Buda, Texas

Area Profile

15,859 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Buda, in Hays County.

76out of 100
Area Score
Top 3% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 10% of 4,199 cities measured79
SchoolsTop 29% of 4,162 cities measured66
GrowthTop 1% of 4,224 cities measured87
Housing affordabilityTop 12% of 4,218 cities measured80
Climate2,525th of 4,225 cities measured68
Physical resilienceTop 35% of 4,226 cities measured71
AccessTop 40% of 4,226 cities measured95
Economic stabilityTop 8% of 4,226 cities measured77
The quick read

Buda ranks in the top 10% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.0% and median household income of $123,766. The unemployment rate is published for Hays County, TX, which contains Buda, rather than for Buda alone.

In the public schools here, 59% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.7 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 123 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 102% on the prior year.

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
15,859
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$123,766
Top 9% nationally
Density
1,649/sq mi
9.6 sq mi of land
Median age
37.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Texas
Nearest major airport
AUS
14 mi · Austin-Bergstrom Intl
Median home value
$446,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Hays County, TX, which contains Buda, is 4.0%, lower than in 61% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Hays County, TX, which contains Buda, grew 0.4% over the past year, to 163,382 employed residents.

50% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 89% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $123,766 is higher than in 91% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHays County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$90,40475th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHays County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$74,56355th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,5552024 ACS 5-Year$123,766Top 9%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,1942024 ACS 5-Year$50,848Top 17%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%Top 29%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year31.7 minBottom 27%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year50.1%Top 11%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year73.9%39th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentHays County, TX’s figureJuly 2026163,382Top 36%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Hays County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+7.4%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Hays County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+0.4%Top 28%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceHays County, TX’s figureJuly 2026170,26664th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year88.1%Top 14%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAustin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$74,580Top 30%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageAustin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$56,950Top 29%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Hays County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+0.4%Bottom 23%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateHays County, TX’s figureJuly 20264.0%Top 39%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year21.3%87th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024124k88k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $123,766 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers42,190$117,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers35,000$29,310
Customer Service Representatives32,690$43,720
Software Developers31,960$134,120
Retail Salespersons29,660$33,860
Stockers and Order Fillers27,430$37,720

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Hays County, TX, which contains this city.

59% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.7 students for every full-time teacher across 15 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.7
across 15 of them
Math proficiency
58.5%
Top 24% in Texas
Reading proficiency
50.9%
Top 32% in Texas
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Moe and Gene Johnson H SHAYS CISD2,87019.8——
Jack C Hays H SHAYS CISD2,30418.071%57%
Dr T C McCormick JR MiddleHAYS CISD1,19817.638%34%
R C Barton MiddleHAYS CISD90916.871%55%
Sunfield ElHAYS CISD90515.9——
Eric Dahlstrom MiddleHAYS CISD80416.479%61%
Ralph Pfluger ElHAYS CISD77914.766%60%
Elm Grove ElHAYS CISD67815.868%66%
Tom Green ElHAYS CISD61212.837%40%
Buda ElHAYS CISD56413.142%48%
Carpenter Hill ElHAYS CISD55015.373%63%
Creedmoor ElDEL VALLE ISD52512.826%31%

37.5% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 98.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area is up 15% over five years, and up 0.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $7,911 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.77% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,852, close to the $1,852 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,852 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $74,100 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $123,766.

The typical renter household here spends 23% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,852 a month.

A median home at $446,600 costs 3.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $122,637, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
98.3

Prices here run about 2% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
23.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,852
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,852
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$446,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Buda’s median household income of $123,766, 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
Cost of living indexthe Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure202398.3Top 39%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.3%10th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+15.2%2nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+80.8%28th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.72024 ACS 5-Year3.6Bottom 22%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year76.6%51st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3842024 ACS 5-Year6,24290th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,562Bottom 39%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,347Bottom 41%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,852Bottom 40%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1392024 ACS 5-Year$1,852Bottom 10%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$35,3132024 ACS 5-Year$446,60086th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$7872024 ACS 5-Year$7,91198th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$19,9862024 ACS 5-Year$122,637Top 14%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.23%2024 ACS 5-Year1.77%88th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year23.4%Top 26%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±472024 ACS 5-Year2976th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%56th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.5%24th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2032024 ACS 5-Year18476th percentileof 32,3302024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

87/ 100
Top 1% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 3 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 5% since 2020, reaching 16,090 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 123 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Hays County, which contains Buda, gained about 3.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $90,404, above the $74,563 of households that moved out.

At 7.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
123
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.8
Top 17% nationally
Year over year
+102%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202416k15k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+3.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
21%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$90,404
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$74,563
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Travis County, TX 9,079 people · 39% of arrivals
  2. Williamson County, TX 1,189 people · 5.1% of arrivals
  3. Bexar County, TX 1,048 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  4. Harris County, TX 785 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  5. Comal County, TX 694 people · 3.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Travis County, TX 3,843 people · 23% of departures
  2. Comal County, TX 1,218 people · 7.2% of departures
  3. Guadalupe County, TX 1,121 people · 6.7% of departures
  4. Bexar County, TX 1,049 people · 6.2% of departures
  5. Caldwell County, TX 938 people · 5.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Hays County, TX. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202521436
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−66%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 96°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 35.6 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station AUSTIN BERGSTROM AP, 12.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals35.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals96°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

71 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 62% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

HailElevated
Strong windModerate
WildfireModerate
DroughtModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, inland flooding, lightning, heat wave, winter weather, cold wave, ice storm, hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
104
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,589
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Buda's police department reported 104 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,589.

Hays County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 11.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 10.0 per 100,000 residents in Hays County.

Homicide
2.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
11.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.2
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Buda’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Buda (Hays County) rather than Buda itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

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.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Austin-Bergstrom Intl at 14 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year98.7%Top 11%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle14 miTop 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%Top 14%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Austin-Bergstrom IntlAUS14 mi12,250 ft
San Antonio IntlSAT53 mi8,505 ft
Kelly FldSKF65 mi11,550 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
76
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—

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Other cities in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
AustinTravis County979,53972Austin vs Buda
Round RockWilliamson County127,78673Round Rock vs Buda
GeorgetownWilliamson County85,99969Georgetown vs Buda
Cedar ParkWilliamson County78,30173
LeanderTravis County74,06776
San MarcosHays County70,89758
PflugervilleTravis County65,97175
KyleHays County56,82367
HuttoWilliamson County35,48374
Brushy CreekWilliamson County19,57675
LakewayTravis County19,30771
Steiner RanchTravis County18,61973

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Buda side by side with a similar place.

Buda vs PflugervilleBuda vs Avon

Moving to Buda from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
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
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
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.

ZIP codes in Buda

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Buda with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Buda closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
7861048,319$119,698$408,000—