City · Deaf Smith County, Texas

Hereford, Texas

Hereford is a city in Deaf Smith County, Texas, part of the Hereford, TX metro area. It has 14,840 residents. Hereford, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 19 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,648 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #527 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), average commute time (low) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on voter turnout (low), mental health providers (low) and uninsured residents (under 65) (high).

19Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,648 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #527 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 14,840 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 2,346.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 4833320

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.

Safety63#5,849/15,637
Economy19#12,608/15,631
Housing72#4,147/14,977
Health25#11,764/15,609
Healthcare6#14,745/15,650
Environment75#3,859/15,453
Education5#14,801/15,649
Infrastructure7#14,560/15,650
Community11#13,887/15,651
Leisure & amenities34#10,269/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hereford, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Deaf Smith 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 · low93 min
98/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDeaf Smith County value
Average commute time · low15.9 min
95/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Home price to income ratio · low1.9×
93/100Texas 3.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Violent crime rate · low76 /100k
91/100Texas 345 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDeaf Smith County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.1 µg/m³
88/100Texas 8.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDeaf Smith County value
Property crime rate · low527 /100k
88/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDeaf Smith County value

Weaknesses

Voter turnout · low41.3%
1/100Texas 57.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionDeaf Smith County value
Mental health providers · low16 /100k
1/100Texas 181 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeaf Smith County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high24.5%
3/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Primary care physicians · low16 /100k
3/100Texas 61 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeaf Smith County value
Physical inactivity · high39.7%
3/100Texas 29.6%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
High school diploma or higher · low69.3%
3/100Texas 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.

New homes permittedImproving
0.1 /1k (2021) → 2.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+1,522%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
29.8% (2015-2019) → 37.8% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
75.7% (2015-2019) → 69.2% (2020-2024)
−6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
23.0% (2015-2019) → 18.1% (2020-2024)
−4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
11.5% (2015-2019) → 8.4% (2020-2024)
−3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$49,338 (2015-2019) → $56,868 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Hereford, Texas improved on 0 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 14 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Hereford, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.5 min2015-2019	15.9 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Within the margin of error	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.5%2015-2019	8.4%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Broadband subscriptions	78.6%2015-2019	81.2%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Child poverty rate	23.0%2015-2019	18.1%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Effective property tax rate	1.72%2015-2019	1.53%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	55%
High school diploma or higher	75.7%2015-2019	69.2%2020-2024	−6.4 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	74%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3822015-2019	0.4052020-2024	+0.023	Within the margin of error	32%
Median household income	$49,3382015-2019	$56,8682020-2024	+15%	Within the margin of error	24%
Poverty rate	17.1%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Rent as share of income	22.0%2015-2019	24.7%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent-burdened households	29.8%2015-2019	37.8%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Unemployment rate	4.6%2015-2019	4.1%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.6%2015-2019	24.5%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	26%

“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 Hereford, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hereford, 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, Hereford, Texas itself moved −9.6 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

14,840 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

4,873 households (±269)

Hereford, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k19%905
$25k–50k25%1,239
$50k–75k23%1,120

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,873 households (±269)

Hereford, Texas
Texas share

Own66%3,234
Rent34%1,639

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

6,718 workers (±387)

Hereford, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone74%4,960
Carpool18%†1,215
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 Hereford, 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 Deaf Smith County, the county holding most of Hereford's residents.

Deaf Smith County has 351 employer establishments, 191 for every 10,000 residents (0.77× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Texas's), with 6,212 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,429. The Census Bureau also counts 1,403 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 351; 1,403 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 191; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 6,212
Average annual pay: $50,429; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	29	15.7	0.86×About typical	445	$18,753	15
Truck transportation	27	14.7	2.90×More than typical	306	$65,908	216
Specialty trade contractors	26	14.1	0.91×About typical	172	$60,494	139
Building equipment contractors	14	7.6	1.26×More than typical	130	$60,131	37
Automotive repair and maintenance	12	6.5	1.29×More than typical	78	$63,603	46
Gasoline stations	11	6	1.84×More than typical	132	$24,091	—
Lessors of real estate	11	6	0.48×Fewer than typical	28	$38,571	69
Limited-service restaurants	11	6	0.74×Fewer than typical	259	$23,402	9
Food manufacturing	10	5.4	5.87×More than typical	2,480	$53,907	5
Full-service restaurants	10	5.4	0.71×Fewer than typical	92	$15,196	6
Insurance agencies and brokerages	10	5.4	1.24×About typical	36	$65,861	15
Religious organizations	10	5.4	0.98×About typical	71	$16,465	—

Rank places for an industry Open Deaf Smith County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 18,422 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: Hereford is mostly in Deaf Smith County.

See federal money in Deaf Smith 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.

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

House

Ronny JacksonR-TX-13 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.7%

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.

Deaf Smith County30100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hereford, TX28

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/4833320

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends