Katy was historically a railroad town along the MKT (Missouri–Kansas–Texas) railroad. Its fertile soil made it an appealing location to grow different crops, but rice became the main cash crop. The city is named after the MKT Railroad Company, also called "the K-T" , which soon became "the Katy". The company had an important depot station in the town, which made people call the area Katy, and creating the city name people know today.

In 2023 the population of Katy was estimated at 26,000. According the US Census Bureau's population estimates, the city is 52.3% White, 28.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% two or more races, 9.3% Black, 9.1% Asian, and 1.8% American Indian. This makes Katy a very diverse city, with lots of different cultural heritages and places, so, just like Houston, it has a very "Texan" feel, but has many different cultural communities within. Because it's quite suburban, most neighborhoods will not be comprised mainly or wholly of a single demographic, like most bigger cities have naturally become, but rather will have people of many different origins together.

Katy is just like its bigger sister Houston in terms of climate: hot, humid, and subtropical, but very tropical compared to the rest of Texas. In Houston (which also means in Katy, since the two are close together), temperatures soar as high as 109°F (43°C) and only get as low as 9°F (-13°C), but weather often will not go below freezing often, and when it does, large amounts of snow are a rare sight. It rains a fair amount for America, averaging about 4.6 in. (117 mm) per month.

• Travel Katy
• City of Katy

While the closest commercial airports are in Houston, there are two airports closer to Katy, and sometimes considered in the area that you can book private flights to.

• 29.793261-95.906411 Houston Executive Airport, (FAA LID: TME) This is an airport that some maps will say is in Brookshire. It is the closest one to the center of Katy. It is only 4.85 mi (7.80 km) from the center of Katy on maps.

• 29.803134-95.6930042 West Houston Airport, (IWS  ^IATA) West Houston Airport is often labeled as being in western Houston, but Wikipedia, just like with Houston Executive Airport, labels it as being in Katy.

There are bus services to Katy from Houston via Metro bus services.

• 39 Katy Freeway is a local bus route serving the Katy Freeway. It goes from Memorial City to Spring Branch Central, right in the middle of Katy. Buses run every 40 minutes.

• 221 Kingsland P&R is a park and ride going from Downtown Houston to Kingsland Park and Ride, which is in the Katy area but closer to Houston. This is close to a few stores and venues. Buses run every 15 minutes on weekdays, with no service on weekends.

• 222 Grand Parkway P&R is a park and ride that also comes from Downtown Houston, but has a terminus at Grand Parkway Park and Ride instead. This is close to Katy Asian Town and University of Houston-Victoria at Katy. Buses run every 4 minutes on weekdays, with no service on weekends.

• 228 Addicks P&R is a park and ride coming from Downtown Houston just like the previous 2 listed, but ends at Addicks Park and Ride. Buses run every 15 minutes on weekdays, with no service on weekends.

• 229 Grand Parkway / Kingsland / Addicks is a park and ride that comes from downtown Houston, but stops at all 3 Park and Rides, ending at Grand Parkway Park and Ride. Buses run every hour on weekdays, with no service on weekends.

Other companies do serve Katy, too.

• Flixbus is a bus company serving Katy, but with only one stop in Katy available, although there is a second listed on their website.

• Greyhound is in the same situation, listing the Food Mart and I-10 Frontage Road stations like Flixbus, but only serving the Food Mart stop.

• Trailways is a website where you can book with other companies through the website, and it lists three stops in Katy: Katy (Food Mart), Houston (Katy Mills Mall), and Katy (Shell Gas Station). You can only book trips to the Food Mart and Shell Gas Station.

There are likely other bus companies not listed here.

Katy is quite a well connected town by road, being right next to Houston and having a fairly big size. You can get there via many roads, but to get there through Houston, take the Katy Freeway, part of I-10 as it is the most direct route, but if needed for some reason, you can get there by going on I-69 and then north, or Route 290, then south.

Katy has a few major highways, making it easy to get to places quickly. The city has a well-developed road system, so it is very easy to get around by car. Navigating the city is easy enough if you have a map, but may be quite hard if you have nothing to navigate with, just like other towns. The roads are average, and roads may be blocked due to typical construction and other hazards.

Cars are the main way to get around Katy, with public transportation being a lackluster alternative only usable in some locations. However, as previously stated, Metro does routine bus routes through Katy, which you can use to get around certain locations. Fort Bend County, one of the three counties, has its own bus service, which will open a park and ride. It was scheduled to open on April 28, 2025, but has not yet. However, Fort Bend County does provide Demand Response Service, which is "shared-ride bus services to the citizens of Fort Bend County." If you want to reserve a trip, call ☏ +1 866-751-TRIP (8747) between 8AM and 4PM on a weekday, and follow the prompt so you can speak to a reservationist. You can make a reservation 10 business days or up to 1 business day before the reserved time Harris County does provide public transportation services, but the area is big, and encompasses multiple cities, only some of which have public transit. Katy does not. Waller County simply does not provide any public transit services.

Bicycle transportation is nearly impossible in an American suburban town like Katy, but if you are staying at someone's house or a vacation rental, you may be able to bike to nearby shops. Some hotels will be close enough to other places that you can possibly bike. However, in general, biking is simply not possible in a majority of locations.