Stephenville, Texas

Area Profile

21,682 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Stephenville, in Erath County.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 42% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 30% of 4,199 cities measured66
SchoolsTop 35% of 4,162 cities measured61
Growth2,698th of 4,224 cities measured44
Housing affordability2,512th of 4,218 cities measured62
Climate3,668th of 4,225 cities measured60
Physical resilienceTop 35% of 4,226 cities measured70
Access4,006th of 4,226 cities measured57
Economic stability2,631st of 4,226 cities measured51
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $53,015, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Erath County, TX, which contains Stephenville, rather than for Stephenville alone.

In the public schools here, 49% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.2 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 30 units authorized over the past twelve months, 67% below 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
21,682
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$53,015
Bottom 28% nationally
Density
1,812/sq mi
12 sq mi of land
Median age
25.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Texas
Nearest major airport
AFW
75 mi · Perot Fld/Fort Worth Alliance
Median home value
$241,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Erath County, TX, which contains Stephenville, is 4.3%, lower than in 51% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Erath County, TX, which contains Stephenville, grew 3.3% over the past year, to 22,016 employed residents.

33% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 74% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsErath County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,11814th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftErath County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,25535th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,4042024 ACS 5-Year$53,015Bottom 28%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,1382024 ACS 5-Year$27,593Bottom 28%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year12.2%Bottom 44%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year16.9 minTop 9%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year33.3%Top 26%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year75.6%44th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentErath County, TX’s figureJuly 202622,016Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Erath County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+8.9%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Erath County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+3.3%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceErath County, TX’s figureJuly 202623,00926th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year82.8%Top 32%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Erath County, TX’s figureJuly 20260.0%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateErath County, TX’s figureJuly 20264.3%Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%32nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202456k48k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $53,015 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.

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

49% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 54% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.2 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
49.0%
Bottom 42% in Texas
Reading proficiency
53.5%
Top 26% in Texas
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Stephenville H SSTEPHENVILLE ISD1,07913.339%60%
Gilbert IntSTEPHENVILLE ISD56213.152%48%
Henderson J HSTEPHENVILLE ISD54413.662%50%
Chamberlin ElSTEPHENVILLE ISD50314.4——
Hook ElSTEPHENVILLE ISD48512.855%52%
Central ElSTEPHENVILLE ISD40515.0——
Huckabay SchoolHUCKABAY ISD32713.657%57%
Three Way Pk-6THREE WAY ISD13615.1——
Morgan Mill ElMORGAN MILL ISD12710.637%57%
Three Way Jh/hsTHREE WAY ISD768.442%37%
Huston Academy · charterERATH EXCELS ACADEMY INC355.810%10%

46.6% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Texas is up 44% over five years, and up 2.9% 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 $3,211 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.33% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,179, close to the $1,134 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,179 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,200 a year, about 89% of the median household income here of $53,015.

The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,134 a month.

A median home at $241,300 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $86,990, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
35.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,179
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,134
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$241,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Stephenville’s median household income of $53,015, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Texas’s figure2026 Q2+2.9%47th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Texas’s figure2026 Q2+43.8%53rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Texas’s figure2026 Q2+97.6%57th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 41%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year44.3%6th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3512024 ACS 5-Year9,09593rd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$899Top 14%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,640Top 25%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,179Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1142024 ACS 5-Year$1,134Bottom 36%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$21,6622024 ACS 5-Year$241,30063rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3412024 ACS 5-Year$3,21175th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,5902024 ACS 5-Year$86,990Top 40%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.19%2024 ACS 5-Year1.33%70th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year35.5%Bottom 19%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±162024 ACS 5-Year963rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.2%61st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2872024 ACS 5-Year84894th 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.

Development Momentum

44/ 100
Ranks 2,698 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, 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 5% since 2020, reaching 22,147 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 27 units authorized in 2025, 75% below the prior year.

60% of the 30 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Erath County, which contains Stephenville, gained about 0.2% 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 $54,118, below the $65,255 of households that moved out.

At 1.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
30
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.4
Bottom 32% nationally
Year over year
−67%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
60.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202422k21k
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
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
24%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$54,118
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$65,255
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Tarrant County, TX 244 people · 10% of arrivals
  2. Comanche County, TX 163 people · 6.9% of arrivals
  3. Hood County, TX 160 people · 6.8% of arrivals
  4. Parker County, TX 129 people · 5.5% of arrivals
  5. Hamilton County, TX 69 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Tarrant County, TX 210 people · 9.2% of departures
  2. Comanche County, TX 156 people · 6.8% of departures
  3. Hood County, TX 156 people · 6.8% of departures
  4. Parker County, TX 118 people · 5.2% of departures
  5. Johnson County, TX 95 people · 4.2% 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 Erath County, TX. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202520927
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−87%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 97°F and January a low of 31°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 34.1 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station STEPHENVILLE, 1.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals34.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals97°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

70 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 42% 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.

WildfireHigh
Cold waveModerate
TornadoElevated
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, lightning, hail, drought, hurricane, strong wind, winter weather, ice storm, earthquake, landslide, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, 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
98
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
767
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.

Stephenville's police department reported 98 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 767.

Erath County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.6 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 about 16.7 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 9.0 per 100,000 residents in Erath County.

Homicide
3.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
9.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
20.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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 Stephenville’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 Stephenville (Erath County) rather than Stephenville 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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. 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 Perot Fld/Fort Worth Alliance at 75 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year91.2%Top 43%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle75 miBottom 4%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%Top 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Perot Fld/Fort Worth AllianceAFW75 mi11,125 ft
Tstc WacoCNW78 mi8,600 ft
Dallas-Fort Worth IntlDFW83 mi13,401 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
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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
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
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 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 Stephenville

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Stephenville with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
7640131,375$61,210$270,00062