Pampa, TX

Micro Area Profile

21,877 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Pampa, TX micropolitan area.

45out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 12% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity586th of 835 metro and micro areas measured41
SchoolsTop 37% of 695 metro and micro areas measured61
Growth799th of 834 metro and micro areas measured16
Housing affordability422nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured73
ClimateTop 48% of 835 metro and micro areas measured67
Physical resilience718th of 835 metro and micro areas measured25
Access615th of 835 metro and micro areas measured64
Economic stability729th of 835 metro and micro areas measured18
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 4.2% and the Opportunity signal places Pampa in the bottom 30%.

In the public schools here, 53% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.4 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 3 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 6 the year before.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
21,877
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,317
Bottom 28% nationally
Density
12/sq mi
1,850 sq mi of land
Median age
37.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Texas
Nearest major airport
AMA
57 mi · Rick Husband Amarillo Intl
Median home value
$106,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.2% — higher than in all but 49% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 0.4% over the past year, to 8,935 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$5,6392024 ACS 5-Year$60,317Bottom 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,5882024 ACS 5-Year$33,677Bottom 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year14.5%Bottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.8 minTop 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.4%Bottom 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.6%96th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20268,935Bottom 2%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.1%Top 45%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 44%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20269,3272nd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year67.5%Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 28%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.2%Bottom 49%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%5th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.63.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

53% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 39% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
53.4%
Top 16% in Texas
Reading proficiency
38.9%
Bottom 22% in Texas
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Pampa H SPAMPA ISD1,01214.365%40%
Pampa J HPAMPA ISD68013.944%34%
William B Travis ElPAMPA ISD47015.2——
Lamar ElPAMPA ISD41515.4——
Stephen F Austin ElPAMPA ISD37115.5——
Woodrow Wilson ElPAMPA ISD19317.5——
McLean SchoolMCLEAN ISD18210.157%52%
Miami SchoolMIAMI ISD1779.342%52%
Lefors SchoolLEFORS ISD1737.932%22%
Grandview-Hopkins ElGRANDVIEW-HOPKINS ISD499.850%50%

61.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Texas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,425 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.34% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,036, some 11% above the $930 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,036 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,400 a year, about 69% of the median household income here of $60,317.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $930 a month.

A median home at $106,200 costs 1.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $71,032, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,036
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$930
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$106,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Pampa’s median household income of $60,317, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year1.5Top 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.7%88th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±612024 ACS 5-Year10,3454th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$791Top 27%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,246Top 19%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,036Top 37%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$432024 ACS 5-Year$930Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,2112024 ACS 5-Year$106,2003rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1792024 ACS 5-Year$1,42531st percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,0312024 ACS 5-Year$71,032Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.22%2024 ACS 5-Year1.34%80th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year29.6%Bottom 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±562024 ACS 5-Year15311th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%41st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year18.2%98th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2462024 ACS 5-Year2,03120th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

16/ 100
Ranks 799 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 1% since 2020, to 21,725 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 3 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
3
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 3% nationally
Year over year
−50%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202422k22k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 22.8 inches, including 15.7 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PAMPA #2, 10.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals22.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals15.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals43°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

25 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are drought, tornado and inland flooding, with drought alone responsible for 28% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

DroughtHigh
WildfireHigh
HailHigh
Winter weatherModerate
Ice stormModerate
TornadoModerate
Cold waveElevated
Strong windElevated

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, earthquake, hurricane, inland flooding, heat wave, landslide, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Rick Husband Amarillo Intl at 57 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.7%Bottom 42%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle57 miBottom 30%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.3%Bottom 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Rick Husband Amarillo IntlAMA57 mi13,502 ft
Infinity One Oklahoma SpaceportCSM93 mi13,503 ft
Lubbock Preston Smith IntlLBB147 mi11,500 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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