City · Shelby County, Texas

Center, Texas

Center is a city in Shelby County, Texas. It has 5,271 residents. Center, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 8 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,442 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #805 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), home price to income ratio (low) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), firearm deaths (high) and uninsured residents (under 65) (high).

8Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,442 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #805 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 5,271 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 659.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4813732

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.

Safety18#12,769/15,637
Economy6#14,645/15,631
Housing97#465/14,977
Health5#14,901/15,609
Healthcare0#15,618/15,650
Environment29#11,044/15,453
Education18#12,767/15,649
Infrastructure17#12,974/15,650
Community12#13,805/15,651
Leisure & amenities22#12,212/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Center, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Shelby 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 · low22.6%
97/100Texas 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Home price to income ratio · low1.7×
93/100Texas 3.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Effective property tax rate · low0.43%
92/100Texas 1.40%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Average commute time · low16.2 min
83/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Natural hazard risk · low13.4
78/100Texas 39.62025Federal Emergency Management AgencyShelby County value
Comfortable days · high30.0%
78/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationShelby County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high53.8 /100k
0/100Texas 14.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataShelby County value
Firearm deaths · high53.8 /100k
0/100Texas 13.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataShelby County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high29.8%
1/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Primary care physicians · low13 /100k
1/100Texas 61 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShelby County value
Mammography screening · low30.0%
2/100Texas 42.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteShelby County value
Distance to an airport · high145 mi
3/100Texas 33 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauShelby County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
0.2 /1k (2021) → 0.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+393%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
65.7% (2015-2019) → 25.3% (2020-2024)
−40 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
68.4% (2015-2019) → 28.7% (2020-2024)
−40 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
68.8% (2015-2019) → 86.8% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
69.6% (2015-2019) → 83.4% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
38.8% (2015-2019) → 26.1% (2020-2024)
−13 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, Center, Texas improved on 5 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 7 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.

Improved5

Child poverty−40 points65.7% → 25.3%
High school++18 points68.8% → 86.8%
Rent burden−40 points68.4% → 28.7%
Rent / income−11 points33.3% → 22.6%
Broadband+14 points69.6% → 83.4%

Declined1

Uninsured+12 points18.0% → 29.8%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Center, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	11.5 min2015-2019	16.2 min2020-2024	+4.7 min	Within the margin of error	11%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.4%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	−7 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Broadband subscriptions	69.6%2015-2019	83.4%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	76%
Child poverty rate	65.7%2015-2019	25.3%2020-2024	−40 points	Improved	99%
High school diploma or higher	68.8%2015-2019	86.8%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	99%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	1.7×2020-2024	−0.4×	Within the margin of error	91%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5072015-2019	0.5022020-2024	−0.005	Within the margin of error	55%
Median household income	$34,5072015-2019	$48,2932020-2024	+40%	Within the margin of error	74%
Poverty rate	38.8%2015-2019	26.1%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Rent as share of income	33.3%2015-2019	22.6%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	94%
Rent-burdened households	68.4%2015-2019	28.7%2020-2024	−40 points	Improved	99%
Unemployment rate	14.9%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	18.0%2015-2019	29.8%2020-2024	+12 points	Declined	2%

“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 Center, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Center, 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, Center, Texas itself moved +17.6 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

5,271 residents (±26)

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

1,954 households (±172)

Center, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k31%†609
$25k–50k22%†424
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,954 households (±172)

Center, Texas
Texas share

Own56%1,104
Rent44%850

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,932 workers (±321)

Center, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone77%1,496
Carpool15%†282
Public transit0.2%†3

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 Shelby County, the county holding most of Center's residents.

Shelby County has 531 employer establishments, 219 for every 10,000 residents (0.88× the US rate of 248; 1.00× Texas's), with 7,070 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,326. The Census Bureau also counts 2,103 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 531; 2,103 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 219; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 7,070
Average annual pay: $45,326; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	36	14.8	2.93×More than typical	225	$55,969	88
Restaurants and other eating places	35	14.4	0.78×Fewer than typical	409	$17,873	24
Ambulatory health care services	31	12.8	0.61×Fewer than typical	254	$53,854	91
Religious organizations	25	10.3	1.86×More than typical	100	$20,740	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	23	9.5	1.88×More than typical	90	$42,300	48
Specialty trade contractors	22	9.1	0.59×Fewer than typical	199	$69,683	223
Lessors of real estate	21	8.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	59	$27,695	97
Insurance agencies and brokerages	16	6.6	1.50×More than typical	76	$38,697	23
Limited-service restaurants	16	6.6	0.82×About typical	281	$19,701	10
Banks and credit unions	15	6.2	1.91×More than typical	186	$54,903	—
Full-service restaurants	14	5.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	80	$12,600	9
General merchandise stores	13	5.4	3.03×More than typical	330	$31,558	12

Rank places for an industry Open Shelby County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 24,280 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Center, Texas: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

13.7KFY2017
19.6KFY2018
24.9KFY2019
12.1KFY2020
19.2KFY2021
154KFY2022
7.4KFY2023
1.8KFY2024
6.9KFY2025

What was bought

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

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

See federal money in Shelby 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.

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

House

Nathaniel MoranR-TX-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.3%

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.

Shelby County8100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Shelby 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/4813732

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends