Census-designated place · Van Zandt County, Texas

Ben Wheeler, Texas

Ben Wheeler is a census-designated place in Van Zandt County, Texas. It has 1,792 residents. Ben Wheeler, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 36 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,978 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #246 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), broadband subscriptions (high) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on primary care physicians (low), distance to an emergency room (high) and uninsured residents (under 65) (high).

36Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,978 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #246 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 1,792 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 597.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4807708

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.

Safety58#6,643/15,637
Economy78#3,403/15,631
Housing96#608/14,977
Health37#9,769/15,609
Healthcare0#15,610/15,650
Environment51#7,540/15,453
Education19#12,744/15,649
Infrastructure66#5,273/15,650
Community7#14,583/15,651
Leisure & amenities2#15,339/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ben Wheeler, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Van Zandt 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

Rent as share of income · low17.2%
99/100Texas 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Broadband subscriptions · high100.0%
99/100Texas 91.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Texas 4.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Child care cost burden · low20.0%
94/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVan Zandt County value
Property crime rate · low459 /100k
91/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationVan Zandt County value
Poverty rate · low3.6%
87/100Texas 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Primary care physicians · low8 /100k
1/100Texas 61 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVan Zandt County value
Distance to an emergency room · high20.8 mi
3/100Texas 5.5 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesVan Zandt County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high36.7%
3/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Dentists · low20 /100k
5/100Texas 63 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVan Zandt County value
Mental health providers · low48 /100k
5/100Texas 181 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVan Zandt County value
Traffic deaths · high31.3 /100k
6/100Texas 14.1 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataVan Zandt County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,992 (2016-2020) → 1,792 (2020-2024)
−10%4 yearsCensus table B01003US 331,578,104 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
30.3% (2016-2020) → 5.0% (2020-2024)
−25 pts4 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.1% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$98,005 (2016-2020) → $120,523 (2020-2024)
+23%4 yearsCensus table B19013US $67,340 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
95.8% (2016-2020) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts4 yearsCensus table B28002US 85.2% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
80.7% (2016-2020) → 84.8% (2020-2024)
+4.1 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.5% → 89.6%
Average commute timeWorsening
51.1 min (2016-2020) → 61.0 min (2020-2024)
+19%4 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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.

There is not enough history to compare Ben Wheeler, Texas over five years.

Cities and towns like Ben Wheeler, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ben Wheeler, 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.

No place that looked like Ben Wheeler, Texas five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

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

1,792 residents (±883)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,792 residents (±883)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

White89%†1,587
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino11%†205

Education

1,401 residents (±793)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

No high school diploma15%†213
High school or GED20%†282
Some college28%†387

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

421 households (±233)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k2.4%†10
$25k–50k21%†89
$50k–75k13%†55
$75k–100k5.2%†22
$100k–150k39%†165
$150k–200k11%†46
$200k or more8.1%†34

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

421 households (±233)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

Own67%†280
Rent33%†141

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

141 households (±130)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

Under $75062%†88
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,5005.0%†7

Home values

280 homes (±187)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

Under $150k7.5%†21
$150k–250k15%†43
$250k–400k74%†206

Age of homes

421 homes (±233)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

2010 or later0.0%0
2000–200971%†297
1980–199924%†102

Size of homes

421 homes (±233)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

Studio4.8%†20
1 bedroom16%†68
2 bedrooms0.0%0

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

568 workers (±317)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone62%†354
Carpool30%†168
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home8.1%†46
Other0.0%0

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

522 workers (±274)

Ben Wheeler, Texas
Texas share

Under 15 min6.7%†35
15–29 min18%†96
30–44 min0.0%0

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Van Zandt County, the county holding most of Ben Wheeler's residents.

Van Zandt County has 1,007 employer establishments, 157 for every 10,000 residents (0.63× the US rate of 248; 0.72× Texas's), with 9,632 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,612. The Census Bureau also counts 6,008 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,007; 6,008 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 157; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 9,632
Average annual pay: $45,612; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	122	19.1	1.23×About typical	1,010	$65,198	786
Restaurants and other eating places	87	13.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	1,427	$18,946	41
Religious organizations	61	9.5	1.72×More than typical	291	$21,196	—
Building equipment contractors	54	8.4	1.40×More than typical	602	$72,379	149
Full-service restaurants	40	6.2	0.81×About typical	593	$20,148	19
Limited-service restaurants	38	5.9	0.74×Fewer than typical	757	$18,449	14
Ambulatory health care services	36	5.6	0.27×Fewer than typical	220	$50,455	160
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	36	5.6	1.78×More than typical	226	$56,690	177
Construction of buildings	32	5	0.66×Fewer than typical	108	$57,852	367
Lessors of real estate	32	5	0.41×Fewer than typical	57	$35,333	376
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	29	4.5	1.37×More than typical	249	$62,896	84
Truck transportation	27	4.2	0.83×About typical	142	$50,662	185

Rank places for an industry Open Van Zandt County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 64,033 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

In FY2026, an estimated $3,973 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ben Wheeler, Texas: $2.22 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3,973; +532% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.22; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Agricultural Marketing Service$3,973100%

Top recipients

DAVID LEE BRUNE$3,973100%

Spending by fiscal year

12.6KFY2017
1.2KFY2018
86.7KFY2019
87KFY2020
238FY2021
19.7KFY2022
3.2KFY2023
54KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other food manufacturing · 3119$3,973100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Ben Wheeler, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Ben Wheeler, Texas's figures are part of those of Van Zandt County, TX ($832K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.5% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ben Wheeler is mostly in Van Zandt County.

See federal money in Van Zandt 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.

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

House

Lance GoodenR-TX-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.9%

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.

Van Zandt County20100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Van Zandt County

Largest first.

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/4807708

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Cities and towns like Ben Wheeler, Texas five years ago that improved