Hardin County, TX

County Profile

57,642 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Hardin County, TX.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 36% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 50% of 1,463 counties measured55
SchoolsTop 23% of 1,377 counties measured71
GrowthTop 11% of 1,453 counties measured73
Housing affordabilityTop 34% of 1,462 counties measured77
ClimateTop 36% of 1,463 counties measured72
Physical resilience1,018th of 1,463 counties measured44
Access1,135th of 1,463 counties measured65
Economic stability969th of 1,463 counties measured48
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.0% and median household income $75,808, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 51% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.3 students for every teacher.

379 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 10% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
57,642
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$75,808
Top 24% nationally
Density
65/sq mi
890.6 sq mi of land
Median age
39.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Hardin County
Texas
Nearest major airport
IAH
61 mi · George Bush Intcntl/Houston
Median home value
$205,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.0% — higher than in all but 21% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.2% over the past year, to 26,061 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$63,84162nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$65,51669th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,1922024 ACS 5-Year$75,808Top 24%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,6122024 ACS 5-Year$37,440Top 37%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$56,092Bottom 49%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.4%Top 46%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.3 minBottom 14%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year21.0%Bottom 43%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year85.5%94th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202626,061Bottom 41%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+6.3%Top 5%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Top 35%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202627,44141st percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.6%Bottom 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%32nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.3%Bottom 24%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.0%Bottom 21%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%13th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/078.53.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.0% 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202476k65k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $75,808 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 — Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,050$26,630
General and Operations Managers4,560$97,470
Retail Salespersons3,840$29,810
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3,390$23,510
Construction Laborers3,340$44,240
Cashiers3,140$28,730

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.

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

There are 14.3 students for every full-time teacher across 18 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
21
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.3
across 18 of them
Math proficiency
50.8%
Top 33% in Texas
Reading proficiency
51.0%
Top 15% in Texas
The 12 largest of 21 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lumberton H SLUMBERTON ISD1,23214.754%61%
Lumberton IntLUMBERTON ISD98716.451%50%
Silsbee ElSILSBEE ISD92114.655%54%
Lumberton MiddleLUMBERTON ISD91816.160%56%
Silsbee H SSILSBEE ISD78912.722%43%
Hardin-Jefferson H SHARDIN-JEFFERSON ISD78214.572%66%
Sour Lake ElHARDIN-JEFFERSON ISD72013.858%53%
Hardin-Jefferson J HHARDIN-JEFFERSON ISD65616.462%48%
Edwards-Johnson Memorial MiddleSILSBEE ISD59713.046%41%
Lumberton PriLUMBERTON ISD57413.748%53%
Lumberton Early Childhood SchLUMBERTON ISD39617.2——
Kountze ElKOUNTZE ISD33616.837%37%

48.6% 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 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 90.8, 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 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metro Area is up 33% over five years, and up 3.4% 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 $2,238 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.09% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,103, close to the $1,049 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,103 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $44,100 a year, about 58% of the median household income here of $75,808.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,049 a month.

A median home at $205,700 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $90,458, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
90.8

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Beaumont-Port Arthur, 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
28.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,103
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,049
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$205,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Hardin County’s median household income of $75,808, 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 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metro Area’s figure202390.8Top 25%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%43rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+33.3%13th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+69.7%15th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 37%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.3%90th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±342024 ACS 5-Year25,10070th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$898Top 42%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,446Top 42%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,103Top 41%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$522024 ACS 5-Year$1,049Bottom 26%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,1302024 ACS 5-Year$205,70058th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1462024 ACS 5-Year$2,23871st percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,7862024 ACS 5-Year$90,458Top 23%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year1.09%71st percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year28.0%Bottom 47%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±962024 ACS 5-Year10220th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%9th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.1%63rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4862024 ACS 5-Year2,87865th percentileof 3,2222024 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

73/ 100
Top 11% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 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 4% since 2020, reaching 58,670 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 373 units authorized in 2025, up 4% on the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 379 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Hardin County gained about 0.6% 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 $63,841, close to the $65,516 of households that moved out.

At 6.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
379
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.6
Top 18% nationally
Year over year
+10%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202459k56k
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 rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
17%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$63,841
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$65,516
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Jefferson County, TX 930 people · 28% of arrivals
  2. Orange County, TX 298 people · 9.1% of arrivals
  3. Harris County, TX 247 people · 7.5% of arrivals
  4. Tyler County, TX 236 people · 7.2% of arrivals
  5. Jasper County, TX 187 people · 5.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Jefferson County, TX 771 people · 26% of departures
  2. Orange County, TX 279 people · 9.3% of departures
  3. Jasper County, TX 241 people · 8.1% of departures
  4. Harris County, TX 203 people · 6.8% of departures
  5. Tyler County, TX 130 people · 4.4% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025506358
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−26%).

Weather & climate

6 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 39°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 63.2 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LUMBERTON, 13.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals63.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals33°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

44 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 41% of it. tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneElevated
WildfireModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Winter weatherModerate
DroughtModerate
Strong windModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, ice storm, tornado, cold wave, heat wave, coastal flooding, earthquake, hail, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Hardin County has a modeled homicide rate of about 6.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 27.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 11.4 per 100,000 residents in Hardin County.

Homicide
6.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
27.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
27.5
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.

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 Hardin County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

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.
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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest George Bush Intcntl/Houston at 61 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.2%Bottom 45%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle61 miBottom 20%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%Bottom 42%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
George Bush Intcntl/HoustonIAH61 mi12,001 ft
EllingtonEFD68 mi9,001 ft
Chennault IntlCWF75 mi10,702 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
63
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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)
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
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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 September 26, 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.

Cities in Hardin County, TX

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.