City · Kaufman County, Texas

Terrell, Texas

Terrell is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area. It has 20,366 residents. Terrell, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 6 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,718 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #867 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), primary care shortage (low) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), restaurants and bars (low) and high school diploma or higher (low).

6Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,718 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #867 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 20,366 (2020-2024)
Land area: 33 mi²
Density: 613.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 4872284

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety43#8,907/15,637
Economy35#10,140/15,631
Housing30#10,525/14,977
Health20#12,479/15,609
Healthcare13#13,551/15,650
Environment30#10,776/15,453
Education17#13,055/15,649
Infrastructure3#15,139/15,650
Community9#14,225/15,651
Leisure & amenities1#15,460/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Job growth · high5.8%
99/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataKaufman County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Texas 5.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationKaufman County value
Child care cost burden · low21.9%
89/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKaufman County value
New homes permitted · high8.3 /1k
85/100Texas 6.3 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Texas 5.8United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationKaufman County value
New business applications · high17.5 /1k
81/100Texas 17.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauKaufman County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.5 /10k
1/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKaufman County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.4 /10k
3/100Texas 7.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKaufman County value
High school diploma or higher · low79.4%
5/100Texas 86.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Primary care physicians · low22 /100k
6/100Texas 61 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKaufman County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high19.7%
6/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.6 /10k
7/100Texas 3.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKaufman County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
17,869 (2015-2019) → 20,366 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
50.3% (2015-2019) → 62.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.6% (2015-2019) → 84.5% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,636 (2015-2019) → $65,842 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 3.3× (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateImproving
25.7% (2015-2019) → 19.4% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Terrell, Texas improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 12 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+38%$47,636 → $65,842
Broadband+10 points74.6% → 84.5%

Declined1

Price / income+0.8×2.5× → 3.3×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Terrell, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.8 min2015-2019	27.3 min2020-2024	+2.5 min	Within the margin of error	23%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.9%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Broadband subscriptions	74.6%2015-2019	84.5%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	60%
Child poverty rate	25.7%2015-2019	19.4%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Effective property tax rate	1.64%2015-2019	1.33%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	75%
High school diploma or higher	82.9%2015-2019	79.4%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	29%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4322015-2019	0.4282020-2024	−0.004	Within the margin of error	54%
Median household income	$47,6362015-2019	$65,8422020-2024	+38%	Improved	71%
Poverty rate	19.4%2015-2019	15.9%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.1%2015-2019	34.7%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent-burdened households	50.3%2015-2019	62.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Unemployment rate	7.3%2015-2019	7.6%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.9%2015-2019	19.7%2020-2024	−1.1 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 Terrell, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Terrell, 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, Terrell, Texas itself moved −9 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

20,366 residents (±36)

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

5,857 households (±359)

Terrell, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k17%1,014
$25k–50k20%1,186
$50k–75k21%1,227

Homes

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

Owners and renters

5,857 households (±359)

Terrell, Texas
Texas share

Own59%3,436
Rent41%2,421

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+7.7 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

8,271 workers (±692)

Terrell, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone77%6,370
Carpool15%†1,271
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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 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 Kaufman County, the county holding most of Terrell's residents.

Kaufman County has 2,500 employer establishments, 134 for every 10,000 residents (0.54× the US rate of 248; 0.61× Texas's), with 34,851 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,288. The Census Bureau also counts 22,580 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,500; 22,580 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 134; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 34,851
Average annual pay: $46,288; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	292	15.6	1.01×About typical	2,452	$62,067	2,171
Restaurants and other eating places	205	11	0.60×Fewer than typical	4,293	$21,054	118
Ambulatory health care services	154	8.3	0.40×Fewer than typical	1,717	$42,341	829
Building equipment contractors	133	7.1	1.18×About typical	1,275	$66,951	586
Limited-service restaurants	111	5.9	0.74×Fewer than typical	2,719	$19,992	35
Truck transportation	94	5	1.00×About typical	1,440	$61,690	1,232
Lessors of real estate	91	4.9	0.40×Fewer than typical	238	$47,500	1,068
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	89	4.8	1.44×More than typical	670	$66,806	340
Construction of buildings	85	4.6	0.60×Fewer than typical	269	$59,729	870
Automotive repair and maintenance	84	4.5	0.89×About typical	464	$53,662	436
Religious organizations	83	4.4	0.80×About typical	692	$22,163	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	82	4.4	0.65×Fewer than typical	331	$38,849	1,522

Rank places for an industry Open Kaufman County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 186,658 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 $14.7K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Terrell, Texas: $0.72 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $14.7K
Per resident: $0.72; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences$14.7K100%

Top recipients

ON COMPUTER SERVICES, L.L.C.$14.7K100%

Spending by fiscal year

8KFY2017
21.4KFY2018
15.3KFY2019
57.9KFY2020
261.9KFY2021
1.3KFY2022
33.4KFY2023
14.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing · 3359$14.7K100%

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

Terrell, Texas's figures are part of those of Kaufman County, TX ($381.7K in FY2026), never added to them: 3.9% of that total.

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

See federal money in Kaufman 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.

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

House

Lance GoodenR-TX-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.9%

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.

Kaufman County31100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX52

Other cities and towns in Kaufman 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/4872284

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends