City · Hardin County, Texas

Silsbee, Texas

Silsbee is a city in Hardin County, Texas, part of the Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX metro area. It has 6,842 residents. Silsbee, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 9 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,236 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #770 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), property crime rate (low) and math scores (high). It ranks worst on uninsured residents (under 65) (high), firearm deaths (high) and primary care physicians (low).

9Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,236 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #770 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 6,842 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 892.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4867832

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety45#8,613/15,637
Economy20#12,561/15,631
Housing36#9,518/14,977
Health19#12,674/15,609
Healthcare4#15,015/15,650
Environment21#12,251/15,453
Education39#9,607/15,649
Infrastructure6#14,667/15,650
Community28#11,205/15,651
Leisure & amenities18#12,865/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Silsbee, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Hardin 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 · low19.5%
96/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHardin County value
Property crime rate · low517 /100k
89/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHardin County value
Math scores · high3.31
83/100Texas 3.15United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHardin County value
Comfortable days · high29.9%
77/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationHardin County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.5×
77/100Texas 3.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Texas 7 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHardin County value

Weaknesses

Uninsured residents (under 65) · high23.1%
4/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Firearm deaths · high27.5 /100k
4/100Texas 13.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHardin County value
Primary care physicians · low19 /100k
4/100Texas 61 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHardin County value
Suicide rate · high27.5 /100k
6/100Texas 14.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHardin County value
Restaurants and bars · low4.6 /10k
7/100Texas 7.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHardin County value
Mental health providers · low61 /100k
8/100Texas 181 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHardin County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
15.7% (2015-2019) → 28.5% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.6% (2015-2019) → 88.1% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
24.4 min (2015-2019) → 33.4 min (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Median household incomeImproving
$46,034 (2015-2019) → $59,907 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
17.4% (2015-2019) → 23.1% (2020-2024)
+5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Unemployment rateWorsening
2.4% (2015-2019) → 7.3% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Silsbee, Texas improved on 3 of 14 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.

Improved3

Inequality−0.0840.482 → 0.398
Household income+30%$46,034 → $59,907
Broadband+8.5 points79.6% → 88.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Silsbee, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.4 min2015-2019	33.4 min2020-2024	+9.0 min	Within the margin of error	3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.4%2015-2019	18.4%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Broadband subscriptions	79.6%2015-2019	88.1%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Improved	52%
Child poverty rate	15.7%2015-2019	28.5%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Effective property tax rate	1.46%2015-2019	1.25%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%
High school diploma or higher	86.5%2015-2019	90.1%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	72%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4822015-2019	0.3982020-2024	−0.084	Improved	93%
Median household income	$46,0342015-2019	$59,9072020-2024	+30%	Improved	56%
Poverty rate	16.0%2015-2019	20.0%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.6%2015-2019	29.3%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Rent-burdened households	46.1%2015-2019	46.6%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.4%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Within the margin of error	8%

“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 Silsbee, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Silsbee, 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, Silsbee, Texas itself moved +2.5 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

6,842 residents (±29)

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

2,610 households (±200)

Silsbee, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k21%†537
$25k–50k19%†502
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,610 households (±200)

Silsbee, Texas
Texas share

Own68%1,765
Rent32%845

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

2,419 workers (±268)

Silsbee, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone86%2,087
Carpool8.0%†194
Public transit0.0%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 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 Hardin County, the county holding most of Silsbee's residents.

Hardin County has 872 employer establishments, 150 for every 10,000 residents (0.60× the US rate of 248; 0.69× Texas's), with 8,993 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,024. The Census Bureau also counts 4,719 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 872; 4,719 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 150; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 8,993
Average annual pay: $48,024; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	80	13.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,245	$19,178	17
Specialty trade contractors	62	10.7	0.69×Fewer than typical	567	$66,173	456
Religious organizations	57	9.8	1.77×More than typical	357	$15,703	—
Ambulatory health care services	47	8.1	0.39×Fewer than typical	391	$52,629	168
Limited-service restaurants	41	7	0.88×About typical	677	$17,808	6
Building equipment contractors	34	5.8	0.97×About typical	321	$69,738	80
Automotive repair and maintenance	29	5	0.99×About typical	151	$38,291	64
Construction of buildings	29	5	0.66×Fewer than typical	165	$55,279	212
Insurance agencies and brokerages	25	4.3	0.98×About typical	59	$32,390	101
Services to buildings and dwellings	25	4.3	0.64×Fewer than typical	140	$28,543	417
Full-service restaurants	23	4	0.51×Fewer than typical	473	$22,896	8
Gasoline stations	22	3.8	1.17×About typical	209	$23,005	—

Rank places for an industry Open Hardin County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 58,213 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 Silsbee, Texas: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
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

67.8FY2019
21.5KFY2020
12.8KFY2021
0FY2022
507FY2024

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

Silsbee, Texas's figures are part of those of Hardin County, TX ($116.8K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Hardin 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.

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

House

Brian BabinR-TX-36 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.1%

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.

Hardin County35100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX7

Other cities and towns in Hardin 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/4867832

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends