City · Jefferson County, Texas

Port Arthur, Texas

Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, part of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX metro area. It has 55,828 residents. Port Arthur, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 0 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,587 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #1,012 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), home price to income ratio (low) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on uninsured residents (under 65) (high), child poverty rate (high) and high school diploma or higher (low).

0Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,587 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #1,012 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 55,828 (2020-2024)
Land area: 76 mi²
Density: 738.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4858820

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety6#14,706/15,637
Economy6#14,706/15,631
Housing24#11,411/14,977
Health10#14,058/15,609
Healthcare14#13,442/15,650
Environment9#14,035/15,453
Education4#15,094/15,649
Infrastructure18#12,887/15,650
Community10#14,107/15,651
Leisure & amenities13#13,578/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Comfortable days · high32.1%
87/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationJefferson County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.3×
85/100Texas 3.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Child care cost burden · low24.3%
77/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJefferson County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low9 mi
77/100Texas 43 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauJefferson County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,415
76/100Texas $1,499United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJefferson County value
Depression · low21.2%
73/100Texas 21.2%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Uninsured residents (under 65) · high34.1%
0/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Child poverty rate · high38.4%
1/100Texas 17.9%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
High school diploma or higher · low78.6%
2/100Texas 86.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Poverty rate · high29.0%
2/100Texas 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Poor or fair health · high34.3%
3/100Texas 23.2%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Physical inactivity · high40.2%
3/100Texas 29.6%United States 26.5%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.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
61.8% (2015-2019) → 88.3% (2020-2024)
+27 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
4.7 /1k (2021) → 0.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−92%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.8× (2015-2019) → 2.3× (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$36,557 (2015-2019) → $46,354 (2020-2024)
+27%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
73.4% (2015-2019) → 78.6% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
54.5% (2015-2019) → 58.1% (2020-2024)
+3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Port Arthur, Texas improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved3

Broadband+27 points61.8% → 88.3%
High school++5.2 points73.4% → 78.6%
Household income+27%$36,557 → $46,354

Declined1

Price / income+0.5×1.8× → 2.3×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Port Arthur, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.1 min2015-2019	23.4 min2020-2024	−0.7 min	Within the margin of error	56%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.7%2015-2019	12.8%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	61.8%2015-2019	88.3%2020-2024	+27 points	Improved	96%
Child poverty rate	40.3%2015-2019	38.4%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Effective property tax rate	1.44%2015-2019	1.32%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	41%
High school diploma or higher	73.4%2015-2019	78.6%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Improved	82%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	+0.5×	Declined	47%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4812015-2019	0.5152020-2024	+0.035	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$36,5572015-2019	$46,3542020-2024	+27%	Improved	48%
Poverty rate	27.2%2015-2019	29.0%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Public transit commuters	1.1%2015-2019	0.6%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Rent as share of income	32.3%2015-2019	33.9%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent-burdened households	54.5%2015-2019	58.1%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Unemployment rate	7.3%2015-2019	8.4%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	32.9%2015-2019	34.1%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 Port Arthur, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Port Arthur, 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, Port Arthur, Texas itself moved +0.6 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

55,828 residents (±44)

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

21,630 households (±702)

Port Arthur, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k32%6,830
$25k–50k20%4,426
$50k–75k19%4,049

Homes

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

Owners and renters

21,630 households (±702)

Port Arthur, Texas
Texas share

Own58%12,552
Rent42%9,078

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

20,026 workers (±961)

Port Arthur, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone90%17,931
Carpool7.4%1,480
Public transit0.6%†114

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 Beaumont-Port Arthur, 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 Jefferson County, the county holding most of Port Arthur's residents.

Jefferson County has 5,710 employer establishments, 225 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 1.03× Texas's), with 105,009 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,299. The Census Bureau also counts 22,500 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,710; 22,500 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 225; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 105,009
Average annual pay: $61,299; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	682	26.9	1.29×More than typical	8,148	$54,168	926
Restaurants and other eating places	448	17.7	0.96×About typical	9,362	$20,650	186
Offices of physicians	305	12	1.86×More than typical	2,379	$83,388	162
Specialty trade contractors	251	9.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	9,504	$75,926	1,761
Religious organizations	208	8.2	1.48×More than typical	1,521	$23,193	—
Limited-service restaurants	197	7.8	0.97×About typical	3,839	$18,495	44
Lessors of real estate	185	7.3	0.59×Fewer than typical	1,142	$50,994	1,429
Full-service restaurants	184	7.3	0.94×About typical	4,776	$22,602	65
Legal services	158	6.2	1.16×About typical	863	$100,127	161
Gasoline stations	137	5.4	1.67×More than typical	836	$27,524	10
Insurance agencies and brokerages	129	5.1	1.16×About typical	800	$66,020	284
Offices of other health practitioners	128	5	0.83×About typical	634	$49,732	266

Rank places for an industry Open Jefferson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 253,557 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 $16.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Port Arthur, Texas: $298 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $16.7M; −1.7% vs FY2025
Per resident: $298; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.3%; 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 the Navy$14.5M87%
Department of the Army$1.9M11%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$141K0.8%
Department of Energy$69K0.4%
U.S. Coast Guard$37.6K0.2%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$36.7K0.2%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$1,5650.0%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$5630.0%

Top recipients

GULF COPPER & MANUFACTURING CORPORATION$14.5M87%
FLATIRON DRAGADOS CONSTRUCTORS, INC.$1.2M7.0%
GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK CO, LLC$254.7K1.5%
OAK HILL CONTRACTORS, LLC$254K1.5%
ANAMAR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING, INC.$155.3K0.9%

Spending by fiscal year

5.7MFY2017
6.3MFY2018
30.9MFY2019
39.8MFY2020
67.1MFY2021
45.6MFY2022
124.8MFY2023
186.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Ship and boat building · 3366$14.5M87%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$1.7M10%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$155.3K0.9%
Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying · 2123$118.6K0.7%
Support activities for water transportation · 4883$76.1K0.5%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Port Arthur, Texas

FY 24 UNRESTRICTED PROCUREMENT, SABINE-NECHES WATERWAY CHANNEL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (SNWWCIP), TX SABINE EXTENSION CHANNEL TO SABINE PASS OUTER BAR, JETTY CHANNEL, SABINE PASS, HOPPER DREDGING, IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, TEXAS$219.8M
GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK CO, LLC· Jefferson County, TX· Construction & real property· Sep 20, 2024 – May 29, 2026· W912HY24C0016
DESIGN-BID-BUILD REINFORCEMENT OF EXISTING LEVEES FROM SABINE PASS TO GALVESTON BAY, PORT ARTHUR AND VICINITY JEFFERSON COUNTY, TEXAS FOR COASTAL STORM RISK MANAGEMENT AND ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION AND HURRICANE FLOOD PROTECTION$99.4M
FLATIRON DRAGADOS CONSTRUCTORS, INC.· Jefferson County, TX· Construction & real property· Sep 8, 2023 – May 20, 2026· W912HY23C0018
EPF LAYBERTH SERVICES CLUSTER TWO$35.3M
GULF COPPER & MANUFACTURING CORPORATION· Jefferson County, TX

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 Port Arthur, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Port Arthur, Texas's figures are part of those of Jefferson County, TX and Orange County, TX ($119M in FY2026), never added to them: 14% of that total.

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

See federal money in Jefferson 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.

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

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Jefferson County10100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX7

Other cities and towns in Jefferson 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/4858820

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends