City · Lavaca County, Texas

Yoakum, Texas

Yoakum is a city in Lavaca County, Texas. It has 5,846 residents. Yoakum, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 22 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,237 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #469 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), child care cost burden (low) and students per teacher (low). It ranks worst on uninsured residents (under 65) (high), hot days (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

22Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,237 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #469 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 5,846 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 1,276.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 4880560

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
Economy23#12,103/15,631
Housing38#9,234/14,977
Health42#9,119/15,609
Healthcare10#14,023/15,650
Environment62#5,835/15,453
Education29#11,068/15,649
Infrastructure2#15,351/15,650
Community52#7,579/15,651
Leisure & amenities26#11,658/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Yoakum, 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

Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Texas 4.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
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
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

Uninsured residents (under 65) · high33.6%
1/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
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

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.5% (2015-2019) → 83.7% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 3.2× (2020-2024)
+60%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
36.5% (2015-2019) → 47.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
23.4% (2015-2019) → 33.6% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
High school diploma or higherImproving
71.7% (2015-2019) → 79.9% (2020-2024)
+8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
7.1% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−7.1 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, Yoakum, Texas improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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

Unemployment−7.1 points7.1% → 0.0%
Broadband+16 points67.5% → 83.7%

Declined2

Uninsured+10 points23.4% → 33.6%
Price / income+1.2×2.0× → 3.2×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Yoakum, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.2 min2015-2019	21.6 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Within the margin of error	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	8.5%2015-2019	10.6%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Broadband subscriptions	67.5%2015-2019	83.7%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	83%
Child poverty rate	20.2%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Effective property tax rate	1.34%2015-2019	1.05%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
High school diploma or higher	71.7%2015-2019	79.9%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+1.2×	Declined	16%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4132015-2019	0.4332020-2024	+0.019	Within the margin of error	34%
Median household income	$41,3842015-2019	$46,8102020-2024	+13%	Within the margin of error	21%
Poverty rate	17.4%2015-2019	17.7%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	26.4%2015-2019	27.8%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Rent-burdened households	36.5%2015-2019	47.0%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Unemployment rate	7.1%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−7.1 points	Improved	98%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	23.4%2015-2019	33.6%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	3%

“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 Yoakum, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Yoakum, 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, Yoakum, Texas itself moved −7.6 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

5,846 residents (±429)

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

2,321 households (±232)

Yoakum, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k24%†557
$25k–50k27%†636
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,321 households (±232)

Yoakum, Texas
Texas share

Own54%1,262
Rent46%1,059

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−11.1 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,650 workers (±395)

Yoakum, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone70%1,855
Carpool17%†455
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 Yoakum'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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Yoakum 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.

Yoakum, 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.

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/4880560

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends