City · Caldwell County, Texas

Luling, Texas

Luling is a city in Caldwell County, Texas, part of the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro area. It has 5,531 residents. Luling, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 7 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,628 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #842 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), natural hazard risk (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on reading scores (low), drought exposure (high) and hot days (high).

7Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,628 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #842 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 5,531 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 991.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 4845096

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.

Safety57#6,735/15,637
Economy31#10,727/15,631
Housing32#10,236/14,977
Health35#10,210/15,609
Healthcare3#15,184/15,650
Environment32#10,516/15,453
Education2#15,267/15,649
Infrastructure7#14,581/15,650
Community4#15,072/15,651
Leisure & amenities7#14,539/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Luling, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Caldwell 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 · low88 min
99/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCaldwell County value
Natural hazard risk · low12.4
80/100Texas 39.62025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCaldwell County value
Drug overdose deaths · low10.1 /100k
80/100Texas 13.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataCaldwell County value
New homes permitted · high5.4 /1k
78/100Texas 6.3 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Property crime rate · low681 /100k
77/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCaldwell County value
Comfortable days · high29.6%
76/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCaldwell County value

Weaknesses

Reading scores · low2.41
1/100Texas 2.89United States 3.052018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaldwell County value
Drought exposure · high100%
2/100Texas 57%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAACaldwell County value
Hot days · high131 days
2/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCaldwell County value
Voter turnout · low47.8%
3/100Texas 57.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionCaldwell County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high23.1%
4/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Access to exercise opportunities · low40.0%
5/100Texas 82.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaldwell County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
5,830 (2015-2019) → 5,531 (2020-2024)
−5.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
69.2% (2015-2019) → 7.0% (2020-2024)
−62 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
33.5% (2015-2019) → 10.0% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.0% (2015-2019) → 84.5% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 3.8× (2020-2024)
+55%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.502 (2015-2019) → 0.426 (2020-2024)
−15%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

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, Luling, Texas improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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−23 points33.5% → 10.0%
Broadband+20 points64.0% → 84.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Luling, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.0 min2015-2019	27.7 min2020-2024	+1.7 min	Within the margin of error	30%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.1%2015-2019	11.8%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Broadband subscriptions	64.0%2015-2019	84.5%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	91%
Effective property tax rate	1.20%2015-2019	1.50%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	1%
High school diploma or higher	76.9%2015-2019	75.3%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5022015-2019	0.4262020-2024	−0.075	Within the margin of error	92%
Median household income	$48,9192015-2019	$54,8182020-2024	+12%	Within the margin of error	19%
Poverty rate	33.5%2015-2019	10.0%2020-2024	−23 points	Improved	100%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	31.7%2015-2019	33.8%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Rent-burdened households	54.0%2015-2019	52.1%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	23.8%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“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 Luling, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Luling, 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, Luling, Texas itself moved +0.4 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

5,531 residents (±19)

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

2,519 households (±278)

Luling, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k19%†489
$25k–50k24%†594
$50k–75k29%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,519 households (±278)

Luling, Texas
Texas share

Own64%1,602
Rent36%†917

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

2,709 workers (±326)

Luling, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone81%2,205
Carpool10%†283
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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, 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 Caldwell County, the county holding most of Luling's residents.

Caldwell County has 733 employer establishments, 146 for every 10,000 residents (0.59× the US rate of 248; 0.67× Texas's), with 6,760 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,599. The Census Bureau also counts 4,556 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 733; 4,556 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 146; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 6,760
Average annual pay: $47,599; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	84	16.7	1.08×About typical	512	$57,480	752
Restaurants and other eating places	63	12.5	0.68×Fewer than typical	983	$24,328	35
Ambulatory health care services	38	7.6	0.36×Fewer than typical	367	$89,090	101
Religious organizations	32	6.4	1.15×About typical	121	$26,430	—
Construction of buildings	28	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	85	$61,882	286
Building equipment contractors	27	5.4	0.89×About typical	90	$47,311	149
Lessors of real estate	27	5.4	0.44×Fewer than typical	56	$35,429	269
Limited-service restaurants	27	5.4	0.67×Fewer than typical	556	$25,500	14
Full-service restaurants	25	5	0.65×Fewer than typical	360	$24,636	14
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	24	4.8	1.51×More than typical	179	$53,916	180
Gasoline stations	22	4.4	1.35×More than typical	393	$45,626	—
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	21	4.2	1.26×More than typical	63	$51,016	77

Rank places for an industry Open Caldwell County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 50,289 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 $4,109 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Luling, Texas: $0.74 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $4,109; −54% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.74; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Agricultural Marketing Service$4,109100%

Top recipients

CAL-MAINE FOODS, INC$4,109100%

Spending by fiscal year

4.1KFY2018
6.4KFY2022
16KFY2023
19.9KFY2024
8.9KFY2025
4.1KFY2026

What was bought

Other equipment & supplies$4,109100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Other food manufacturing · 3119$4,109100%

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

Luling, Texas's figures are part of those of Caldwell County, TX and Guadalupe County, TX ($10.6M 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: Luling is mostly in Caldwell County.

See federal money in Caldwell 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.

Luling, 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.

Caldwell County20100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX68

Other cities and towns in Caldwell 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/4845096

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends