City · Galveston County, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a city in Galveston County, Texas, part of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area. It has 53,424 residents. Galveston, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 16 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,139 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #590 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), dental care shortage (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), child poverty rate (high) and uninsured residents (under 65) (high).

16Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,139 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #590 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 53,424 (2020-2024)
Land area: 41 mi²
Density: 1,301.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4828068

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.

Safety31#10,711/15,637
Economy21#12,317/15,631
Housing13#13,080/14,977
Health39#9,545/15,609
Healthcare27#11,436/15,650
Environment11#13,804/15,453
Education46#8,399/15,649
Infrastructure61#6,155/15,650
Community13#13,557/15,651
Leisure & amenities34#10,361/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Comfortable days · high34.4%
94/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGalveston County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Texas 5.8United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationGalveston County value
Average commute time · low20.2 min
84/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Child care cost burden · low23.3%
83/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGalveston County value
Primary care shortage · low0.2
79/100Texas 5.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationGalveston County value
New homes permitted · high4.6 /1k
75/100Texas 6.3 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.525
2/100Texas 0.478United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Child poverty rate · high35.7%
3/100Texas 17.9%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high20.6%
5/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
10/100Texas 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesGalveston County value
Rent-burdened households · high57.6%
11/100Texas 51.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Poverty rate · high21.4%
11/100Texas 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

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

PopulationRising
50,241 (2015-2019) → 53,424 (2020-2024)
+6.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.7× (2015-2019) → 5.9× (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.9% (2015-2019) → 91.3% (2020-2024)
+9.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
26.5% (2015-2019) → 35.7% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
29.2% (2015-2019) → 36.0% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
51.7% (2015-2019) → 57.6% (2020-2024)
+5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Galveston, Texas improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 6 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Improved3

Bachelor's++6.8 points29.2% → 36.0%
Broadband+9.4 points81.9% → 91.3%
Household income+13%$49,319 → $55,631

Declined4

Price / income+2.2×3.7× → 5.9×
Child poverty+9.2 points26.5% → 35.7%
Rent / income+2.8 points30.9% → 33.7%
Rent burden+5.9 points51.7% → 57.6%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Galveston, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.2 min2015-2019	20.2 min2020-2024	+0.0 min	Within the margin of error	47%
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.2%2015-2019	36.0%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Improved	78%
Broadband subscriptions	81.9%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	+9.4 points	Improved	57%
Child poverty rate	26.5%2015-2019	35.7%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Declined	13%
Effective property tax rate	1.34%2015-2019	1.11%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	63%
High school diploma or higher	84.5%2015-2019	88.2%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Home price to income ratio	3.7×2015-2019	5.9×2020-2024	+2.2×	Declined	3%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5082015-2019	0.5252020-2024	+0.017	Within the margin of error	36%
Median household income	$49,3192015-2019	$55,6312020-2024	+13%	Improved	20%
Poverty rate	19.9%2015-2019	21.4%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Rent as share of income	30.9%2015-2019	33.7%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Declined	34%
Rent-burdened households	51.7%2015-2019	57.6%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Declined	35%
Unemployment rate	7.2%2015-2019	5.8%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.4%2015-2019	20.6%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	67%

“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 Galveston, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Galveston, 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, Galveston, Texas itself moved −3.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

53,424 residents (±36)

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

25,198 households (±603)

Galveston, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k25%6,245
$25k–50k22%5,476
$50k–75k15%3,716

Homes

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

Owners and renters

25,198 households (±603)

Galveston, Texas
Texas share

Own46%11,654
Rent54%13,544

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

24,126 workers (±993)

Galveston, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone69%16,671
Carpool7.9%1,904
Public transit0.3%†62

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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, 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 Galveston County, the county holding most of Galveston's residents.

Galveston County has 6,597 employer establishments, 182 for every 10,000 residents (0.73× the US rate of 248; 0.83× Texas's), with 95,225 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,817. The Census Bureau also counts 35,535 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,597; 35,535 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 182; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 95,225
Average annual pay: $52,817; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	670	18.5	1.01×About typical	15,455	$20,827	213
Ambulatory health care services	543	15	0.72×Fewer than typical	4,407	$55,109	1,710
Lessors of real estate	347	9.6	0.78×Fewer than typical	1,219	$49,264	2,997
Specialty trade contractors	330	9.1	0.59×Fewer than typical	4,659	$73,152	2,473
Full-service restaurants	293	8.1	1.05×About typical	8,129	$22,674	84
Limited-service restaurants	278	7.7	0.96×About typical	6,399	$18,675	87
Offices of physicians	189	5.2	0.81×About typical	955	$80,223	348
Construction of buildings	178	4.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	971	$69,187	1,204
Services to buildings and dwellings	166	4.6	0.68×Fewer than typical	1,411	$41,208	2,760
Management, scientific and technical consulting	162	4.5	0.67×Fewer than typical	694	$69,406	1,349
Religious organizations	160	4.4	0.80×Fewer than typical	1,651	$26,609	—
Building equipment contractors	156	4.3	0.72×Fewer than typical	2,735	$72,683	561

Rank places for an industry Open Galveston County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 362,263 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 $3.4B of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Galveston, Texas: $63,299 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3.4B; +3,131% vs FY2025
Per resident: $63,299; US $1,994
Sole-source: 98%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.1%; 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

U.S. Coast Guard$3.3B98%
Department of the Army$48.5M1.4%
National Institutes of Health$6.6M0.2%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$4.9M0.1%
Public Buildings Service$1.6M0.0%
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation$887.8K0.0%
Department of Veterans Affairs$883.7K0.0%
Federal Acquisition Service$627K0.0%

Top recipients

DAVIE DEFENSE INC.$3.3B98%
MIKE HOOKS, LLC$23.6M0.7%
INLAND DREDGING COMPANY, L.L.C.$10.4M0.3%
GALVESTON COASTAL SERVICES A JOINT VENTURE$7.4M0.2%
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH AT GALVESTON$6.6M0.2%

Spending by fiscal year

85.2MFY2017
76.3MFY2018
73.6MFY2019
68.7MFY2020
119.5MFY2021
58.2MFY2022
74.2MFY2023
47.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Ship and boat building · 3366$3.3B98%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$30.3M0.9%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$12.7M0.4%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$7.2M0.2%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$3.7M0.1%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Galveston, Texas

THE PURPOSE OF THIS LETTER CONTRACT IS FOR THE DELIVERY OF FIVE (5) EACH MULTI-PURPOSE POLAR SHIP (MPPS-100) VESSELS HEREAFTER REFERRED TO AS ARCTIC SECURITY CUTTERS (ASCS).$3.5B
DAVIE DEFENSE INC.· Galveston County, TX· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Feb 10, 2026 – Sep 3, 2026· 70Z02326C93210003
FY25 GALVESTON ENTRANCE CHANNEL AND HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL, BOLIVAR TO REDFISH, HOPPER DREDGING, GALVESTON & CHAMBERS COUNTY, TEXAS.$32.7M
GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK CO, LLC· Galveston County, TX· Construction & real property· May 30, 2025 – May 13, 2026· W912HY25C0002
DREDGING OF THE GALVESTON HARBOR GENERALLY LOCATED IN-BETWEEN GALVESTON ISLAND AND PELICAN ISLAND. MATERIAL WILL GO TO AN UPLAND PLACEMENT AREA, PELICAN ISLAND PA. PROJECT WILL ALSO INCLUDE AN OPTION FOR NEW WORK DREDGING WITHIN THE GALVESTON HARBOR$29.5M
MIKE HOOKS, LLC· Galveston County, TX

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

Galveston, Texas's figures are part of those of Galveston County, TX ($3.7B in FY2026), never added to them: 92% of that total.

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

See federal money in Galveston 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.

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

House

Randy K. Weber, Sr.R-TX-14 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 2.2%

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.

Galveston County48100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX34

Other cities and towns in Galveston 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/4828068

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends