Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety15#13,293/15,637
Economy41#9,281/15,631
Housing10#13,461/14,977
Health42#9,024/15,609
Healthcare52#7,486/15,650
Environment6#14,565/15,453
Education24#11,934/15,649
Infrastructure32#10,624/15,650
Community21#12,420/15,651
Leisure & amenities53#7,396/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Average weekly wage · high$1,780
96/100Texas $1,499United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDallas County value
New business applications · high22.9 /1k
94/100Texas 17.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauDallas County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.2 mi
90/100Texas 5.5 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDallas County value
Distance to an airport · low10 mi
89/100Texas 33 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDallas County value
Depression · low18.5%
88/100Texas 21.2%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Dentists · high97 /100k
86/100Texas 63 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDallas County value

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high68.9%
5/100Texas 51.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Property crime rate · high2,372 /100k
6/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDallas County value
Lack of reliable transportation · high15.0%
8/100Texas 10.5%United States 8.3%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
High ozone days · high9 days
8/100Texas 7 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDallas County value
Hot days · high102 days
9/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDallas County value
Food insecurity · high28.6%
9/100Texas 19.4%United States 15.6%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
54.4% (2015-2019) → 68.9% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 1.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+63%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.9% (2015-2019) → 90.6% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.4× (2015-2019) → 3.6× (2020-2024)
+51%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
32.6% (2015-2019) → 42.7% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
26.5% (2015-2019) → 19.8% (2020-2024)
−6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Lancaster, Texas improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 6 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.

Improved5

Property tax−0.4 points1.94% → 1.52%
Child poverty−6.7 points26.5% → 19.8%
Bachelor's++4.8 points20.5% → 25.3%
Broadband+11 points79.9% → 90.6%
Household income+19%$57,259 → $68,302

Declined3

Rent / income+10 points32.6% → 42.7%
Price / income+1.2×2.4× → 3.6×
Rent burden+14 points54.4% → 68.9%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Lancaster, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.8 min2015-2019	28.7 min2020-2024	−2.1 min	Within the margin of error	71%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.5%2015-2019	25.3%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Improved	66%
Broadband subscriptions	79.9%2015-2019	90.6%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	63%
Child poverty rate	26.5%2015-2019	19.8%2020-2024	−6.7 points	Improved	74%
Effective property tax rate	1.94%2015-2019	1.52%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Improved	86%
High school diploma or higher	88.5%2015-2019	85.9%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+1.2×	Declined	15%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4132015-2019	0.4122020-2024	−0.001	Within the margin of error	51%
Median household income	$57,2592015-2019	$68,3022020-2024	+19%	Improved	31%
Poverty rate	16.5%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Rent as share of income	32.6%2015-2019	42.7%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	9%
Rent-burdened households	54.4%2015-2019	68.9%2020-2024	+14 points	Declined	15%
Unemployment rate	6.2%2015-2019	7.2%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.3%2015-2019	16.6%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	32%

“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 Lancaster, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lancaster, 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, Lancaster, Texas itself moved −6.7 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

40,820 residents (±75)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 20–29 women (−2.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

40,820 residents (±75)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

White7.9%3,233
Black64%26,221
Hispanic or Latino24%9,944

Education

26,023 residents (±1,064)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

No high school diploma14%3,661
High school or GED29%7,417
Some college23%6,048

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

14,748 households (±896)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k15%2,233
$25k–50k17%2,459
$50k–75k25%3,616
$75k–100k12%1,786
$100k–150k20%3,003
$150k–200k5.5%815
$200k or more5.7%†836

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−7.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

14,748 households (±896)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

Own68%10,050
Rent32%4,698

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.5 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

4,538 households (±615)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

Under $7502.2%†102
$750–1,0006.8%†308
$1,000–1,50026%†1,178

Home values

10,050 homes (±1,030)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

Under $150k15%1,509
$150k–250k36%3,664
$250k–400k43%4,310

Age of homes

15,458 homes (±890)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

2010 or later11%1,670
2000–200924%3,642
1980–199935%5,364

Size of homes

15,458 homes (±890)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

Studio0.8%†125
1 bedroom4.9%763
2 bedrooms16%2,400

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

17,833 workers (±1,259)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone76%13,588
Carpool13%2,244
Public transit0.2%†34
Walk0.4%†75
Bike0.0%0
Work from home8.9%1,583
Other1.7%†309

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−7.6 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

16,250 workers (±1,210)

Lancaster, Texas
Texas share

Under 15 min19%3,094
15–29 min33%5,326
30–44 min29%4,654

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Dallas County, the county holding most of Lancaster's residents.

Dallas County has 71,182 employer establishments, 270 for every 10,000 residents (1.09× the US rate of 248; 1.24× Texas's), with 1,648,702 paid employees at an average annual pay of $80,015. The Census Bureau also counts 312,744 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 71,182; 312,744 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 270; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 1,648,702
Average annual pay: $80,015; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	6,867	26	1.25×About typical	94,638	$71,707	11,541
Restaurants and other eating places	5,390	20.4	1.11×About typical	110,804	$26,252	2,027
Lessors of real estate	4,048	15.3	1.25×About typical	37,117	$93,374	26,231
Specialty trade contractors	3,139	11.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	61,980	$72,103	24,766
Limited-service restaurants	2,514	9.5	1.19×About typical	51,478	$22,111	597
Offices of physicians	2,412	9.1	1.41×More than typical	24,101	$135,732	2,303
Legal services	2,360	8.9	1.66×More than typical	20,305	$160,257	2,888
Computer systems design and related services	2,293	8.7	2.01×More than typical	48,458	$123,287	2,893
Management, scientific and technical consulting	2,266	8.6	1.28×More than typical	34,193	$123,075	10,028
Full-service restaurants	2,092	7.9	1.03×About typical	51,472	$30,947	986
Construction of buildings	1,485	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	23,873	$126,571	10,676
Offices of dentists	1,476	5.6	1.39×More than typical	10,757	$54,647	807

Rank places for an industry Open Dallas County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 2,637,393 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 $98.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Lancaster, Texas: $2,417 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $98.7M; +7.9% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,417; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.9%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.7%; 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

Department of Veterans Affairs$98.6M100.0%
Defense Logistics Agency$43.8K0.0%

Top recipients

FEDEX SUPPLY CHAIN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, INC.$59.1M60%
MILLBROOK SUPPORT SERVICES INC$18.6M19%
FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION$17M17%
ON OUR OWN SERVICES INC$1.1M1.1%
QUALITY MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS, INC.$625.7K0.6%

Spending by fiscal year

6.4MFY2017
5.7MFY2018
15.7MFY2019
21.9MFY2020
51.5MFY2021
61.6MFY2022
52.5MFY2023
61.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Business support services · 5614$59.1M60%
Facilities support services · 5612$18.8M19%
Couriers and express delivery services · 4921$17M17%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$1.1M1.1%
Converted paper product manufacturing · 3222$899K0.9%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$625.7K

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Lancaster, Texas

MAIL MANIFESTING SERVICES$69.4M
FEDEX SUPPLY CHAIN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, INC.· Dallas County, TX· Professional services· Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 25, 2026· 36C77026N0005
MAIL MANIFESTING SERVICES$62.8M
FEDEX SUPPLY CHAIN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, INC.· Dallas County, TX· Professional services· Oct 1, 2024 – Nov 18, 2025· 36C77025N0004
FED EX NGDS SHIPPING$20.4M
FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION· Dallas County, TX· Transportation & logistics· Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 9, 2026· 36C77026F0004
NGDS SHIPPING

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

Lancaster, Texas's figures are part of those of Dallas County, TX ($27.2B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.4% of that total.

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

See federal money in Dallas 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.

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

House

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.

Dallas County43100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX52

Other cities and towns in Dallas 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/4841212

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends