City · Comal County, Texas

Bulverde, Texas

Bulverde is a city in Comal County, Texas, part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX metro area. It has 6,486 residents. Bulverde, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 75 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,958 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #19 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on income inequality (Gini index) (low), child care cost burden (low) and broadband subscriptions (high). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), hot days (high) and high school diploma or higher (low).

75High

Quality-of-life score: #3,958 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #19 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 6,486 (2020-2024)
Land area: 16 mi²
Density: 410.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4811224

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety72#4,432/15,637
Economy98#361/15,631
Housing75#3,684/14,977
Health79#3,228/15,609
Healthcare52#7,519/15,650
Environment25#11,601/15,453
Education68#4,970/15,649
Infrastructure81#3,019/15,650
Community43#8,892/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,764/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Bulverde, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Comal 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

Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.295
99/100Texas 0.478United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Child care cost burden · low18.0%
98/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteComal County value
Broadband subscriptions · high98.5%
97/100Texas 91.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
New homes permitted · high19.4 /1k
95/100Texas 6.3 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Poverty rate · low2.8%
93/100Texas 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Rent as share of income · low22.1%
93/100Texas 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.7 /10k
4/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsComal County value
Hot days · high117 days
5/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationComal County value
High school diploma or higher · low97.8%
13/100Texas 86.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
High ozone days · high6 days
13/100Texas 7 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyComal County value
Drought exposure · high75%
19/100Texas 57%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAComal County value
Average commute time · high33.1 min
19/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Trends

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

PopulationRising
5,162 (2015-2019) → 6,486 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
19.3% (2015-2019) → 1.3% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 15.1% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
34.8% (2015-2019) → 44.8% (2020-2024)
+9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
New homes permittedWorsening
34.0 /1k (2021) → 19.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−43%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Poverty rateImproving
10.9% (2015-2019) → 2.8% (2020-2024)
−8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Bulverde, Texas improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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

Inequality−0.0950.390 → 0.295

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Bulverde, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	40.0 min2015-2019	33.1 min2020-2024	−6.9 min	Within the margin of error	95%
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.8%2015-2019	44.8%2020-2024	+9.9 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Broadband subscriptions	95.3%2015-2019	98.5%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Effective property tax rate	1.41%2015-2019	1.23%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	55%
High school diploma or higher	96.7%2015-2019	97.8%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	51%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3902015-2019	0.2952020-2024	−0.095	Improved	95%
Median household income	$93,5342015-2019	$112,1882020-2024	+20%	Within the margin of error	33%
Rent as share of income	25.5%2015-2019	22.1%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.9%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	85%

“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 Bulverde, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bulverde, 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, Bulverde, Texas itself moved +6.8 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

6,486 residents (±31)

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

2,469 households (±187)

Bulverde, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k4.5%†110
$25k–50k7.4%†182
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,469 households (±187)

Bulverde, Texas
Texas share

Own92%2,264
Rent8.3%†205

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

2,882 workers (±364)

Bulverde, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone77%2,205
Carpool7.3%†210
Public transit0.1%†2

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

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 Comal County, the county holding most of Bulverde's residents.

Comal County has 4,951 employer establishments, 255 for every 10,000 residents (1.03× the US rate of 248; 1.17× Texas's), with 65,657 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,690. The Census Bureau also counts 21,852 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,951; 21,852 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 255; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 65,657
Average annual pay: $49,690; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	412	21.3	1.02×About typical	3,495	$67,263	919
Specialty trade contractors	406	20.9	1.35×More than typical	4,689	$60,157	1,576
Restaurants and other eating places	339	17.5	0.95×About typical	8,541	$23,663	69
Lessors of real estate	283	14.6	1.19×About typical	849	$49,405	2,859
Construction of buildings	225	11.6	1.54×More than typical	1,093	$64,467	812
Management, scientific and technical consulting	171	8.8	1.31×More than typical	427	$76,152	1,065
Building equipment contractors	156	8	1.34×More than typical	1,670	$57,099	302
Offices of physicians	151	7.8	1.20×About typical	1,228	$84,393	190
Services to buildings and dwellings	147	7.6	1.12×About typical	1,031	$49,134	1,072
Full-service restaurants	139	7.2	0.93×About typical	4,370	$26,130	26
Limited-service restaurants	136	7	0.87×About typical	3,423	$21,487	27
Offices of other health practitioners	122	6.3	1.04×About typical	773	$53,969	476

Rank places for an industry Open Comal County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 193,849 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 $192.9K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Bulverde, Texas: $29.75 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $192.9K; −26% vs FY2025
Per resident: $29.75; US $1,994
Sole-source: 24%; US 30%
Single offer: 72%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$143.6K74%
Defense Health Agency$41.8K22%
Department of Veterans Affairs$5,0082.6%
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service$2,5701.3%

Top recipients

SHARKCAGE INC.$141.9K74%
H.I.S. CENTRE$41.8K22%
COLEY & ASSOCIATES, INC$5,0082.6%
SECURITY OPERATIONS GROUP INTERNATIONAL LLC$2,5701.3%
COLDCHAIN TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, LLC$1,6940.9%

Spending by fiscal year

21.5KFY2017
39.9KFY2018
55.3KFY2019
171.6KFY2020
122.9KFY2021
241.5KFY2022
358KFY2023
281.2K

Top industries (NAICS)

Boiler, tank, and shipping container manufacturing · 3324$137.5K71%
Other ambulatory health care services · 6219$41.8K22%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$5,0082.6%
Architectural and structural metals manufacturing · 3323$4,3872.3%
Investigation and security services · 5616$2,5701.3%
Plastics product manufacturing · 3261$1,694

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 Bulverde, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Bulverde, Texas's figures are part of those of Comal County, TX ($27M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.7% of that total.

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

See federal money in Comal 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.

Bulverde, Texas is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

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

Comal County76100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX32

Other cities and towns in Comal 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/4811224

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends