AreaProfile

Wichita Falls, TX

Metro Area Profile

149,358 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Wichita Falls, TX metropolitan area.

55
Area Score
Bottom 17% of 361 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity328th of 361 published metros33
Growth380th of 440 published metros25
Housing affordabilityTop 19% of 441 published metros99
Climate393rd of 441 published metros55
Physical resilienceTop 42% of 441 published metros65
Access320th of 441 published metros68
Economic stability279th of 441 published metros49
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 4.7% and the Opportunity signal places Wichita Falls in the bottom 9%.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 18% of median household income.

Its Area Score of 55 places Wichita Falls in the top 83% of published metro profiles.

At a glance

Population
149,358
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,379
Bottom 44% nationally
Density
57/sq mi
2619.6 sq mi of land
Median age
36.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Wichita Falls, TX
Nearest major airport
LAW
55 mi · Lawton-Fort Sill Rgnl
Median home value
$157,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.7% is lower than 31% of the 361 measured US metros.

Employment fell 1.8% over the past year, to 62,954 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,040$65,379Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$965$34,590Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate15.4%Top 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute17.7 minBottom 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher24.9%Top 50%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment62,954Bottom 20%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.2%Bottom 17%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.8%Bottom 23%June 2026
Labor force66,028Bottom 20%June 2026
Labor force participation62.6%Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$52,740Bottom 7%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$43,210Bottom 10%2025 OEWS
Metro employment55,550Bottom 19%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.8%Top 8%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.7%Top 31%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/065.73.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.7% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Wichita Falls, TX
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,240$25,540
General and Operations Managers1,640$76,320
Retail Salespersons1,490$28,610
Registered Nurses1,470$83,280
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,330$22,950
Cashiers1,270$27,650

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $995 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.4 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
18.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$995
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$157,600
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.41Bottom 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate64.5%Bottom 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±20564,879Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$26$995Top 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,439$157,600Bottom 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.3%Top 50%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate12.5%Top 44%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
25/ 100
Ranks 380 of 440 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured 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 grown 1% since 2020, reaching 149,869 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
187
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.3
Bottom 15% nationally
Year over year
−9%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024150k148k
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.

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 97°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 27.9 inches, including 3.1 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WICHITA FALLS MUNI AP, 14.0 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation27.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall3.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high97°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing42°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

65 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, wildfire and hail.

WildfireElevated
DroughtHigh
HailModerate
TornadoModerate
Ice stormModerate
Cold waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, winter weather, inland flooding, strong wind, earthquake, hurricane, landslide.

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.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 55 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lawton-Fort Sill RgnlLAW55 mi8,599 ft
Perot Fld/Fort Worth AllianceAFW87 mi11,125 ft
Ardmore MuniADM92 mi9,002 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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Area Score
55
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.

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