City · Sutton County, Texas

Sonora, Texas

Sonora is a city in Sutton County, Texas. It has 2,691 residents. Sonora, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,727 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #101 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on suicide rate (low), job growth (high) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on traffic deaths (high), flu vaccinations (low) and pharmacies (low).

57Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,727 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #101 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 2,691 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,208.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4868756

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.

Safety70#4,641/15,637
Economy74#4,054/15,631
Housing63#5,583/14,977
Health47#8,205/15,609
Healthcare27#11,351/15,650
Environment69#4,826/15,453
Education41#9,292/15,649
Infrastructure3#15,226/15,650
Community70#4,673/15,651
Leisure & amenities85#2,413/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Sonora, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sutton 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 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSutton County value
Job growth · high8.8%
99/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSutton County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Texas 13.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSutton County value
Property crime rate · low249 /100k
98/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureSutton County value
Social associations · high18.6 /10k
97/100Texas 7.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSutton County value
Child care cost burden · low18.6%
97/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSutton County value

Weaknesses

Traffic deaths · high73.3 /100k
1/100Texas 14.1 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataSutton County value
Flu vaccinations · low18.0%
1/100Texas 40.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSutton County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Texas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSutton County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Texas 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergySutton County value
Distance to an airport · high133 mi
4/100Texas 33 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSutton County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Texas 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSutton County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
3,405 (2015-2019) → 2,691 (2020-2024)
−21%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
52.0% (2015-2019) → 85.6% (2020-2024)
+34 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
22.8% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeWorsening
14.2 min (2015-2019) → 27.8 min (2020-2024)
+96%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Poverty rateImproving
15.3% (2015-2019) → 5.4% (2020-2024)
−9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
17.2% (2015-2019) → 26.4% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Sonora, Texas improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 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+34 points52.0% → 85.6%
Child poverty−23 points22.8% → 0.0%
Poverty−9.9 points15.3% → 5.4%

Declined2

Commute+13.6 min14.2 min → 27.8 min
Rent / income+9.2 points17.2% → 26.4%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Sonora, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.2 min2015-2019	27.8 min2020-2024	+13.6 min	Declined	1%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.6%2015-2019	15.9%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Broadband subscriptions	52.0%2015-2019	85.6%2020-2024	+34 points	Improved	99%
Child poverty rate	22.8%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−23 points	Improved	95%
Effective property tax rate	1.67%2015-2019	1.57%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	36%
High school diploma or higher	73.8%2015-2019	81.4%2020-2024	+7.6 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Home price to income ratio	1.6×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	58%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4062015-2019	0.4022020-2024	−0.004	Within the margin of error	54%
Median household income	$58,7502015-2019	$71,8482020-2024	+22%	Within the margin of error	38%
Poverty rate	15.3%2015-2019	5.4%2020-2024	−9.9 points	Improved	93%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	17.2%2015-2019	26.4%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Declined	10%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.8%2015-2019	19.7%2020-2024	−3.2 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 Sonora, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sonora, 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, Sonora, Texas itself moved −10.3 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

2,691 residents (±266)

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

1,006 households (±157)

Sonora, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k13%†126
$25k–50k20%†198
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,006 households (±157)

Sonora, Texas
Texas share

Own71%716
Rent29%†290

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

1,153 workers (±171)

Sonora, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone72%835
Carpool17%†200
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 Sutton County, the county holding most of Sonora's residents.

Sutton County has 108 employer establishments, 335 for every 10,000 residents (1.35× the US rate of 248; 1.53× Texas's), with 859 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,709. The Census Bureau also counts 448 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 108; 448 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 335; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 859
Average annual pay: $51,709; US $68,342

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

Gasoline stations	8	24.8	7.66×Too few to compare	119	$33,824	—
Restaurants and other eating places	7	21.7	1.18×Too few to compare	103	$14,320	3
Specialty trade contractors	7	21.7	1.40×Too few to compare	58	$61,466	40
Religious organizations	6	18.6	3.36×Too few to compare	26	$16,962	—
Traveler accommodation	5	15.5	8.60×Too few to compare	84	$47,000	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	3	9.3	1.85×Too few to compare	3	$25,000	17
Building equipment contractors	3	9.3	1.55×Too few to compare	7	$29,571	8
Full-service restaurants	3	9.3	1.21×Too few to compare	32	$17,094	—
Legal services	3	9.3	1.73×Too few to compare	7	$23,000	—
Limited-service restaurants	3	9.3	1.16×Too few to compare	64	$13,047	—
Management, scientific and technical consulting	3	9.3	1.39×Too few to compare	5	$41,400	9
Other specialty trade contractors	3	9.3	3.71×Too few to compare	47	$66,404	17

Rank places for an industry Open Sutton County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 3,223 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: Sonora is mostly in Sutton County.

See federal money in Sutton 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.

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

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.

Sutton County56100% of residents

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/4868756

Sonora, Texas

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved3

Declined2

Cities and towns like Sonora, Texas five years ago that improved

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Local businesses

Federal contracts performed here

Representation in Congress

Senate

County

Similar cities and towns

Data and sources

Improved3

Declined2

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Senate