City · Gonzales County, Texas

Gonzales, Texas

Gonzales is a city in Gonzales County, Texas. It has 7,200 residents. Gonzales, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 3 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,206 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #967 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), public libraries (high) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on arts, entertainment and recreation (low), traffic deaths (high) and hot days (high).

3Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,206 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #967 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 7,200 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 1,184.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 4830116

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.

Safety10#14,022/15,637
Economy13#13,595/15,631
Housing29#10,688/14,977
Health22#12,099/15,609
Healthcare4#15,003/15,650
Environment35#9,996/15,453
Education5#14,870/15,649
Infrastructure13#13,591/15,650
Community19#12,728/15,651
Leisure & amenities16#13,106/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Time spent in the emergency room · low70 min
100/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesGonzales County value
Public libraries · high1.5 /10k
86/100Texas 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesGonzales County value
Average commute time · low16.9 min
84/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Child care cost burden · low23.5%
82/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGonzales County value
Social associations · high13.1 /10k
82/100Texas 7.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGonzales County value
Drug overdose deaths · low10.2 /100k
80/100Texas 13.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataGonzales County value

Weaknesses

Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.5 /10k
1/100Texas 3.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGonzales County value
Traffic deaths · high51.4 /100k
2/100Texas 14.1 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataGonzales County value
Hot days · high135 days
2/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGonzales County value
Drought exposure · high100%
2/100Texas 57%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAGonzales County value
Reading scores · low2.49
2/100Texas 2.89United States 3.052018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGonzales County value
Food environment index · low5.9
3/100Texas 5.7United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGonzales County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
20.0% (2015-2019) → 37.6% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
16.8% (2015-2019) → 27.2% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
77.4% (2015-2019) → 67.4% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.1% (2015-2019) → 82.8% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.7× (2015-2019) → 4.0× (2020-2024)
+48%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.5% (2015-2019) → 51.5% (2020-2024)
+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, Gonzales, Texas improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 9 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.

Improved1

Broadband+9.8 points73.1% → 82.8%

Declined3

Poverty+10 points16.8% → 27.2%
Child poverty+18 points20.0% → 37.6%
Price / income+1.3×2.7× → 4.0×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Gonzales, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.3 min2015-2019	16.9 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	52%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.5%2015-2019	10.4%2020-2024	−4 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Broadband subscriptions	73.1%2015-2019	82.8%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Improved	59%
Child poverty rate	20.0%2015-2019	37.6%2020-2024	+18 points	Declined	6%
Effective property tax rate	1.50%2015-2019	1.31%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
High school diploma or higher	77.4%2015-2019	67.4%2020-2024	−10 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	4.0×2020-2024	+1.3×	Declined	13%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4702015-2019	0.4652020-2024	−0.005	Within the margin of error	55%
Median household income	$46,1822015-2019	$51,9292020-2024	+12%	Within the margin of error	20%
Poverty rate	16.8%2015-2019	27.2%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	4%
Rent as share of income	27.5%2015-2019	30.9%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent-burdened households	42.5%2015-2019	51.5%2020-2024	+9 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	21.3%2015-2019	23.8%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	22%

“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 Gonzales, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Gonzales, 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, Gonzales, Texas itself moved −10.5 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

7,200 residents (±21)

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

2,926 households (±173)

Gonzales, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k31%†907
$25k–50k17%†485
$50k–75k23%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,926 households (±173)

Gonzales, Texas
Texas share

Own51%1,496
Rent49%1,430

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

2,884 workers (±358)

Gonzales, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone80%2,316
Carpool12%†343
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 Gonzales County, the county holding most of Gonzales's residents.

Gonzales County has 405 employer establishments, 202 for every 10,000 residents (0.81× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Texas's), with 4,950 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,255. The Census Bureau also counts 1,781 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 405; 1,781 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 202; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 4,950
Average annual pay: $48,255; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	36	18	0.98×About typical	442	$21,357	21
Religious organizations	26	13	2.34×More than typical	108	$18,083	—
Truck transportation	20	10	1.97×More than typical	203	$60,951	76
Full-service restaurants	18	9	1.17×About typical	143	$20,615	10
Specialty trade contractors	18	9	0.58×Fewer than typical	66	$49,985	221
Gasoline stations	16	8	2.46×More than typical	125	$25,536	—
Ambulatory health care services	15	7.5	0.36×Fewer than typical	130	$51,662	46
Limited-service restaurants	14	7	0.87×About typical	273	$22,267	8
Building equipment contractors	13	6.5	1.08×About typical	42	$42,405	35
Management, scientific and technical consulting	11	5.5	0.82×About typical	15	$45,200	60
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	4.5	0.89×Too few to compare	48	$37,813	37
Construction of buildings	9	4.5	0.59×Too few to compare	26	$44,808	69

Rank places for an industry Open Gonzales County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,028 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 Gonzales, Texas: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
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

93.9FY2019
553.8FY2024

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

Gonzales, Texas's figures are part of those of Gonzales County, TX ($45K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Gonzales 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.

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

House

Michael CloudR-TX-27 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.5%

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.

Gonzales County10100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Gonzales 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/4830116

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends