Is NorthGrove in Magnolia, TX a Good Place to Live?

NorthGrove is a master-planned community built by Toll Brothers off FM 1488 in Magnolia, Texas, ZIP code 77354, between the town of Magnolia and The Woodlands, inside Magnolia ISD. HAR’s NorthGrove page puts the median market value near $474,000, with most values between about $345,000 and $649,000, and homes in the gated Reserve section listing above $1 million. It makes sense for a buyer who wants a newer home and a full amenity center a short drive from The Woodlands. The trade-off is a utility district tax on top of the base rate.

Buyers who start their search in The Woodlands and keep driving west down FM 1488 end up here a lot. It’s one of the first places where the price per square foot drops without the homes getting older.

What NorthGrove Is, by the Numbers

• Builder: Toll Brothers, with its sales center at 14350 FM 1488. Perry Homes has built here too.
• Size: about 600 acres when it was announced, per Community Impact’s 2015 report, with more than 900 homes today.
• Age of the homes: mostly built since the community opened in the mid-2010s.
• Price: a HAR median market value near $474,000 and about $174 a square foot. HAR’s numbers come from the appraisal district and usually run 5 to 15 percent below what homes actually sell for.
• The gated section: the Reserve, a smaller part of the community with larger homes. Listings there have run past $1 million in 2026.

One thing worth correcting up front: NorthGrove often gets described as a gated community. Most of it isn’t. If the gate is a must-have, ask which section the home is in before you fall for it.

The Clubhouse and the Rest

The amenity package is the main reason people tour here. Listings describe a large clubhouse with a resort-style pool and splash pad, a 24-hour fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts, dog parks, playgrounds and trails, with more than 200 acres set aside as green space. Some of those details come from listing descriptions rather than the HOA itself, so walk the clubhouse before you count on any one feature.

HOA dues in listings land somewhere around $1,450 to $1,490, but the listings don’t say whether that’s annual. Get the real number, plus any transfer or capital fees, from the HOA resale certificate for the address.

The Tax Line That Changes the Math

This is the part of NorthGrove that buyers coming from Harris County miss. NorthGrove is in Montgomery County MUD 137, a municipal utility district that pays off the bonds for the community’s water, sewer and drainage. A 2023 listing breakdown put Magnolia ISD at about 0.96 percent and MUD 137 at about 1.28 percent, for a total near 2.86 percent before exemptions.

Compare that with a no-MUD Magnolia community like Lake Windcrest, where the base stack runs closer to 1.6 percent. On a $475,000 home, that gap is roughly $6,000 a year. That doesn’t make NorthGrove a bad buy. It means the monthly payment, not the list price, is the number to compare. Our explainer on how MUD taxes work in Houston covers why the rate tends to fall as a community pays down its bonds.

Schools, in One Paragraph

NorthGrove is in Magnolia ISD. Recent listings show Cedric C. Smith Elementary, Bear Branch Junior High and Magnolia High School. Magnolia ISD has redrawn boundaries over the last few years and doesn’t publish a neighborhood-by-neighborhood map, so check the exact address with the district’s School Site Locator on the Magnolia ISD website before you count on a campus. We’ll go deeper on zoning later in this series.

When to Look Elsewhere

NorthGrove is worth a look if your budget runs from the high $300,000s into the $600,000s, you want a home built in the last decade, and a Woodlands-area commute matters. It’s also a natural comparison if you’ve been looking at the newer Woodlands-adjacent communities in Spring.

Look elsewhere if you want half an acre or more, no MUD on the bill, or an older home with mature trees. For those, Magnolia’s no-MUD acreage communities are the better comparison, and our The Woodlands vs. Conroe vs. Magnolia breakdown lays out how the three towns differ.

Flood risk is an address question in this part of Montgomery County. Look up the specific lot on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center and read the seller’s disclosure before you make an offer.

The Move Live Love TX Team™ is a husband-and-wife real estate team with CB&A, Realtors, based in The Woodlands and serving Houston and the surrounding areas. For more on the communities around it, browse our neighborhood articles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is NorthGrove in Magnolia, Texas?

NorthGrove sits off FM 1488 in Magnolia, ZIP code 77354, in Montgomery County, between the town of Magnolia and The Woodlands. Toll Brothers runs its sales center on FM 1488, and shopping and dining line that road nearby.

How much do homes cost in NorthGrove?

HAR's NorthGrove page shows a median market value of about $474,000, with most values between roughly $345,000 and $649,000. Those are appraisal-district values, which usually run below sale prices, and homes in the gated Reserve section list well above that range.

Does NorthGrove have a MUD tax?

Yes. NorthGrove is in Montgomery County MUD 137, which listing data put at about 1.28 percent in 2023, on top of Magnolia ISD and county rates. Rates change every year, so pull the tax certificate for the exact address before you write an offer.

What school district is NorthGrove in?

NorthGrove is in Magnolia ISD. Recent listings show Cedric C. Smith Elementary, Bear Branch Junior High and Magnolia High School, but Magnolia ISD has rezoned in recent years, so check the specific address with the district's School Site Locator.

Is all of NorthGrove gated?

No. Most of NorthGrove is open, and the gated part is the Reserve section, where homes sit at a much higher price point. If a gate matters to you, confirm which section a home is in before you tour it.