City · Swisher County, Texas

Tulia, Texas

Tulia is a city in Swisher County, Texas. It has 4,422 residents. Tulia, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 9 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,291 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #780 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on firearm deaths (low), drug overdose deaths (low) and students per teacher (low). It ranks worst on reading scores (low), voter turnout (low) and distance to an emergency room (high).

9Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,291 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #780 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 4,422 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,243.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4873868

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.

Safety63#5,836/15,637
Economy2#15,370/15,631
Housing31#10,344/14,977
Health17#12,934/15,609
Healthcare5#14,846/15,650
Environment67#5,108/15,453
Education9#14,231/15,649
Infrastructure4#15,014/15,650
Community17#13,055/15,651
Leisure & amenities18#12,798/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Texas 13.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSwisher 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 dataSwisher County value
Students per teacher · low10.2×
97/100Texas 15.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSwisher County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,490 /100k
97/100Texas 2,991 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSwisher County value
Social associations · high15.8 /10k
93/100Texas 7.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSwisher County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low121 min
87/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSwisher County value

Weaknesses

Reading scores · low2.04
0/100Texas 2.89United States 3.052018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSwisher County value
Voter turnout · low43.9%
1/100Texas 57.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSwisher County value
Distance to an emergency room · high25.0 mi
1/100Texas 5.5 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSwisher County value
Broadband subscriptions · low68.9%
2/100Texas 91.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high27.8%
2/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Food environment index · low5.1
2/100Texas 5.7United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSwisher County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
4,690 (2015-2019) → 4,422 (2020-2024)
−5.7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
57.0% (2015-2019) → 40.6% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
High school diploma or higherImproving
65.5% (2015-2019) → 80.8% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
41.9% (2015-2019) → 29.8% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
55.6% (2015-2019) → 49.3% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsWorsening
74.1% (2015-2019) → 68.9% (2020-2024)
−5.3 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, Tulia, 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

High school++15 points65.5% → 80.8%
Child poverty−16 points57.0% → 40.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Tulia, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.7 min2015-2019	20.2 min2020-2024	−0.5 min	Within the margin of error	54%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.6%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Broadband subscriptions	74.1%2015-2019	68.9%2020-2024	−5.3 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Child poverty rate	57.0%2015-2019	40.6%2020-2024	−16 points	Improved	91%
High school diploma or higher	65.5%2015-2019	80.8%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	99%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	72%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5082015-2019	0.5412020-2024	+0.032	Within the margin of error	25%
Median household income	$32,2422015-2019	$32,2882020-2024	+0.1%	Within the margin of error	8%
Poverty rate	35.8%2015-2019	31.9%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	41.9%2015-2019	29.8%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Rent-burdened households	55.6%2015-2019	49.3%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	27.1%2015-2019	27.8%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	37%

“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 Tulia, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Tulia, 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, Tulia, Texas itself moved +6.6 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

4,422 residents (±18)

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

1,519 households (±171)

Tulia, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k38%578
$25k–50k25%†387
$50k–75k14%†211

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,519 households (±171)

Tulia, Texas
Texas share

Own56%858
Rent44%661

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Rent (+10.9 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,882 workers (±213)

Tulia, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone83%1,565
Carpool15%†278
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 Swisher County, the county holding most of Tulia's residents.

Swisher County has 125 employer establishments, 181 for every 10,000 residents (0.73× the US rate of 248; 0.83× Texas's), with 855 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,875. The Census Bureau also counts 509 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 125; 509 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 181; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 855
Average annual pay: $37,875; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	11	15.9	2.87×More than typical	69	$18,000	—
Restaurants and other eating places	9	13	0.71×Too few to compare	105	$14,867	5
Full-service restaurants	7	10.1	1.32×Too few to compare	74	$16,689	3
Truck transportation	6	8.7	1.72×Too few to compare	13	$69,154	32
Ambulatory health care services	5	7.2	0.35×Too few to compare	14	$26,071	12
Banks and credit unions	5	7.2	2.24×Too few to compare	25	$48,600	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	5	7.2	1.65×Too few to compare	17	$75,059	11
Specialty trade contractors	5	7.2	0.47×Too few to compare	23	$34,391	52
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	4	5.8	1.42×Too few to compare	31	$43,194	—
Construction of buildings	4	5.8	0.77×Too few to compare	8	$56,750	16
Gasoline stations	4	5.8	1.79×Too few to compare	45	$22,444	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	3	4.3	0.86×Too few to compare	6	$64,000	11

Rank places for an industry Open Swisher County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,900 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: Tulia is mostly in Swisher County.

See federal money in Swisher 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.

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

House

Jodey C. ArringtonR-TX-19 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.3%

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.

Swisher County13100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Swisher 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/4873868

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends