Lubbock County, TX

County Profile

318,884 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lubbock 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.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 44% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 40% of 1,463 counties measured60
SchoolsTop 28% of 1,377 counties measured67
GrowthTop 12% of 1,453 counties measured72
Housing affordability1,045th of 1,462 counties measured68
Climate835th of 1,463 counties measured65
Physical resilience1,239th of 1,463 counties measured29
AccessTop 17% of 1,463 counties measured95
Economic stability777th of 1,463 counties measured58
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $64,155, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 50% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.9 students for every teacher.

2,664 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% 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
318,884
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$64,155
Bottom 47% nationally
Density
356/sq mi
895.6 sq mi of land
Median age
31.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Lubbock County
Texas
Metro area
Nearest major airport
LBB
4 mi · Lubbock Preston Smith Intl
Median home value
$214,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.3% — higher than in all but 42% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment held steady over the past year, at 162,637 employed residents.

33% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 83% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$58,88350th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$59,53156th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,9512024 ACS 5-Year$64,155Bottom 47%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$8752024 ACS 5-Year$35,808Top 45%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$54,500Bottom 44%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%Bottom 47%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year18.2 minTop 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year33.4%Top 17%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year77.8%51st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026162,637Top 15%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.1%Top 12%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Top 39%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026170,02085th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year80.5%Top 25%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%75th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.3%Bottom 24%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.3%Bottom 42%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year7.3%37th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.3% 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

202120222023202464k57k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $64,155 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 — Lubbock, TX

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers7,930$25,250
Office Clerks, General5,440$36,940
Registered Nurses5,070$81,480
Retail Salespersons4,580$28,480
General and Operations Managers4,460$80,870
Stockers and Order Fillers4,180$35,620

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.

50% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 48% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.9 students for every full-time teacher across 94 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
98
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.9
across 94 of them
Math proficiency
50.5%
Top 38% in Texas
Reading proficiency
48.2%
Top 24% in Texas
The 12 largest of 98 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Frenship H SFRENSHIP ISD3,42215.854%67%
Monterey H SLUBBOCK ISD2,11715.630%44%
Lubbock H SLUBBOCK ISD1,92716.246%66%
Coronado H SLUBBOCK ISD1,87814.730%38%
Lubbock-Cooper H SLUBBOCK-COOPER ISD1,85611.573%64%
Lubbock-Cooper MiddleLUBBOCK-COOPER ISD90113.459%52%
Lubbock-Cooper Laura Bush MiddleLUBBOCK-COOPER ISD85712.263%56%
Lubbock-Cooper East ElLUBBOCK-COOPER ISD85715.337%32%
Hutchinson MiddleLUBBOCK ISD84515.168%68%
Lubbock-Cooper North ElLUBBOCK-COOPER ISD82612.552%44%
Heritage MiddleFRENSHIP ISD82117.158%56%
Estacado H SLUBBOCK ISD78712.138%27%

57.4% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 91.0, 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 Lubbock, TX Metro Area is up 28% over five years, and up 2.3% 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 $3,241 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.51% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,175, close to the $1,178 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,175 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,000 a year, about 73% of the median household income here of $64,155.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,178 a month.

A median home at $214,100 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $92,085, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
91.0

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 Lubbock, 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
32.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,175
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,178
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$214,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lubbock County’s median household income of $64,155, 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 Lubbock, TX Metro Area’s figure202391.0Top 26%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Lubbock, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.3%25th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Lubbock, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+28.2%8th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Lubbock, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+62.9%7th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 40%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year55.5%4th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1472024 ACS 5-Year139,34493rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$990Bottom 46%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,634Bottom 42%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,175Top 49%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$172024 ACS 5-Year$1,178Bottom 18%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,9522024 ACS 5-Year$214,10061st percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$982024 ACS 5-Year$3,24187th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,6572024 ACS 5-Year$92,085Top 21%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year1.51%90th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year32.5%Bottom 12%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3102024 ACS 5-Year1,02475th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%19th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%47th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±9522024 ACS 5-Year13,11993rd 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

72/ 100
Top 12% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in 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 327,394 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 2,859 units authorized in 2025, up 29% on the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Lubbock County gained about 0.3% 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 $58,883, close to the $59,531 of households that moved out.

At 8.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
2,664
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.4
Top 11% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
23.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024327k312k
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
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
36%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$58,883
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$59,531
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Hockley County, TX 586 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  2. Hale County, TX 473 people · 3.5% of arrivals
  3. Tarrant County, TX 435 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  4. Midland County, TX 394 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  5. Dallas County, TX 354 people · 2.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Hockley County, TX 646 people · 5.0% of departures
  2. Tarrant County, TX 534 people · 4.1% of departures
  3. Dallas County, TX 489 people · 3.8% of departures
  4. Harris County, TX 345 people · 2.7% of departures
  5. Bexar County, TX 332 people · 2.6% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420254k2k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−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 27°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 18.3 inches, including 7.0 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 23, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LUBBOCK, 3.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year472024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals18.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals7.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals27°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year232024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals40°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
23
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
47
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

29 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are drought, inland flooding and hail, with drought alone responsible for 29% 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.

Strong windHigh
DroughtHigh
HailHigh
Winter weatherModerate
LightningModerate

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

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.

Lubbock County records 6.2 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 16.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 11.5 per 100,000 residents in Lubbock County.

Homicide
6.2
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
18.7
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 Lubbock 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.
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Lubbock Preston Smith Intl at 4 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year89.2%Top 32%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle4 miTop 1%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%Top 21%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lubbock Preston Smith IntlLBB4 mi11,500 ft
Big Spring/Mc Mahon-WrinkleBPG98 mi8,803 ft
Lea County RgnlHOB103 mi8,000 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
61
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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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

Cities in Lubbock 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.