The 10 Best Counties To Live In Texas For 2021


Using science and data, we can tell you which counties in Texas have the most for people looking to make the move to Texas.

Chris Kolmar, About HomeSnacks
December 30, 2020
Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2021. This is our seventh time ranking the best counties to live in Texas.

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment: is Texas a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes... if you know where to locate the best places to live in Texas.

Lucky for you, we're here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Lone Star State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn't our first rodeo -- we've been helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Texas, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 253 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Lone Star State for 2021.

Borden County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Texas. And you might want to avoid Zapata County if you can -- at least according to the data.

So if you're thinking of making the move Texas, we've got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Texas and the cheapest places to live in Texas.

The Best Counties To Live In Texas For 2021

1. Borden County

Biggest Place: Gail

Population: 613
Median Income: $72,188 (24th best)
Median Home Price: $153,300.0 (50th best)
Unemployment Rate: 253.2% (30th best)
More on Borden County: Data

2. Rockwall County

Dallas, TX

Source: Flickr User TexasExplorer98 | CC BY 2.0

Biggest Place: Dallas

Population: 97,175
Median Income: $100,920 (best)
Median Home Price: $266,200.0 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 386.0% (75th best)
More on Rockwall County: Photos | Data

3. Randall County

Amarillo, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Who What Where Nguyen Why | GFDL

Biggest Place: Amarillo

Population: 134,026
Median Income: $68,261 (30th best)
Median Home Price: $167,800.0 (40th best)
Unemployment Rate: 345.1% (57th best)
More on Randall County: Photos | Data

4. Kendall County

Boerne, TX

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Boerne

Population: 43,769
Median Income: $84,747 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $348,500.0 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 395.7% (80th best)
More on Kendall County: Photos | Data

5. Comal County

New Braunfels, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Billy Hathorn at en.wikip | GFDL

Biggest Place: San Antonio

Population: 141,642
Median Income: $79,936 (11th best)
Median Home Price: $282,300.0 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 341.8% (54th best)
More on Comal County: Photos | Data

6. Armstrong County

Biggest Place: Claude

Population: 1,973
Median Income: $72,500 (23rd best)
Median Home Price: $139,700.0 (69th best)
Unemployment Rate: 100.3% (9th best)
More on Armstrong County: Data

7. Roberts County

Biggest Place: Miami

Population: 805
Median Income: $68,750 (28th best)
Median Home Price: $133,000.0 (77th best)
Unemployment Rate: 192.3% (19th best)
More on Roberts County: Data

8. Carson County

Panhandle, TX

Source: Wikipedia User The original uploader was | CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0

Biggest Place: Panhandle

Population: 6,009
Median Income: $74,872 (19th best)
Median Home Price: $114,300.0 (107th best)
Unemployment Rate: 226.7% (22nd best)
More on Carson County: Photos | Data

9. Williamson County

Austin, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Argash | GFDL

Biggest Place: Austin

Population: 547,604
Median Income: $87,337 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $262,300.0 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 478.0% (117th best)
More on Williamson County: Photos | Data

10. Archer County

Source: Public Domain

Biggest Place: Archer City

Population: 8,716
Median Income: $63,835 (4best)
Median Home Price: $146,200.0 (59th best)
Unemployment Rate: 282.5% (36th best)
More on Archer County: Data

How do you determine which Texas county is the best?

To give you the best county in Texas, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we need to make some assumptions about what's a "best county" and what isn't. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you'd make at a bar using facts, don't take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time period.

We paid particular attention to:

  • Violent Crime Rates
  • Property Crime Rates
  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Adult Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates
Best Places To Raise A Family In Texas

We then ranked each county in Texas across each of the criteria from one to 253, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the "Best County To Live In Texas".

The result is some of the safest, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Lone Star State.

Read on to see why Borden County is the best county, while Zapata County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Texas.

There You Have It - The Best Counties In Texas To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in Texas can vary from one part of the state to the next -- who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that's why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

Here's a look at the worst counties in Texas according to the data:

  1. Zapata County
  2. Culberson County
  3. Dimmit County

For more Texas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Texas

County Rank Population Median Income Median Home Price
Borden County 1 613 $72,188 $153,300.0
Rockwall County 2 97,175 $100,920 $266,200.0
Randall County 3 134,026 $68,261 $167,800.0
Kendall County 4 43,769 $84,747 $348,500.0
Comal County 5 141,642 $79,936 $282,300.0
Armstrong County 6 1,973 $72,500 $139,700.0
Roberts County 7 805 $68,750 $133,000.0
Carson County 8 6,009 $74,872 $114,300.0
Williamson County 9 547,604 $87,337 $262,300.0
Archer County 10 8,716 $63,835 $146,200.0
Denton County 11 833,822 $86,913 $277,800.0
Oldham County 12 2,094 $64,545 $91,400.0
Guadalupe County 13 158,966 $74,496 $196,000.0
Ellis County 14 173,772 $76,871 $191,400.0
Collin County 15 973,977 $96,913 $315,300.0
Blanco County 16 11,478 $66,390 $246,400.0
Midland County 17 168,167 $79,421 $213,100.0
Brazoria County 18 360,677 $81,447 $197,700.0
Parker County 19 133,811 $77,503 $214,200.0
Wilson County 20 49,173 $76,692 $199,600.0
Gillespie County 21 26,459 $59,155 $286,900.0
Fayette County 22 25,141 $60,189 $182,100.0
Hartley County 23 5,669 $58,298 $167,200.0
Lavaca County 24 20,021 $54,403 $162,400.0
Crane County 25 4,802 $65,969 $100,400.0
Hardin County 26 56,765 $60,339 $124,100.0
Hood County 27 58,318 $64,041 $193,500.0
Johnson County 29 167,212 $64,359 $155,400.0
Montgomery County 30 571,949 $80,902 $235,800.0
Kerr County 31 51,843 $55,990 $180,600.0
Fort Bend County 32 765,394 $97,743 $265,900.0
Lampasas County 33 20,862 $60,772 $161,600.0
Martin County 34 5,649 $66,610 $148,000.0
Medina County 35 50,057 $62,599 $137,800.0
Franklin County 36 10,716 $53,783 $126,200.0
Burnet County 37 46,530 $59,492 $192,000.0
Travis County 38 1,226,805 $75,887 $324,800.0
Chambers County 39 41,305 $91,141 $200,400.0
Burleson County 40 18,058 $57,731 $121,900.0
Hays County 41 213,366 $68,717 $238,700.0
Austin County 42 29,764 $66,206 $196,300.0
Jackson County 43 14,816 $62,806 $114,000.0
Colorado County 44 21,224 $52,559 $124,400.0
Wise County 45 66,290 $64,536 $170,300.0
Somervell County 46 8,860 $60,632 $219,000.0
Fannin County 47 34,537 $54,648 $123,100.0
Tarrant County 48 2,049,770 $67,700 $188,500.0
Kaufman County 49 123,804 $70,107 $178,300.0
Taylor County 50 136,870 $53,143 $124,500.0
Goliad County 51 7,565 $60,690 $137,800.0
Clay County 52 10,403 $55,989 $101,000.0
Washington County 53 35,163 $54,971 $179,100.0
Wood County 54 44,366 $53,394 $137,500.0
Bosque County 55 18,296 $52,148 $121,700.0
Tom Green County 56 117,986 $53,903 $141,500.0
Bandera County 57 22,215 $58,661 $174,200.0
Lee County 58 17,058 $54,744 $138,700.0
Galveston County 59 332,885 $73,330 $199,200.0
Cooke County 60 40,041 $60,202 $161,100.0
Callahan County 61 13,856 $48,651 $94,900.0
Brewster County 62 9,231 $47,080 $151,400.0
Comanche County 63 13,529 $53,516 $105,000.0
Glasscock County 64 1,510 $78,456 $229,200.0
Rains County 65 11,766 $51,579 $127,900.0
Coryell County 66 75,280 $52,893 $114,300.0
Terrell County 67 896 $43,208 $76,400.0
Erath County 68 41,841 $52,742 $159,900.0
Bell County 69 348,574 $54,884 $147,700.0
Madison County 70 14,197 $52,664 $113,100.0
Mcmullen County 71 774 $62,000 $110,900.0
Hamilton County 72 8,332 $50,825 $130,800.0
Grayson County 73 131,014 $54,815 $137,400.0
Hopkins County 74 36,486 $52,078 $114,900.0
Andrews County 75 18,036 $76,158 $143,900.0
Sterling County 76 1,231 $59,868 $59,000.0
Van Zandt County 77 55,103 $54,654 $132,300.0
Baylor County 78 3,577 $40,739 $62,000.0
Sherman County 79 3,059 $51,926 $99,800.0
Brazos County 80 222,981 $49,181 $201,800.0
Llano County 81 21,047 $53,411 $194,800.0
Fisher County 82 3,856 $46,146 $66,900.0
Hemphill County 83 3,994 $70,625 $151,700.0
Bailey County 84 7,100 $52,273 $69,700.0
Delta County 85 5,249 $51,038 $87,700.0
Orange County 86 84,069 $59,399 $113,500.0
Smith County 87 227,449 $56,810 $158,600.0
Hunt County 88 94,162 $54,959 $123,300.0
Brown County 89 37,855 $48,365 $102,500.0
Jeff Davis County 90 2,241 $53,088 $111,900.0
Bastrop County 91 84,522 $64,597 $172,000.0
Parmer County 92 9,718 $55,359 $97,600.0
Waller County 93 51,832 $59,642 $197,400.0
Mills County 94 4,889 $49,306 $140,200.0
Walker County 95 72,321 $43,742 $152,300.0
Irion County 96 1,620 $47,500 $118,300.0
Lubbock County 97 304,808 $52,429 $140,600.0
Runnels County 98 10,277 $44,940 $81,400.0
Young County 99 18,036 $50,635 $96,800.0
Moore County 100 21,399 $54,871 $121,900.0
Jack County 101 8,852 $52,045 $86,300.0
Download The Entire Texas Ranking Data

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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