City · Parker County, Texas

Cresson, Texas

Cresson is a city in Parker County, Texas, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area. It has 1,313 residents. Cresson, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 44 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,841 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #182 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on new homes permitted (high), child care cost burden (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), high ozone days (high) and hot days (high).

44Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,841 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #182 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 1,313 (2020-2024)
Land area: 12 mi²
Density: 113.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 4817648

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety68#4,935/15,637
Economy71#4,528/15,631
Housing54#6,963/14,977
Health71#4,494/15,609
Healthcare19#12,655/15,650
Environment39#9,352/15,453
Education50#7,885/15,649
Infrastructure48#8,200/15,650
Community27#11,448/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,172/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

New homes permitted · high19.0 /1k
95/100Texas 6.3 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Child care cost burden · low20.1%
94/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteParker County value
Job growth · high3.1%
94/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataParker County value
Voter turnout · high75.4%
87/100Texas 57.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionParker County value
Math scores · high3.31
84/100Texas 3.15United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteParker County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Texas 5.8United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationParker County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.3 /10k
0/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsParker County value
High ozone days · high13 days
4/100Texas 7 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyParker County value
Hot days · high103 days
9/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationParker County value
Restaurants and bars · low4.8 /10k
9/100Texas 7.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsParker County value
High school diploma or higher · low89.2%
10/100Texas 86.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high17.0%
10/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Trends

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

PopulationRising
986 (2015-2019) → 1,313 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
1.6 /1k (2021) → 19.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+1,060%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
44.6% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−45 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
71.4% (2015-2019) → 37.1% (2020-2024)
−34 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.8× (2015-2019) → 3.2× (2020-2024)
+79%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
16.8% (2015-2019) → 30.2% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Cresson, Texas improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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

Bachelor's++13 points16.8% → 30.2%
Household income+43%$63,839 → $91,518

Declined1

Price / income+1.4×1.8× → 3.2×

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Cresson, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	33.6 min2015-2019	51.7 min2020-2024	+18.1 min	Within the margin of error	0%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.8%2015-2019	30.2%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	96%
Broadband subscriptions	91.0%2015-2019	95.3%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Effective property tax rate	1.39%2015-2019	1.06%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	78%
High school diploma or higher	89.8%2015-2019	89.2%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+1.4×	Declined	11%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4232015-2019	0.3792020-2024	−0.043	Within the margin of error	81%
Median household income	$63,8392015-2019	$91,5182020-2024	+43%	Improved	78%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	31.6%2015-2019	26.0%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	18.7%2015-2019	17.0%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%

“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 Cresson, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cresson, 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, Cresson, Texas itself moved +5.3 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

1,313 residents (±272)

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

401 households (±78)

Cresson, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k8.7%†35
$25k–50k15%†60
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

401 households (±78)

Cresson, Texas
Texas share

Own74%296
Rent26%†105

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

579 workers (±133)

Cresson, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone80%464
Carpool7.9%†46
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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 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 Parker County, the county holding most of Cresson's residents.

Parker County has 3,647 employer establishments, 210 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.96× Texas's), with 37,874 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,179. The Census Bureau also counts 19,410 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,647; 19,410 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 210; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 37,874
Average annual pay: $53,179; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	370	21.3	1.38×More than typical	3,051	$67,011	1,986
Ambulatory health care services	271	15.6	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,959	$67,120	680
Restaurants and other eating places	232	13.4	0.73×Fewer than typical	4,724	$20,906	66
Construction of buildings	174	10	1.33×More than typical	852	$81,540	861
Lessors of real estate	162	9.3	0.76×Fewer than typical	360	$54,061	1,729
Building equipment contractors	152	8.8	1.46×More than typical	1,444	$63,258	420
Management, scientific and technical consulting	125	7.2	1.07×About typical	763	$50,043	725
Limited-service restaurants	108	6.2	0.78×Fewer than typical	2,428	$20,275	19
Religious organizations	107	6.2	1.11×About typical	952	$25,634	—
Offices of physicians	98	5.7	0.87×About typical	508	$93,506	152
Services to buildings and dwellings	96	5.5	0.82×About typical	517	$42,054	1,025
Truck transportation	94	5.4	1.07×About typical	1,069	$66,465	455

Rank places for an industry Open Parker County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 173,437 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 $61.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cresson, Texas: $47.05 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $61.8K; −4.4% vs FY2025
Per resident: $47.05; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.7%; US 30%
Single offer: 43%; 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

FABRICATION SPECIALTY INC$36.8K60%
META MARTIS LLC$25K40%
INTELLIGENCE CONSULTING PARTNERS ICP LLC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

21.4KFY2017
38.9KFY2018
44.6KFY2019
40.2KFY2020
15.7KFY2021
20.4KFY2022
17.9KFY2023
14.7K

Top industries (NAICS)

Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$28.6K46%
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental and leasing · 5324$25K40%
Hardware manufacturing · 3325$5,2258.5%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$1,0231.7%
Forging and stamping · 3321$7491.2%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$460

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

Cresson, Texas's figures are part of those of Parker County, TX, Hood County, TX and Johnson County, TX ($49.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Parker 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.

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

House

Senate

Ted CruzR-

County

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

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX52

Other cities and towns in Parker 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/4817648

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends