Town · Refugio County, Texas

Refugio, Texas

Refugio is a town in Refugio County, Texas. It has 2,766 residents. Refugio, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,902 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #706 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on suicide rate (low), firearm deaths (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on mental health providers (low), access to exercise opportunities (low) and traffic deaths (high).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,902 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #706 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 2,766 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,758.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4861436

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.

Safety71#4,530/15,637
Economy19#12,613/15,631
Housing26#11,046/14,977
Health28#11,169/15,609
Healthcare4#15,087/15,650
Environment18#12,634/15,453
Education22#12,186/15,649
Infrastructure13#13,574/15,650
Community2#15,316/15,651
Leisure & amenities58#6,557/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Texas 14.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRefugio County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Texas 13.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRefugio County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Texas 13.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRefugio County value
Grocery stores · high3.0 /10k
94/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRefugio County value
Public EV charging ports · high18.0 /10k
94/100Texas 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyRefugio County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Texas 5.1 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRefugio County value

Weaknesses

Mental health providers · low15 /100k
1/100Texas 181 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRefugio County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low12.5%
1/100Texas 82.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRefugio County value
Traffic deaths · high53.7 /100k
1/100Texas 14.1 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataRefugio County value
Preventable hospital stays · high5,087 /100k
2/100Texas 2,991 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRefugio County value
Primary care physicians · low15 /100k
2/100Texas 61 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRefugio County value
Flu vaccinations · low26.0%
3/100Texas 40.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRefugio County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
46.0% (2015-2019) → 73.8% (2020-2024)
+28 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
7.3 /1k (2021) → 0.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−95%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.1% (2015-2019) → 83.3% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.9% (2015-2019) → 37.1% (2020-2024)
+8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.5× (2015-2019) → 1.9× (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Average commute timeWorsening
17.3 min (2015-2019) → 21.5 min (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Refugio, Texas improved on 0 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Rent burden+28 points46.0% → 73.8%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Refugio, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.3 min2015-2019	21.5 min2020-2024	+4.1 min	Within the margin of error	13%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.5%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Broadband subscriptions	71.1%2015-2019	83.3%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Child poverty rate	30.8%2015-2019	32.6%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Effective property tax rate	1.40%2015-2019	1.56%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	4%
High school diploma or higher	82.7%2015-2019	81.3%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Home price to income ratio	1.5×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	50%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5022015-2019	0.4332020-2024	−0.070	Within the margin of error	90%
Median household income	$52,9292015-2019	$48,7502020-2024	−7.9%	Within the margin of error	4%
Poverty rate	21.2%2015-2019	25.3%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.9%2015-2019	37.1%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Rent-burdened households	46.0%2015-2019	73.8%2020-2024	+28 points	Declined	4%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.7%2015-2019	20.5%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	15%

“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 Refugio, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Refugio, 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, Refugio, Texas itself moved −13 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

2,766 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

957 households (±126)

Refugio, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k36%†348
$25k–50k15%†148
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

957 households (±126)

Refugio, Texas
Texas share

Own59%564
Rent41%393

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

1,083 workers (±135)

Refugio, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone84%913
Carpool7.3%†79
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 Refugio County, the county holding most of Refugio's residents.

Refugio County has 136 employer establishments, 203 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Texas's), with 1,514 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,404. The Census Bureau also counts 580 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 136; 580 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 203; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 1,514
Average annual pay: $52,404; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	19	28.4	1.55×More than typical	194	$19,160	3
Limited-service restaurants	10	14.9	1.86×More than typical	136	$18,897	—
Specialty trade contractors	8	12	0.77×Too few to compare	100	$48,480	51
Full-service restaurants	7	10.5	1.36×Too few to compare	57	$19,123	—
Gasoline stations	7	10.5	3.23×Too few to compare	89	$24,697	—
Banks and credit unions	5	7.5	2.31×Too few to compare	16	$50,250	—
Building equipment contractors	5	7.5	1.24×Too few to compare	31	$39,419	11
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	5	7.5	2.26×Too few to compare	31	$39,419	6
General merchandise stores	4	6	3.38×Too few to compare	30	$18,033	5
Grocery and convenience stores	4	6	2.01×Too few to compare	103	$29,777	—
Lessors of real estate	4	6	0.49×Too few to compare	20	$35,700	45
Truck transportation	4	6	1.18×Too few to compare	44	$56,841	22

Rank places for an industry Open Refugio County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,693 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: Refugio is mostly in Refugio County.

See federal money in Refugio 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.

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

House

Michael CloudR-TX-27 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.5%

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.

Refugio County14100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Refugio 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/4861436

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends