24] Beginning in 2011, the Katy Equestrian Center began having the "Viva Venezuela" festival, with 12,000 to 15,000 people going each year.
[19] As of 2016[update] there are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu institutions in Greater Katy and nearby; there are Christian churches in the original City of Katy and in unincorporated areas, while religious buildings of other faiths are located in unincorporated areas but not in the original city.
[45] St. Edith Stein Catholic Church, in unincorporated Harris County,[46] on 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land adjacent to the Westfield subdivision, opened in September 1999.
The church's 100-seat 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) sanctuary and 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) Formation Center were scheduled to be completed in early March 2004 for a total of $5.8 million.
[49] St. Faustina Catholic Church, in nearby Fulshear in Fort Bend County,[50] is in proximity to Cinco Ranch and is popular with Greater Katy's Venezuelan population.
The church has Spanish worship services,[21] and occupies a 1,600-seat building on 24 acres (9.7 ha) of land in Cross Creek Ranch.
St. Faustina was established in 2014 to relieve Epiphany of the Lord and St. Bartholomew as suburban growth had increased the number of area residents.
[52] Operated by the Muslim American Society (MAS), it occupies an 11-acre (4.5 ha) tract with a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) mosque building that is two stories tall.
[55] Sai Durga Shiva Vishnu Temple is located in unincorporated Fort Bend County.
Amaranth Venkateswarlu, an engineer who is one of the organizers, stated that there are about 500 Indian families who live in Greater Katy and that they went to Hindu temples in Pearland and Sugar Land.