City · Shackelford County, Texas

Albany, Texas

Albany is a city in Shackelford County, Texas. It has 1,849 residents. Albany, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 41 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,245 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #201 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), students per teacher (low) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on job growth (low), dentists (low) and pharmacies (low).

41Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,245 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #201 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 1,849 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,180.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4801648

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety66#5,267/15,637
Economy43#8,918/15,631
Housing50#7,436/14,977
Health33#10,438/15,609
Healthcare1#15,525/15,650
Environment60#6,162/15,453
Education57#6,667/15,649
Infrastructure12#13,810/15,650
Community78#3,435/15,651
Leisure & amenities52#7,569/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Albany, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Shackelford County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Social associations · high27.9 /10k
100/100Texas 7.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShackelford County value
Students per teacher · low10.0×
98/100Texas 15.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsShackelford County value
Child care cost burden · low19.2%
96/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShackelford County value
Public libraries · high3.1 /10k
96/100Texas 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesShackelford County value
Grocery stores · high3.1 /10k
95/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsShackelford County value
Property crime rate · low361 /100k
95/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2022Federal Bureau of InvestigationShackelford County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-14.0%
0/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataShackelford County value
Dentists · low0 /100k
0/100Texas 63 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShackelford County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Texas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsShackelford County value
Distance to an emergency room · high21.2 mi
2/100Texas 5.5 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesShackelford County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,737 /100k
3/100Texas 2,991 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShackelford County value
Primary care shortage · high19.0
3/100Texas 5.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationShackelford County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
57.9% (2015-2019) → 40.3% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$43,125 (2015-2019) → $68,000 (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
26.3% (2015-2019) → 35.3% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.8× (2015-2019) → 2.6× (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeImproving
34.4% (2015-2019) → 27.3% (2020-2024)
−7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
19.2% (2015-2019) → 12.2% (2020-2024)
−7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Albany, Texas improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+58%$43,125 → $68,000

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Albany, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.6 min2015-2019	22.4 min2020-2024	+2.8 min	Within the margin of error	21%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.3%2015-2019	35.3%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Broadband subscriptions	83.8%2015-2019	87.5%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Effective property tax rate	1.69%2015-2019	1.46%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	65%
High school diploma or higher	86.9%2015-2019	93.8%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	35%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4272015-2019	0.4162020-2024	−0.011	Within the margin of error	60%
Median household income	$43,1252015-2019	$68,0002020-2024	+58%	Improved	89%
Poverty rate	14.1%2015-2019	10.5%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	34.4%2015-2019	27.3%2020-2024	−7.1 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Rent-burdened households	57.9%2015-2019	40.3%2020-2024	−18 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.1%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Albany, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Albany, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Albany, Texas itself moved +10.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,849 residents (±164)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

720 households (±73)

Albany, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k20%†144
$25k–50k16%†117
$50k–75k18%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

720 households (±73)

Albany, Texas
Texas share

Own76%550
Rent24%†170

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

905 workers (±142)

Albany, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone80%726
Carpool10%†91
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Shackelford County, the county holding most of Albany's residents.

Shackelford County has 116 employer establishments, 360 for every 10,000 residents (1.45× the US rate of 248; 1.65× Texas's), with 1,066 paid employees at an average annual pay of $67,590. The Census Bureau also counts 476 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 116; 476 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 360; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 1,066
Average annual pay: $67,590; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Shackelford County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Religious organizations	9	28	5.04×Too few to compare	48	$17,042	—
Restaurants and other eating places	6	18.6	1.01×Too few to compare	56	$10,929	—
Ambulatory health care services	5	15.5	0.75×Too few to compare	42	$58,000	7
Specialty trade contractors	5	15.5	1.00×Too few to compare	52	$81,327	33
Automotive repair and maintenance	4	12.4	2.47×Too few to compare	6	$28,167	10
Other specialty trade contractors	4	12.4	4.95×Too few to compare	50	$83,760	16
Banks and credit unions	3	9.3	2.88×Too few to compare	35	$36,314	—
Full-service restaurants	3	9.3	1.21×Too few to compare	36	$8,028	—
Heavy and civil engineering construction	3	9.3	8.13×Too few to compare	28	$104,250	—
Truck transportation	3	9.3	1.84×Too few to compare	9	$51,222	14
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	10
Advertising, public relations and related services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—

Rank places for an industry Open Shackelford County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 3,220 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Albany is mostly in Shackelford County.

See federal money in Shackelford County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Albany, Texas is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jodey C. ArringtonR-TX-19 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Shackelford County61100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Shackelford County

Largest first.

Moran259

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4801648

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends