City · Bosque County, Texas

Clifton, Texas

Clifton is a city in Bosque County, Texas, part of the Waco, TX metro area. It has 3,503 residents. Clifton, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,036 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #331 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on grocery stores (high), students per teacher (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), access to exercise opportunities (low) and uninsured residents (under 65) (high).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,036 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #331 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 3,503 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,584.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4815472

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety75#3,907/15,637
Economy50#7,755/15,631
Housing63#5,506/14,977
Health22#12,143/15,609
Healthcare6#14,705/15,650
Environment47#8,159/15,453
Education30#10,911/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,410/15,650
Community35#10,211/15,651
Leisure & amenities34#10,355/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Grocery stores · high3.2 /10k
95/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBosque County value
Students per teacher · low10.8×
94/100Texas 15.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsBosque County value
Job growth · high3.1%
94/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataBosque County value
Property crime rate · low385 /100k
94/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationBosque County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Texas 5.1 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBosque County value
Child care cost burden · low21.6%
90/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBosque County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low20.0%
1/100Texas 40.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBosque County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low30.9%
2/100Texas 82.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBosque County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high22.3%
4/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Traffic deaths · high30.0 /100k
7/100Texas 14.1 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataBosque County value
Mental health providers · low58 /100k
7/100Texas 181 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBosque County value
High school diploma or higher · low81.5%
8/100Texas 86.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
47.7% (2015-2019) → 8.2% (2020-2024)
−40 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.6 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.1% (2015-2019) → 85.9% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
22.5% (2015-2019) → 33.9% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
19.9% (2015-2019) → 9.5% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.8× (2015-2019) → 2.5× (2020-2024)
+39%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Clifton, Texas improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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.

Improved2

Poverty−10 points19.9% → 9.5%
Broadband+12 points74.1% → 85.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Clifton, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.6 min2015-2019	16.4 min2020-2024	−6.2 min	Within the margin of error	94%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.3%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Broadband subscriptions	74.1%2015-2019	85.9%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	68%
Effective property tax rate	1.45%2015-2019	1.38%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	29%
High school diploma or higher	86.3%2015-2019	81.5%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	36%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3932015-2019	0.4112020-2024	+0.018	Within the margin of error	35%
Median household income	$49,0002015-2019	$64,6532020-2024	+32%	Within the margin of error	60%
Poverty rate	19.9%2015-2019	9.5%2020-2024	−10 points	Improved	93%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	22.9%2015-2019	26.9%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.9%2015-2019	22.3%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%

“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 Clifton, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Clifton, 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, Clifton, Texas itself moved −4.7 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

3,503 residents (±20)

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

1,355 households (±101)

Clifton, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k18%†240
$25k–50k24%†326
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,355 households (±101)

Clifton, Texas
Texas share

Own61%827
Rent39%528

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

1,321 workers (±174)

Clifton, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone80%1,052
Carpool8.7%†115
Public transit0.0%0

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 Waco, 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 Bosque County, the county holding most of Clifton's residents.

Bosque County has 315 employer establishments, 166 for every 10,000 residents (0.67× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Texas's), with 2,520 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,473. The Census Bureau also counts 1,846 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 315; 1,846 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 166; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 2,520
Average annual pay: $42,473; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	25	13.2	2.38×More than typical	80	$18,863	—
Specialty trade contractors	25	13.2	0.85×About typical	134	$51,060	230
Restaurants and other eating places	21	11.1	0.60×Fewer than typical	179	$18,151	8
Lessors of real estate	14	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	29	$29,621	139
Building equipment contractors	11	5.8	0.97×About typical	74	$49,378	33
Full-service restaurants	11	5.8	0.76×Fewer than typical	71	$14,423	3
Ambulatory health care services	10	5.3	0.25×Fewer than typical	67	$58,075	59
General merchandise stores	9	4.8	2.69×Too few to compare	53	$21,075	14
Other specialty trade contractors	9	4.8	1.89×Too few to compare	38	$34,658	91
Services to buildings and dwellings	9	4.8	0.70×Too few to compare	82	$31,098	154
Banks and credit unions	8	4.2	1.31×Too few to compare	62	$58,242	—
Gasoline stations	8	4.2	1.30×Too few to compare	101	$20,307	5

Rank places for an industry Open Bosque County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 18,936 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: Clifton is mostly in Bosque County.

See federal money in Bosque 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.

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

House

John R. CarterR-TX-31 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 1.9%

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.

Bosque County34100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Waco, TX23

Other cities and towns in Bosque 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/4815472

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends