City · Lavaca County, Texas

Shiner, Texas

Shiner is a city in Lavaca County, Texas. It has 2,154 residents. Shiner, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 47 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,283 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #151 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), students per teacher (low) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on hot days (high), preventable hospital stays (high) and public EV charging ports (low).

47Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,283 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #151 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 2,154 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 872.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4867640

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety49#7,953/15,637
Economy64#5,671/15,631
Housing44#8,436/14,977
Health61#6,064/15,609
Healthcare27#11,352/15,650
Environment62#5,835/15,453
Education69#4,914/15,649
Infrastructure27#11,471/15,650
Community52#7,579/15,651
Leisure & amenities26#11,658/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Child care cost burden · low20.6%
93/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLavaca County value
Students per teacher · low11.4×
91/100Texas 15.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsLavaca County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.2×
88/100Texas 3.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Time spent in the emergency room · low122 min
86/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLavaca County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Texas 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLavaca County value
Property crime rate · low591 /100k
84/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLavaca County value

Weaknesses

Hot days · high130 days
2/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLavaca County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,745 /100k
3/100Texas 2,991 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLavaca County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Texas 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLavaca County value
Job growth · low-3.7%
5/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLavaca County value
Mental health providers · low53 /100k
6/100Texas 181 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLavaca County value
Dentists · low24 /100k
7/100Texas 63 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLavaca County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
3.5 /1k (2021) → 0.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−87%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$57,750 (2015-2019) → $99,299 (2020-2024)
+72%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.8% (2015-2019) → 50.5% (2020-2024)
+9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
27.2% (2015-2019) → 36.8% (2020-2024)
+9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
22.5% (2015-2019) → 30.5% (2020-2024)
+8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.2% (2015-2019) → 88.8% (2020-2024)
+7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Shiner, Texas improved on 2 of 13 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.

Improved2

Household income+72%$57,750 → $99,299
Broadband+7.6 points81.2% → 88.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Shiner, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.3 min2015-2019	20.0 min2020-2024	−7.4 min	Within the margin of error	96%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.2%2015-2019	36.8%2020-2024	+9.7 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Broadband subscriptions	81.2%2015-2019	88.8%2020-2024	+7.6 points	Improved	47%
Effective property tax rate	1.09%2015-2019	1.05%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	23%
High school diploma or higher	90.2%2015-2019	95.2%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	90%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4272015-2019	0.3812020-2024	−0.046	Within the margin of error	82%
Median household income	$57,7502015-2019	$99,2992020-2024	+72%	Improved	95%
Poverty rate	6.0%2015-2019	5.7%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	22.5%2015-2019	30.5%2020-2024	+8 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Rent-burdened households	40.8%2015-2019	50.5%2020-2024	+9.7 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.7%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	77%

“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 Shiner, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Shiner, 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, Shiner, Texas itself moved +6.4 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

2,154 residents (±360)

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

793 households (±143)

Shiner, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k7.4%†59
$25k–50k18%†144
$50k–75k10%†

Homes

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

Owners and renters

793 households (±143)

Shiner, Texas
Texas share

Own84%665
Rent16%†128

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+5.5 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

1,082 workers (±212)

Shiner, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone83%900
Carpool7.4%†80
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 Lavaca County, the county holding most of Shiner's residents.

Lavaca County has 489 employer establishments, 238 for every 10,000 residents (0.96× the US rate of 248; 1.09× Texas's), with 5,202 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,244. The Census Bureau also counts 1,970 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 489; 1,970 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 238; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 5,202
Average annual pay: $47,244; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	34	16.5	1.07×About typical	238	$71,176	218
Restaurants and other eating places	23	11.2	0.61×Fewer than typical	215	$23,642	16
Religious organizations	22	10.7	1.93×More than typical	183	$23,383	—
Truck transportation	21	10.2	2.02×More than typical	185	$52,822	41
Ambulatory health care services	19	9.2	0.44×Fewer than typical	166	$39,741	80
Automotive repair and maintenance	17	8.3	1.64×More than typical	52	$51,231	37
Building equipment contractors	17	8.3	1.37×More than typical	120	$87,033	37
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	14	6.8	4.13×More than typical	72	$44,472	—
Full-service restaurants	12	5.8	0.76×Fewer than typical	98	$28,122	7
Gasoline stations	12	5.8	1.80×More than typical	117	$19,923	—
Lessors of real estate	12	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	29	$49,862	144
Insurance agencies and brokerages	11	5.3	1.22×About typical	28	$46,500	37

Rank places for an industry Open Lavaca County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,565 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Shiner, Texas: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

586.5FY2017
137.7FY2018
805.1FY2020
630.8FY2021
180.1FY2022
58.2FY2025

What was bought

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

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

See federal money in Lavaca 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.

Shiner, 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.

Lavaca County43100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lavaca 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/4867640

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends