City · Frio County, Texas

Pearsall, Texas

Pearsall is a city in Frio County, Texas. It has 9,045 residents. Pearsall, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 6 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,713 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #864 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), property crime rate (low) and violent crime rate (low). It ranks worst on voter turnout (low), reading scores (low) and hot days (high).

6Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,713 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #864 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 9,045 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 1,381.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4856384

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.

Safety68#5,006/15,637
Economy12#13,746/15,631
Housing48#7,836/14,977
Health21#12,297/15,609
Healthcare4#15,016/15,650
Environment21#12,205/15,453
Education2#15,284/15,649
Infrastructure18#12,846/15,650
Community1#15,492/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,293/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Job growth · high6.4%
99/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataFrio County value
Property crime rate · low452 /100k
92/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationFrio County value
Violent crime rate · low83 /100k
90/100Texas 345 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationFrio County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.2×
87/100Texas 3.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Time spent in the emergency room · low127 min
83/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFrio County value
Comfortable days · high30.9%
82/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationFrio County value

Weaknesses

Voter turnout · low39.9%
1/100Texas 57.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionFrio County value
Reading scores · low2.40
1/100Texas 2.89United States 3.052018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFrio County value
Hot days · high151 days
1/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationFrio County value
Mammography screening · low29.0%
2/100Texas 42.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFrio County value
Physical inactivity · high41.5%
2/100Texas 29.6%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Mental health providers · low31 /100k
2/100Texas 181 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFrio County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
10,436 (2015-2019) → 9,045 (2020-2024)
−13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
61.9% (2015-2019) → 83.5% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
37.6% (2015-2019) → 47.4% (2020-2024)
+9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.6× (2015-2019) → 2.2× (2020-2024)
+39%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Poverty rateWorsening
23.0% (2015-2019) → 28.0% (2020-2024)
+5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
21.5% (2015-2019) → 17.2% (2020-2024)
−4.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Pearsall, Texas improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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

Broadband+22 points61.9% → 83.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Pearsall, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.9 min2015-2019	18.6 min2020-2024	−0.4 min	Within the margin of error	52%
Bachelor's degree or higher	5.2%2015-2019	7.6%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Broadband subscriptions	61.9%2015-2019	83.5%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	92%
Child poverty rate	38.5%2015-2019	38.4%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Effective property tax rate	1.74%2015-2019	1.35%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%
High school diploma or higher	64.0%2015-2019	62.7%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Home price to income ratio	1.6×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	41%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5332015-2019	0.4472020-2024	−0.085	Within the margin of error	93%
Median household income	$45,8652015-2019	$49,1982020-2024	+7.3%	Within the margin of error	14%
Poverty rate	23.0%2015-2019	28.0%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Rent as share of income	23.2%2015-2019	24.6%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Rent-burdened households	37.6%2015-2019	47.4%2020-2024	+9.7 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	21.5%2015-2019	17.2%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“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 Pearsall, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pearsall, 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, Pearsall, Texas itself moved −0.9 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

9,045 residents (±17)

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

2,721 households (±276)

Pearsall, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k30%†828
$25k–50k21%†579
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,721 households (±276)

Pearsall, Texas
Texas share

Own55%1,486
Rent45%1,235

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−16.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,382 workers (±523)

Pearsall, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone82%2,772
Carpool11%†388
Public transit0.7%†24

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 Frio County, the county holding most of Pearsall's residents.

Frio County has 295 employer establishments, 159 for every 10,000 residents (0.64× the US rate of 248; 0.73× Texas's), with 4,949 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,911. The Census Bureau also counts 1,350 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 295; 1,350 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 159; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 4,949
Average annual pay: $51,911; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	24	13	0.71×Fewer than typical	349	$16,052	18
Truck transportation	18	9.7	1.92×More than typical	261	$72,640	94
Ambulatory health care services	17	9.2	0.44×Fewer than typical	101	$51,574	22
Traveler accommodation	16	8.6	4.78×More than typical	137	$21,022	5
Limited-service restaurants	15	8.1	1.01×About typical	296	$14,307	4
Gasoline stations	13	7	2.16×More than typical	199	$33,859	—
Specialty trade contractors	13	7	0.45×Fewer than typical	36	$45,250	156
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	5.4	1.07×About typical	64	$44,125	49
Religious organizations	10	5.4	0.97×About typical	59	$23,169	—
Offices of physicians	8	4.3	0.67×Too few to compare	36	$40,556	—
Full-service restaurants	7	3.8	0.49×Too few to compare	43	$22,209	11
Grocery and convenience stores	6	3.2	1.09×Too few to compare	157	$33,503	—

Rank places for an industry Open Frio County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 18,530 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 $512.6K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pearsall, Texas: $56.68 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $512.6K; −55% vs FY2025
Per resident: $56.68; 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

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$512.5K100.0%
Public Buildings Service$89.820.0%

Top recipients

THE GEO GROUP, INC.$405.5K79%
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS, LLC$107K21%
SOUTH DADE AIR CONDITIONING & REFRIGERATION INC$89.820.0%

Spending by fiscal year

86.6KFY2017
881FY2018
429.3KFY2019
575.3KFY2020
666.1KFY2021
630.5KFY2022
710.4KFY2023
776.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Justice, public order, and safety activities · 9221$405.5K79%
Other ambulatory health care services · 6219$107K21%
Facilities support services · 5612$89.820.0%

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

Pearsall, Texas's figures are part of those of Frio County, TX ($40M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Frio 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.

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

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.

Frio County8100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Frio 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/4856384

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved1

Declined0

Cities and towns like Pearsall, Texas five years ago that improved

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Local businesses

Federal contracts performed here

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

How this is estimated

Representation in Congress

Senate

County

Other cities and towns in Frio County

Similar cities and towns

Data and sources

Improved1

Declined0

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Senate

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

How this is estimated

What was bought