Census-designated place · Taylor County, Texas

Potosi, Texas

Potosi is a census-designated place in Taylor County, Texas, part of the Abilene, TX metro area. It has 4,322 residents. Potosi, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 40 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,345 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #209 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on poverty rate (low), child care cost burden (low) and child poverty rate (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and homicide rate (high).

40Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,345 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #209 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 4,322 (2020-2024)
Land area: 18 mi²
Density: 235.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4859108

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety10#14,108/15,637
Economy94#971/15,631
Housing60#5,966/14,977
Health55#7,042/15,609
Healthcare34#10,272/15,650
Environment58#6,468/15,453
Education44#8,710/15,649
Infrastructure33#10,530/15,650
Community23#12,019/15,651
Leisure & amenities33#10,523/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Poverty rate · low2.5%
95/100Texas 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Child care cost burden · low21.2%
91/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTaylor County value
Child poverty rate · low0.0%
91/100Texas 17.9%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Median household income · high$121,543
88/100Texas $79,723United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Adult smoking · low9.7%
86/100Texas 15.3%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Job growth · high1.6%
85/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataTaylor County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high145 mi
3/100Texas 33 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauTaylor County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high139 mi
5/100Texas 43 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauTaylor County value
Homicide rate · high10.9 /100k
7/100Texas 5.1 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataTaylor County value
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
7/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTaylor County value
Firearm deaths · high23.8 /100k
8/100Texas 13.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataTaylor County value
Voter turnout · low53.5%
8/100Texas 57.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionTaylor County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,677 (2015-2019) → 4,322 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
27.1% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
87.2% (2015-2019) → 99.6% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
29.4% (2015-2019) → 41.7% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$76,976 (2015-2019) → $121,543 (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
15.7% (2015-2019) → 4.8% (2020-2024)
−11 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, Potosi, Texas improved on 2 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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

Bachelor's++12 points29.4% → 41.7%
Household income+58%$76,976 → $121,543

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Potosi, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.0 min2015-2019	29.6 min2020-2024	+8.6 min	Within the margin of error	3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.4%2015-2019	41.7%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	94%
Broadband subscriptions	87.2%2015-2019	99.6%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Effective property tax rate	1.18%2015-2019	0.92%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	69%
High school diploma or higher	99.0%2015-2019	97.6%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	73%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4262015-2019	0.3152020-2024	−0.111	Within the margin of error	97%
Median household income	$76,9762015-2019	$121,5432020-2024	+58%	Improved	90%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Potosi, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Potosi, 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, Potosi, Texas itself moved +7.8 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

4,322 residents (±984)

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

1,368 households (±284)

Potosi, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k2.6%†36
$25k–50k13%†180
$50k–75k7.2%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,368 households (±284)

Potosi, Texas
Texas share

Own94%1,291
Rent5.6%†77

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

1,967 workers (±574)

Potosi, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone81%†1,591
Carpool15%†294
Public transit0.0%

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 Abilene, 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 Taylor County, the county holding most of Potosi's residents.

Taylor County has 3,658 employer establishments, 248 for every 10,000 residents (1.00× the US rate of 248; 1.14× Texas's), with 61,016 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,549. The Census Bureau also counts 12,404 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,658; 12,404 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 248; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 61,016
Average annual pay: $48,549; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	295	20	0.96×About typical	5,056	$73,090	520
Restaurants and other eating places	287	19.5	1.06×About typical	6,443	$20,630	56
Specialty trade contractors	237	16.1	1.04×About typical	2,296	$56,374	1,218
Lessors of real estate	143	9.7	0.79×Fewer than typical	446	$56,545	1,021
Limited-service restaurants	136	9.2	1.15×About typical	3,069	$20,731	16
Religious organizations	135	9.2	1.65×More than typical	1,363	$20,928	—
Offices of physicians	112	7.6	1.17×About typical	2,101	$120,537	124
Full-service restaurants	107	7.3	0.95×About typical	2,830	$21,600	19
Building equipment contractors	102	6.9	1.15×About typical	1,526	$58,780	193
Automotive repair and maintenance	95	6.5	1.28×More than typical	678	$45,183	188
Construction of buildings	84	5.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	277	$59,953	430
Services to buildings and dwellings	84	5.7	0.85×About typical	701	$39,840	947

Rank places for an industry Open Taylor County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 147,254 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 $923.9K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Potosi, Texas: $214 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $923.9K; +87% vs FY2025
Per resident: $214; US $1,994
Sole-source: 6.4%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.2%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$385K42%
Department of the Air Force$348.9K38%
Agricultural Marketing Service$116.6K13%
Department of Veterans Affairs$48.8K5.3%
Federal Aviation Administration$45.5K4.9%
Federal Acquisition Service$2320.0%

Top recipients

FREEMAN HOLDINGS OF WEST TEXAS LLC$286.9K31%
TEXAS AEROSPACE SERVICES INC$179.6K19%
GREAT LAKES CHEESE CO INC$116.6K13%
T47 INTERNATIONAL, INC.$116.6K13%
RUOTANEN ASSOCIATES INC$93K10%

Spending by fiscal year

1MFY2017
1.9MFY2018
877.3KFY2019
1.3MFY2020
569.8KFY2021
1.4MFY2022
1.5MFY2023
1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$286.9K31%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$267.4K29%
Dairy product manufacturing · 3115$116.6K13%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$116.6K13%
Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing · 3359$48.8K5.3%
Utility system construction · 2371$45.5K

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

Potosi, Texas's figures are part of those of Taylor County, TX ($106.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.9% of that total.

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

See federal money in Taylor 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.

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

House

Jodey C. ArringtonR-TX-19 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.3%

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.

Taylor County44100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Abilene, TX37

Other cities and towns in Taylor 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
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/4859108

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends