Town · Cottle County, Texas

Paducah, Texas

Paducah is a town in Cottle County, Texas. It has 1,077 residents. Paducah, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 24 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,935 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #432 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on gyms and fitness centers (high), social associations (high) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on food environment index (low), primary care physicians (low) and new business applications (low).

24Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,935 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #432 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 1,077 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 715.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4854600

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 64 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.

Safety—
Economy4#15,004/15,631
Housing59#6,198/14,977
Health40#9,329/15,609
Healthcare2#15,408/15,650
Environment44#8,698/15,453
Education34#10,302/15,649
Infrastructure1#15,504/15,650
Community54#7,149/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,883/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Gyms and fitness centers · high16.3 /10k
100/100Texas 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCottle County value
Social associations · high30.9 /10k
100/100Texas 7.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCottle County value
Public libraries · high7.9 /10k
100/100Texas 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesCottle County value
Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Texas 14.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCottle County value
Students per teacher · low9.2×
99/100Texas 15.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsCottle County value
Restaurants and bars · high24.5 /10k
99/100Texas 7.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCottle County value

Weaknesses

Food environment index · low1.1
0/100Texas 5.7United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCottle County value
Primary care physicians · low0 /100k
0/100Texas 61 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCottle County value
New business applications · low3.3 /1k
0/100Texas 17.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauCottle County value
Dentists · low0 /100k
0/100Texas 63 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCottle County value
Grocery stores · low0.0 /10k
0/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCottle County value
Job growth · low-10.0%
0/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataCottle County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,276 (2015-2019) → 1,077 (2020-2024)
−16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
39.2% (2015-2019) → 16.9% (2020-2024)
−22 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
34.5% (2015-2019) → 21.7% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
28.1% (2015-2019) → 18.0% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
60.2% (2015-2019) → 67.7% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Unemployment rateWorsening
10.9% (2015-2019) → 16.3% (2020-2024)
+5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Paducah, Texas improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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.

Improved1

Rent / income−10 points28.1% → 18.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Paducah, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.3 min2015-2019	17.8 min2020-2024	+2.5 min	Within the margin of error	23%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.2%2015-2019	20.0%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Broadband subscriptions	60.2%2015-2019	67.7%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Child poverty rate	49.9%2015-2019	50.6%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Effective property tax rate	1.26%2015-2019	1.25%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	17%
High school diploma or higher	72.4%2015-2019	76.5%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	1.3×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4792015-2019	0.5362020-2024	+0.057	Within the margin of error	14%
Median household income	$29,5982015-2019	$36,8752020-2024	+25%	Within the margin of error	43%
Poverty rate	34.5%2015-2019	21.7%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Rent as share of income	28.1%2015-2019	18.0%2020-2024	−10 points	Improved	93%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.6%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	28%

“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 Paducah, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Paducah, 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, Paducah, Texas itself moved +1.7 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

1,077 residents (±187)

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

458 households (±88)

Paducah, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k40%†185
$25k–50k16%†72
$50k–75k19%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

458 households (±88)

Paducah, Texas
Texas share

Own81%369
Rent19%†89

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+22.9 points).

† 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

403 workers (±105)

Paducah, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone73%294
Carpool20%†82
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 Cottle County, the county holding most of Paducah's residents.

Cottle County has 27 employer establishments, 208 for every 10,000 residents (0.84× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Texas's), with 85 paid employees at an average annual pay of $27,094. The Census Bureau also counts 133 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 27; 133 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 208; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 85
Average annual pay: $27,094; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	4	30.9	5.56×Too few to compare	10	$10,800	—
Restaurants and other eating places	3	23.1	1.26×Too few to compare	6	$11,833	—
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Advertising, public relations and related services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Ambulatory health care services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	6
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Architectural, engineering and related services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	4
Banks and credit unions	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Barber shops	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Beauty salons	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	3

Rank places for an industry Open Cottle County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 1,296 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: Paducah is mostly in Cottle County.

See federal money in Cottle 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.

Paducah, 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.

Cottle County41100% of residents

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/4854600

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends