City · Lampasas County, Texas

Kempner, Texas

Kempner is a city in Lampasas County, Texas, part of the Killeen-Temple, TX metro area. It has 1,215 residents. Kempner, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 20 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,487 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #503 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), poverty rate (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), job growth (low) and flu vaccinations (low).

20Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,487 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #503 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 1,215 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 591.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4838800

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety32#10,667/15,637
Economy55#6,999/15,631
Housing31#10,371/14,977
Health38#9,721/15,609
Healthcare14#13,486/15,650
Environment56#6,791/15,453
Education14#13,496/15,649
Infrastructure36#10,081/15,650
Community35#10,118/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,279/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Child care cost burden · low19.9%
95/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLampasas County value
Poverty rate · low2.5%
95/100Texas 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Time spent in the emergency room · low104 min
95/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLampasas County value
Comfortable days · high31.3%
84/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLampasas County value
Drug overdose deaths · low9.3 /100k
84/100Texas 13.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataLampasas County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Texas 5.8United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLampasas County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.4 /10k
1/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLampasas County value
Job growth · low-4.5%
2/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLampasas County value
Flu vaccinations · low24.0%
2/100Texas 40.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLampasas County value
Dentists · low17 /100k
3/100Texas 63 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLampasas County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Texas 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLampasas County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.7 /10k
7/100Texas 3.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLampasas County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,294 (2015-2019) → 1,215 (2020-2024)
−6.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
23.2% (2015-2019) → 1.7% (2020-2024)
−22 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
7.7 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.5% (2015-2019) → 94.1% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
14.4% (2015-2019) → 2.5% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.2× (2015-2019) → 3.3× (2020-2024)
+49%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Kempner, Texas improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved2

Poverty−12 points14.4% → 2.5%
Broadband+18 points76.5% → 94.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Kempner, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.3 min2015-2019	31.1 min2020-2024	+3.8 min	Within the margin of error	15%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.9%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Broadband subscriptions	76.5%2015-2019	94.1%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	86%
High school diploma or higher	89.1%2015-2019	89.1%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+1.1×	Within the margin of error	19%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4052015-2019	0.3902020-2024	−0.015	Within the margin of error	64%
Median household income	$60,3752015-2019	$75,3572020-2024	+25%	Within the margin of error	44%
Poverty rate	14.4%2015-2019	2.5%2020-2024	−12 points	Improved	95%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	49.0%2015-2019	43.2%2020-2024	−5.8 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	18.9%2015-2019	13.5%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Within the margin of error	88%

“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 Kempner, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kempner, 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, Kempner, Texas itself moved +1.5 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,215 residents (±300)

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

442 households (±114)

Kempner, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k8.6%†38
$25k–50k21%†93
$50k–75k20%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

442 households (±114)

Kempner, Texas
Texas share

Own74%327
Rent26%†115

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

641 workers (±189)

Kempner, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone72%†462
Carpool7.6%†49
Public transit0.0%

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 Killeen-Temple, 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 Lampasas County, the county holding most of Kempner's residents.

Lampasas County has 469 employer establishments, 201 for every 10,000 residents (0.81× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Texas's), with 4,290 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,902. The Census Bureau also counts 2,077 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 469; 2,077 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 201; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 4,290
Average annual pay: $42,902; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	74	31.7	2.05×More than typical	518	$44,315	283
Restaurants and other eating places	36	15.4	0.84×About typical	498	$19,966	16
Construction of buildings	33	14.1	1.87×More than typical	210	$48,514	135
Building equipment contractors	27	11.6	1.92×More than typical	239	$49,113	70
Religious organizations	26	11.1	2.01×More than typical	124	$16,468	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	20	8.6	2.72×More than typical	61	$47,803	59
Full-service restaurants	18	7.7	1.00×About typical	171	$23,988	7
Lessors of real estate	18	7.7	0.63×Fewer than typical	29	$34,724	198
Other specialty trade contractors	18	7.7	3.07×More than typical	72	$40,681	104
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	18	7.7	2.34×More than typical	129	$50,620	38
Ambulatory health care services	16	6.9	0.33×Fewer than typical	76	$60,776	73
Automotive repair and maintenance	14	6	1.19×About typical	56	$54,339	50

Rank places for an industry Open Lampasas County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 23,328 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 Kempner, Texas: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

6.3KFY2019
5.7KFY2020
10.6KFY2021
4.8KFY2022
5.5KFY2023
2.8KFY2024
107.7FY2025

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

Kempner, Texas's figures are part of those of Lampasas County, TX ($131.8K 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: Kempner is mostly in Lampasas County.

See federal money in Lampasas 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.

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

House

August PflugerR-TX-11 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.3%

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.

Lampasas County43100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Killeen-Temple, TX23

Other cities and towns in Lampasas 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/4838800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends