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Place dossier plate
SheetTX-EL-CAMPO-TX · El Campo, TX 12,220 pop · income 46th pct · 12 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around El Campo
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest El Campo on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Levelland · lowest
51,847
Levelland · lowest
51,847 median HH income
34.9% of the leader · rank #1
Foley · near
67,346
Foley · near
67,346 median HH income
45.3% of the leader · rank #2
Vero Beach · near
67,351
Vero Beach · near
67,351 median HH income
45.3% of the leader · rank #3
Leslie · near
67,355
Leslie · near
67,355 median HH income
45.3% of the leader · rank #4
El Campo · this city
67,356
El Campo · this city
67,356 median HH income
45.3% of the leader · rank #5
Hummels Wharf · near
67,361
Hummels Wharf · near
67,361 median HH income
45.3% of the leader · rank #6
Rosaryville · highest
148,558
Rosaryville · highest
148,558 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for El Campo on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 12,220.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
El Campo - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, El Campo places in the 46th percentile for household income and the 26th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
46th
percentile, household income
38th
percentile, home value
40th
percentile, median rent
26th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: El Campo, TX
12,220 people live in El Campo, Texas - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in El Campo brings in $67,356 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 11.8%. Home values in El Campo run a median of $183,400, and the median resident age is 37.1 years. About 15.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 55.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 48 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 243% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 2313.7 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 70.7°F with 49.6 inches of precipitation per year.
Texas tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Texas at 97.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,149 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $223 across Texas, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 49.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of El Campo's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from within-city variation to climate and hazard context to schools and households to population change to reported crime to housing and income to comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For El Campo, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What can 12 Census tracts reveal inside El Campo?
PlainCities matches 12 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 70.7°F, with 49.6 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Texas is 49.0 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 5 public schools within the city match. 15.0% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Which cities make useful reference points for El Campo?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Texas, the closest population matches are Webster (12,283 residents, $62,536 income); Richmond (12,117 residents, $68,564 income); Borger (12,398 residents, $59,031 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Leeds, AL (12,221 residents); Choctaw, OK (12,208 residents); Beatrice, NE (12,233 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is El Campo growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -188 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 48 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
2020 estimate
12,330
2025 estimate
12,142
Period change
-1.5%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What can the FBI record say about safety in El Campo?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2313.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 1% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
2313.7
Violent rate
509.5
Property rate
1804.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in El Campo?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.7×
Home value
$183,400
Household income
$67,356
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the journey to work look like in El Campo?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 83.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
83.4%
Work from home
3.3%
Public transit
0.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 4,836 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 11.8% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Texas average
F
City profile score · El Campo, TX
34/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living C-
97.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income D
$67,356
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
11.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
15.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
510 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
El Campo profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Household income: 45/100 (D) · $67,356
Poverty rate: 33/100 (F) · 11.8%
Bachelor's+ share: 20/100 (F) · 15.0%
Violent crime: 15/100 (F) · 510 /100k
Where El Campo sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
El Campo's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - El Campo highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
El Campo, TX (this city): home $183,400, crime 2,314/100k
Leeds, AL : home $220,400, crime 2,909/100k
Choctaw, OK : home $223,900, crime 1,379/100k
Beatrice, NE : home $152,900, crime 905/100k
Webster, TX : home $284,900, crime 6,532/100k
Richmond, TX : home $229,800, crime 2,990/100k
Borger, TX : home $90,000, crime 2,337/100k
Levelland, TX : home $126,200, crime 1,368/100k
How does El Campo compare to other US cities?
Where El Campo sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income46% higher than other cities
Home value38% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% pricier than other cities
Safety26% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Texas alone, El Campo ranks #500 of 624 Texas cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares El Campo against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Texas only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Texas-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places El Campo near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, El Campo ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares El Campo only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#659 of 1,520
57th percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#627 of 1,505
58th percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#656 of 1,663
60th percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#958 of 1,663
42nd percentile in Texas
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Texas only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
46th percentile nationally for median household income · 26th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
El Campo's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
El Campo's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How El Campo's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$183,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 62% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
El Campo's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,149 of 15,516
More affordable than 67% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#570 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.7×, El Campo sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,149 of 15,516 and #570 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$67,356El Campo, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context El Campo, TX median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for El Campo, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)15.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
12,220
Median Income
$67,356
Median Home Value
$183,400
Median Age
37.1
Poverty Rate
11.8%
Labor force participation
55.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
15.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2313.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
509.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1804.2
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
70.7°F
Annual Precipitation
49.6"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
5
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
El Campo's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
12,330 residents
2021
12,239 residents
2022
12,167 residents
2023
12,072 residents
2024
12,168 residents
2025
12,142 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
48
housing units authorized
Single-Family
14
detached homes
Multifamily
34
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
14
14
0
$2.9M
2020
11
11
0
$3.1M
2021
29
29
0
$6.2M
2022
6
6
0
$2.3M
2023
69
12
57
$8.0M
2024
48
14
34
$8.9M
Permit volume increased 243% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
83.4%
Carpool
12.0%
Public Transit
0.3%
Walk
0.6%
Work from Home
3.3%
Based on 4,836 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Texas statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $223
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Texas at $223 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Texas statewide averages, not a meter reading for El Campo. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Texas's BEA cost-of-living index is 97.1 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around El Campo is $1,149/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Texas statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.0 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Texas statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county El Campo sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How El Campo compares to similar-size Texas cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.