Lubbock, Texas

Area Profile

264,814 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lubbock, in Lubbock County.

57out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 45% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 41% of 4,199 cities measured60
SchoolsTop 46% of 4,162 cities measured52
GrowthTop 16% of 4,224 cities measured70
Housing affordabilityTop 49% of 4,218 cities measured67
Climate2,692nd of 4,225 cities measured65
Physical resilience3,340th of 4,226 cities measured25
AccessTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured97
Economic stability2,957th of 4,226 cities measured47
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.4% and median household income $60,895, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.0 students for every teacher.

2,109 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
264,814
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,895
Bottom 41% nationally
Density
1,849/sq mi
143.2 sq mi of land
Median age
30.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Texas
Metro area
Nearest major airport
LBB
8 mi · Lubbock Preston Smith Intl
Median home value
$212,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.4% — higher than in all but 47% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment held steady over the past year, at 136,765 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 76% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLubbock County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$58,88323rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLubbock County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$59,53123rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,8702024 ACS 5-Year$60,895Bottom 41%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,0402024 ACS 5-Year$35,237Top 45%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year14.4%Bottom 36%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year17.5 minTop 10%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year35.1%Top 24%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.3%50th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026136,765Top 39%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.1%Top 9%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Top 35%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026143,02261st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year81.4%Top 38%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageLubbock, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$53,850Bottom 4%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageLubbock, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$42,130Bottom 3%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%81st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.4%Bottom 23%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year7.1%47th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.4% 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

202120222023202461k54k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $60,895 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.

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 46% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.0 students for every full-time teacher across 77 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
79
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.0
across 77 of them
Math proficiency
49.0%
Bottom 43% in Texas
Reading proficiency
46.1%
Top 47% in Texas
The 12 largest of 79 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
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%
Evans MiddleLUBBOCK ISD77314.353%50%

60.2% 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 $3,333 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.57% 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 $1,182 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 77% of the median household income here of $60,895.

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 $1,182 a month.

A median home at $212,400 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $92,117, 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
33.1%
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
$1,182
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$212,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lubbock’s median household income of $60,895, 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 9%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Lubbock, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.3%36th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Lubbock, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+28.2%13th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Lubbock, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+62.9%9th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 44%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year51.2%10th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6422024 ACS 5-Year118,14399th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$990Top 22%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,634Top 25%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,175Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$182024 ACS 5-Year$1,182Bottom 33%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,2462024 ACS 5-Year$212,40056th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$982024 ACS 5-Year$3,33377th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,7202024 ACS 5-Year$92,117Top 34%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year1.57%81st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year33.1%Bottom 26%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2132024 ACS 5-Year61598th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%57th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%59th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±9002024 ACS 5-Year11,05799th 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

70/ 100
Top 16% of 4,224 published city 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 272,086 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 2,382 units authorized in 2025, up 29% on the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Lubbock County, which contains Lubbock, 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 8.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
2,109
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.0
Top 16% nationally
Year over year
−3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
29.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024272k258k
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. This is the figure for Lubbock County, TX. 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 (−34%).

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, 7.7 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

25 / 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.

HailHigh
DroughtHigh
Strong windHigh
Winter weatherModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, cold wave, ice storm, inland flooding, 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). 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
699
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,489
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.

Lubbock's police department reported 699 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,489.

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Lubbock’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 Lubbock (Lubbock County) rather than Lubbock 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.

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 Lubbock Preston Smith Intl at 8 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year88.8%Bottom 46%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle8 miTop 19%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%Top 46%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Lubbock Preston Smith IntlLBB8 mi11,500 ft
Big Spring/Mc Mahon-WrinkleBPG96 mi8,803 ft
Lea County RgnlHOB98 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
57
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Other cities in Lubbock, TX

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
LevellandHockley County12,46651Levelland vs Lubbock

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 Lubbock side by side with a similar place.

Lubbock vs AmarilloLubbock vs Lafayette

Moving to Lubbock 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
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
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.

ZIP codes in Lubbock

13 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Lubbock 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 Lubbock 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
7942453,478$97,231$296,30064
7942346,998$84,933$234,40064
7941636,442$63,896$213,700—
7940724,000$61,509$205,200—
7941323,343$69,400$208,600—
7941417,596$49,057$157,500—
7940316,089$47,907$84,100—
7941515,794$36,468$96,400—
7941215,018$48,878$130,700—
7941010,137$44,537$246,400—
794018,741$26,980$105,600—
794048,529$51,630$85,600—
794116,865$47,634$133,900—