City · La Salle County, Texas

Cotulla, Texas

Cotulla is a city in La Salle County, Texas. It has 3,664 residents. Cotulla, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,863 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #551 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), suicide rate (low) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on traffic deaths (high), mammography screening (low) and distance to an emergency room (high).

18Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,863 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #551 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 3,664 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,822.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 4817216

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 68 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.

Safety95#769/15,637
Economy39#9,565/15,631
Housing47#7,986/14,977
Health29#11,143/15,609
Healthcare3#15,183/15,650
Environment22#12,038/15,453
Education18#12,788/15,649
Infrastructure15#13,347/15,650
Community10#14,091/15,651
Leisure & amenities31#10,766/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Preventable hospital stays · low424 /100k
100/100Texas 2,991 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLa Salle County value
Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Texas 14.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLa Salle County value
Public EV charging ports · high41.4 /10k
99/100Texas 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLa Salle County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Texas 13.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLa Salle County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.3×
99/100Texas 3.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Students per teacher · low10.1×
98/100Texas 15.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsLa Salle County value

Weaknesses

Traffic deaths · high106.4 /100k
0/100Texas 14.1 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataLa Salle County value
Mammography screening · low17.0%
0/100Texas 42.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLa Salle County value
Distance to an emergency room · high36.1 mi
0/100Texas 5.5 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLa Salle County value
New business applications · low6.1 /1k
1/100Texas 17.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauLa Salle County value
Hot days · high159 days
1/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLa Salle County value
Food insecurity · high42.1%
1/100Texas 19.4%United States 15.6%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
4,168 (2015-2019) → 3,664 (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
53.3% (2015-2019) → 83.6% (2020-2024)
+30 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.1 /1k (2021) → 0.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−75%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
High school diploma or higherImproving
67.0% (2015-2019) → 76.2% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Poverty rateWorsening
17.6% (2015-2019) → 26.7% (2020-2024)
+9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeImproving
29.7 min (2015-2019) → 17.1 min (2020-2024)
−42%5 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.

Over about five years, Cotulla, Texas improved on 2 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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

Inequality−0.2030.588 → 0.385
Broadband+30 points53.3% → 83.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Cotulla, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.7 min2015-2019	17.1 min2020-2024	−12.6 min	Within the margin of error	99%
Broadband subscriptions	53.3%2015-2019	83.6%2020-2024	+30 points	Improved	98%
Child poverty rate	27.9%2015-2019	31.3%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	25%
High school diploma or higher	67.0%2015-2019	76.2%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	1.3×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	90%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5882015-2019	0.3852020-2024	−0.203	Improved	100%
Median household income	$52,5882015-2019	$70,0672020-2024	+33%	Within the margin of error	62%
Poverty rate	17.6%2015-2019	26.7%2020-2024	+9.1 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.2%2015-2019	15.2%2020-2024	−7.1 points	Within the margin of error	92%

“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 Cotulla, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cotulla, 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 Cotulla, Texas five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Cotulla, Texas itself moved +27 points in standing on average over the same 6 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

3,664 residents (±16)

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

983 households (±198)

Cotulla, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k19%†183
$25k–50k22%†217
$50k–75k15%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

983 households (±198)

Cotulla, Texas
Texas share

Own72%†703
Rent28%†280

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

1,313 workers (±290)

Cotulla, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone74%978
Carpool15%†202
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 La Salle County, the county holding most of Cotulla's residents.

La Salle County has 149 employer establishments, 228 for every 10,000 residents (0.92× the US rate of 248; 1.04× Texas's), with 1,798 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,580. The Census Bureau also counts 586 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 149; 586 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 228; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 1,798
Average annual pay: $53,580; US $68,342

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

Traveler accommodation	18	27.5	15.3×More than typical	195	$19,882	—
Restaurants and other eating places	12	18.4	1.00×About typical	228	$18,154	4
Limited-service restaurants	9	13.8	1.72×Too few to compare	187	$17,374	—
Gasoline stations	7	10.7	3.30×Too few to compare	327	$28,404	—
Ambulatory health care services	6	9.2	0.44×Too few to compare	69	$63,783	9
Religious organizations	5	7.6	1.38×Too few to compare	15	$12,667	—
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	4	6.1	3.71×Too few to compare	21	$52,190	—
General merchandise stores	4	6.1	3.46×Too few to compare	34	$21,412	—
Management, scientific and technical consulting	4	6.1	0.91×Too few to compare	5	$49,400	19
Other specialty trade contractors	4	6.1	2.44×Too few to compare	3	$56,000	31
Specialty trade contractors	4	6.1	0.40×Too few to compare	3	$56,000	77
Full-service restaurants	3	4.6	0.60×Too few to compare	41	$21,707	—

Rank places for an industry Open La Salle County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,536 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: Cotulla is mostly in La Salle County.

See federal money in La Salle 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.

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

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.

La Salle County20100% of residents

Other cities and towns in La Salle 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/4817216

Cotulla, Texas

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved2

Declined0

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

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Local businesses

Federal contracts performed here

Representation in Congress

Senate

County

Other cities and towns in La Salle County

Similar cities and towns

Data and sources

Improved2

Declined0

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Senate