Medicare in Harris County
Harris County includes Houston, the county seat, along with surrounding communities such as Pasadena, Katy and Spring. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 population estimates count about 586,125 residents age 65 and older in the county (source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 population estimates).
Harris County is home to several large health systems, including Harris Health System (the county’s public safety-net system, with Ben Taub Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital), Memorial Hermann (based in Houston, with a campus in the Texas Medical Center) and Houston Methodist Hospital (6565 Fannin St. in the Texas Medical Center).
Medicare Advantage and Part D plan availability and provider networks are set county by county, so the plans open to you in Harris County may differ from those in a neighboring county. We check the options for your ZIP code, your doctors and your prescriptions before you decide. We are not based in Harris County; we help Harris County residents by phone or video call.
Harris County Medicare at a glance
| Harris County | Texas | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents age 65 and older | 586,125 | 4,188,063 statewide |
| Share of residents age 65+ | 12.1% | 13.7% statewide |
| People with Medicare | 666,617 | 5,048,909 statewide |
| Enrolled in Medicare Advantage | 409,562 | 2,770,279 statewide |
| Medicare Advantage share | 61.4% | 54.9% statewide |
Data: U.S. Census Bureau (2023 population estimates); CMS, September 2026. Medicare Advantage share is enrollees divided by people with Medicare.
With roughly 586,125 residents age 65 and older, Harris County is 1st among 254 Texas counties for older residents. That group is 12.1% of its population, compared with 13.7% across Texas. The 247,037 residents now between 60 and 64 will become Medicare-eligible soon, and our turning 65 guide walks through it. By age, the 65-and-older group splits 63% ages 65 to 74, 29% ages 75 to 84 and 9% age 85 and up (Census 2023). Medicare Advantage enrollment in Harris County is 61.4% of people with Medicare, higher than the Texas average of 54.9%. Averages cannot choose a plan for you. Medicare Advantage and Original Medicare with a Medigap plan each suit different people, depending on doctors, medicines and how you prefer to handle costs, and we compare both at your ZIP code.
Who has Medicare in Harris County
Harris County is a metro county; the U.S. Department of Agriculture describes it as: counties in metro areas of 1 million population or more. Metro counties usually have more hospitals and more insurers competing for Medicare members, so there can be more plans to compare.
CMS counts 641,854 Medicare beneficiaries in Harris County (2023). Their average age is 73, about the same as the Texas average of 73. About 10% are “dual eligible,” meaning they have both Medicare and Medicaid, close to the state figure of 11%.
Among people in Original Medicare in Harris County, CMS reported about 553 emergency room visits and 233 inpatient hospital stays per 1,000 beneficiaries in 2023, which is close to the state average for emergency visits (580) and close to it for hospital stays (226). About 9% received home health care. These figures describe how people use care under Original Medicare; they do not show what any plan covers or costs.
Sources: CMS Medicare Geographic Variation, 2023; USDA Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023.
Communities and ZIP codes in Harris County
Census Bureau 2023 estimates put the biggest communities in Harris County at Houston (2,265,027), Pasadena (146,716), Baytown (79,140), La Porte (36,991), Deer Park (33,176), Bellaire (17,016), counting only the part of each community inside the county.
Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas mostly within Harris County number 132: 77002, 77003, 77004, 77005, 77006, 77007, 77008, 77009, 77010, 77011, 77012, 77013, 77014, 77015 and 118 more. Your exact ZIP code is what decides which plans you can join.
Questions about Medicare in Harris County?
Reach out to us: fill out our short form or call (571) 354-0146, and a licensed agent will compare the plans available to you, check your doctors and drugs, and stay with you each year at renewal. For general Medicare information, the federal helpline is 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
Medicare resources from official sources
- Medicare Plan Finder on Medicare.gov, searchable by ZIP code.
- Social Security: Medicare to enroll or check status.
- Medicare.gov: Medigap on how Medicare Supplement works.
- HealthCare.gov if you are not yet on Medicare.
- Texas Department of Insurance: Texas’s insurance regulator, including agent license lookup.
Coverage we offer Harris County residents
Here is what we can help Harris County residents with, drawing on plans from many insurers: life insurance, final expense insurance, annuities, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement (Medigap), Part D drug plans, ACA health insurance, ICHRA and group health insurance.
Let’s check your Harris County options together
We confirm your doctors and prescriptions before you enroll, at no cost to you.
Get my plan comparisonRead next
- What happens if you do nothing during open enrollment?
- Medicare 101 for families
- Why a Medicare Advantage plan drops a doctor or drug
- When can you switch Medicare plans? Every enrollment window
Harris County compared with similar Texas counties
| County | Residents 65+ | Medicare Advantage share | Dual eligible share | Area type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County | 317,636 | 55.0% | 11% | Metro |
| Tarrant County | 276,400 | 55.6% | 10% | Metro |
| Bexar County | 273,263 | 59.0% | 9% | Metro |
| Travis County | 152,219 | 46.9% | 10% | Metro |
| Collin County | 142,320 | 42.7% | 8% | Metro |
| Denton County | 120,688 | 45.0% | 7% | Metro |
See every Texas county in our Texas directory or go to our Texas Medicare hub.