AreaProfile

Lubbock, Texas

Area Profile

264,814 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Lubbock, in Lubbock County.

63
Area Score
Top 42% of 133 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 30% of 139 published cities64
GrowthTop 11% of 134 published cities71
Housing affordabilityTop 21% of 150 published cities82
Climate97th of 149 published cities65
Physical resilience117th of 150 published cities26
Access58th of 149 published cities97
Economic stability105th of 150 published cities48
The quick read

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by drought, hail and strong wind.

A major airport is 8 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

Its Area Score of 63 places Lubbock in the top 42% of published city profiles.

At a glance

Population
264,814
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,895
Bottom 40% nationally
Density
1,849/sq mi
143.2 sq mi of land
Median age
30.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Lubbock County
Texas
Metro area
Lubbock, TX
Nearest major airport
LBB
8 mi · Lubbock Preston Smith Intl
Median home value
$212,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.5% is lower than 53% of the 140 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.3% over the past year, to 136,332 employed residents.

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

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,870$60,895Bottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,040$35,237Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate18.9%Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute17.5 minBottom 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher35.1%Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment136,332Bottom 45%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)4.2%Top 7%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.3%Top 25%June 2026
Labor force142,741Bottom 44%June 2026
Labor force participation66.6%Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$53,850Bottom 2%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$42,130Bottom 2%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.7%Top 22%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.5%Bottom 47%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/065.62.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.5% in June 2026.
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

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 $1,182 takes 23% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
23.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,182
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$212,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.49Top 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate51.2%Bottom 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±642118,143Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$18$1,182Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,246$212,400Top 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income23.3%Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.4%Bottom 48%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
71/ 100
Top 11% of 134 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 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 5% since 2020, reaching 272,086 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

At 8.1 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
8.1
Top 14% 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.
Housing units permitted per year
202020222023202420254k2k
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.

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
Annual precipitation18.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall7.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low27°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing40°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

26 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are drought, hail and strong wind.

HailHigh
DroughtHigh
Strong windHigh
Winter weatherModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, cold wave, ice storm, inland flooding, wildfire, heat wave, 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. 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.

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 8 miles away.

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
63
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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.

ZIP codes in Lubbock

5 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
7942453,478$97,23169
7942346,998$84,93368
7941636,442$63,89663
7940724,000$61,50963
7941323,343$69,40065