City · Limestone County, Texas

Mexia, Texas

Mexia is a city in Limestone County, Texas. It has 6,859 residents. Mexia, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 3 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,165 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #962 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), natural hazard risk (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on uninsured residents (under 65) (high), primary care shortage (high) and poverty rate (high).

3Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,165 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #962 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 6,859 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 952.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4847916

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.

Safety24#11,880/15,637
Economy19#12,602/15,631
Housing25#11,197/14,977
Health10#14,045/15,609
Healthcare4#14,988/15,650
Environment59#6,333/15,453
Education8#14,461/15,649
Infrastructure3#15,187/15,650
Community11#13,875/15,651
Leisure & amenities4#14,978/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Mexia, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Limestone 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 · low97 min
97/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLimestone County value
Natural hazard risk · low8.5
86/100Texas 39.62025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLimestone County value
Job growth · high1.7%
86/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLimestone County value
Comfortable days · high30.7%
81/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLimestone County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Texas 7 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLimestone County value
Average commute time · low20.2 min
76/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Uninsured residents (under 65) · high30.7%
1/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Primary care shortage · high20.0
1/100Texas 5.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLimestone County value
Poverty rate · high32.3%
2/100Texas 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.9 /10k
2/100Texas 3.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLimestone County value
Physical inactivity · high39.6%
3/100Texas 29.6%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poor or fair health · high33.0%
3/100Texas 23.2%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
7,356 (2015-2019) → 6,859 (2020-2024)
−6.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.4% (2015-2019) → 76.7% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
42.7% (2015-2019) → 31.7% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
High school diploma or higherImproving
73.5% (2015-2019) → 82.0% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
New homes permittedImproving
0.4 /1k (2021) → 0.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+35%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 2.6× (2020-2024)
+30%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, Mexia, Texas improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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

Child poverty−11 points42.7% → 31.7%
Broadband+12 points64.4% → 76.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Mexia, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.0 min2015-2019	20.2 min2020-2024	+3.2 min	Within the margin of error	19%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.5%2015-2019	11.5%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	64.4%2015-2019	76.7%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	70%
Child poverty rate	42.7%2015-2019	31.7%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	84%
Effective property tax rate	1.45%2015-2019	1.54%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	7%
High school diploma or higher	73.5%2015-2019	82.0%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	42%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4742015-2019	0.4492020-2024	−0.025	Within the margin of error	71%
Median household income	$36,5652015-2019	$42,2222020-2024	+15%	Within the margin of error	24%
Poverty rate	26.8%2015-2019	32.3%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	33.8%2015-2019	32.7%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Rent-burdened households	55.9%2015-2019	60.0%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Unemployment rate	6.9%2015-2019	3.3%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	27.2%2015-2019	30.7%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	16%

“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 Mexia, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mexia, 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, Mexia, Texas itself moved −1.9 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

6,859 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

2,598 households (±199)

Mexia, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k29%758
$25k–50k25%649
$50k–75k24%633

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,598 households (±199)

Mexia, Texas
Texas share

Own58%1,514
Rent42%1,084

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

2,658 workers (±238)

Mexia, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone83%2,212
Carpool6.7%†178
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 Limestone County, the county holding most of Mexia's residents.

Limestone County has 401 employer establishments, 178 for every 10,000 residents (0.72× the US rate of 248; 0.82× Texas's), with 5,200 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,191. The Census Bureau also counts 1,685 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 401; 1,685 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 178; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 5,200
Average annual pay: $49,191; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	29	12.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	455	$15,886	14
Specialty trade contractors	23	10.2	0.66×Fewer than typical	78	$74,615	149
Ambulatory health care services	22	9.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	93	$57,914	82
Religious organizations	22	9.8	1.76×More than typical	89	$22,393	—
Gasoline stations	15	6.7	2.06×More than typical	117	$18,162	—
Limited-service restaurants	15	6.7	0.83×About typical	344	$15,590	3
Full-service restaurants	12	5.3	0.69×Fewer than typical	107	$15,888	7
Banks and credit unions	11	4.9	1.51×More than typical	125	$49,352	—
Building equipment contractors	10	4.4	0.74×Fewer than typical	45	$67,000	21
Legal services	10	4.4	0.83×About typical	29	$36,897	12
Lessors of real estate	10	4.4	0.36×Fewer than typical	19	$32,947	106
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	4	0.79×Too few to compare	34	$40,206	35

Rank places for an industry Open Limestone County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 22,489 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 Mexia, 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

1.4KFY2023
327.5FY2024
877.6FY2025

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

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

See federal money in Limestone 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.

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

House

Pete SessionsR-TX-17 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.3%

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.

Limestone County12100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Limestone 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/4847916

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends