Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US counties.

Safety—
Economy14#2,718/3,143
Housing—
Health49#1,606/3,144
Healthcare7#2,931/3,143
Environment22#2,427/3,108
Education37#1,979/3,144
Infrastructure22#2,444/3,144
Community0#3,140/3,144
Leisure & amenities68#1,019/3,143

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Kenedy County, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US counties (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Arts, entertainment and recreation · high62.7 /10k
100/100Texas 3.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Restaurants and bars · high31.4 /10k
99/100Texas 7.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Job growth · high7.4%
97/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional data
Average weekly wage · high$1,319
89/100Texas $1,499United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Natural hazard risk · low10.9
89/100Texas 39.62025Federal Emergency Management Agency
Mental health care shortage · low8.0
88/100Texas 14.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services Administration

Weaknesses

Lack of reliable transportation · high20.4%
0/100Texas 10.5%United States 8.3%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
High school diploma or higher · low52.8%
0/100Texas 86.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Food insecurity · high41.8%
0/100Texas 19.4%United States 15.6%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
New business applications · low0.0 /1k
0/100Texas 17.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census Bureau
Food environment index · low2.1
0/100Texas 5.7United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
Traffic deaths · high466.5 /100k
1/100Texas 14.1 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional data

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
349 (2020) → 319 (2025)
−8.6%5 yearsUS 331,578,104 → 341,784,857
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+100 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Voter turnoutImproving
89.8% (2020) → 176.9% (2024)
+87 pts4 yearsUS 68.5% → 65.2%
Some collegeImproving
1.1% (2016-2020) → 50.0% (2019-2023)
+49 pts3 yearsUS 66.9% → 67.8%
Property crime rateWorsening
1,733 /100k (2016) → 5,530 /100k (2021)
+219%5 yearsUS 2,444 /100k → 1,782 /100k
Drought exposureWorsening
36% (2021) → 67% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+31 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%

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, Kenedy County, Texas improved on 3 of 17 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among counties: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2020 with 2025); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved3

High school++26 points26.4% → 52.8%
Airport−9 mi70 mi → 61 mi
Real income+16%$48,619 → $56,449

Declined3

Students / teacher+4.8×6.6× → 11.5×
New businesses−100%2.9 /1k → 0.0 /1k
Unemployment+1.1 points7.1% → 8.2%

All 17 measures

Change of every measure of Kenedy County, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	57.3 /10k2020	62.7 /10k2025	+9.4%	Within the margin of error	57%
Average weekly wage	$1,3742020	$1,3192025	−4%	Little change	0%
Broadband subscriptions	48.2%2015-2019	69.1%2020-2024	+21 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Child poverty rate	21.4%2019	15.1%2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	94%
Distance to an airport	70 mi2020	61 mi2025	−9 mi	Improved	98%
Grocery stores	28.7 /10k2020	0.0 /10k2025	−100%	Within the margin of error	1%
High school diploma or higher	26.4%2015-2019	52.8%2020-2024	+26 points	Improved	100%
Income adjusted for local prices	$48,6192019	$56,4492024	+16%	Improved	2%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3222015-2019	0.4242020-2024	+0.103	Within the margin of error	1%
Median household income	$46,1322019	$46,9602024	+1.8%	Within the margin of error	0%
New business applications	2.9 /1k2020	0.0 /1k2025	−100%	Declined	0%
Poverty rate	14.2%2019	15.5%2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Students per teacher	6.6×2019	11.5×2024	+4.8×	Declined	1%
Traffic deaths	576.9 /100k2015-2019	466.5 /100k2020-2024	−19%	Within the margin of error	78%
Unemployment rate	7.1%2020	8.2%2025	+1.1 points	Declined	0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	26.3%2019	23.2%2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 3114 counties that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Small Area Health Insurance Estimates; Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates; Common Core of Data; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. 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 3144 counties 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.

Counties like Kenedy County, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kenedy County, 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, Kenedy County, Texas itself moved −5 points in standing on average over the same 24 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

145 residents (±90)

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

55 households (±33)

Kenedy County, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k16%†9
$25k–50k49%†27
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

55 households (±33)

Kenedy County, Texas
Texas share

Own53%†29
Rent47%†26

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

56 workers (±39)

Kenedy County, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone82%†46
Carpool0.0%0
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.

Kenedy County has 15 employer establishments, 432 for every 10,000 residents (1.74× the US rate of 248; 1.98× Texas's), with 133 paid employees at an average annual pay of $91,165. The Census Bureau also counts 21 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 15; 21 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 432; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 133
Average annual pay: $91,165; US $68,342

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

Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Advertising, public relations and related services	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Ambulatory health care services	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	0.00×Too few to compare	—	3
Architectural, engineering and related services	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Banks and credit unions	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Barber shops	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Beauty salons	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Beer, wine and liquor stores	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—
Building equipment contractors	0.00×Too few to compare	—	—

Rank places for an industry

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 347 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 contract spending

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $0 on contracts performed in Kenedy County, 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

74.9KFY2017
399.1KFY2018
1.2MFY2019
148.2KFY2020
0FY2021
802.2KFY2022
782.7KFY2023
68.4KFY2024
0FY2025

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.

Explore contracts in Kenedy County, Texas

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $1.3M in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Kenedy County, Texas: $4,158 per resident (US $12,955).

Assistance · FY2026: $1.3M; −89% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4,158; US $12,955
Loan face value: $0; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 9.5%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$644.4K49%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$175.3K13%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$165.6K12%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$130.3K9.8%
10.987 · Emergency Livestock Relief Program 2023 and 2024 Flood and Wildfire$125K9.4%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$53.3K4.0%
84.358 · Rural Education$16K1.2%
64.028 · Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance$13K1.0%

Top recipients (organizations)

KENEDY COUNTY WIDE COMMON SCHOOL DISTRICT$15.4K1.2%
SARITA, TX
RIVIERA TELEPHONE CO INC$3,1080.2%
RIVIERA, TX
WILLIAM H HOLDINGS INC-$1.040.0%
SARITA, TX

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$993.7K75%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$188.4K14%
Department of Veterans Affairs
Farm Service Agency$125.9K9.5%
Department of Agriculture
Department of Education$16K1.2%
Federal Communications Commission$2,4860.2%

Assistance by fiscal year

1.1MFY2021
2.3MFY2022
1.2MFY2023
1.3MFY2024
12.4MFY2025
1.3MFY2026

County aggregates

89%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Explore grants in Kenedy County, Texas

Public money & outcomes

Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.

How Kenedy County, Texas compares: the federal money it received per resident, and how jobs, income, housing and other outcomes moved, each next to the United States.

Money per resident

By federal fiscal year (October to September, named by the year it ends), obligations per resident. A year with no record counts as $0.

Kenedy County, Texas
United States
partial year

Federal contractsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Kenedy County, Texas and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
FY2017	$184	$1,436
FY2018	$952	$1,552
FY2019	$3,176	$1,654
FY2020	$425	$1,880
FY2021	$0	$1,810
FY2022	$2,253	$1,917
FY2023	$2,256	$2,079
FY2024	$212	$2,047
FY2025	$0	$2,165
FY2026	$0 (partial year)	$1,911

Construction contractsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Kenedy County, Texas and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
FY2017	$0	$93.28
FY2018	$0	$105
FY2019	$2,066	$128
FY2020	$449	$145
FY2021	$0	$117
FY2022

Contracts and grantsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Kenedy County, Texas and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
FY2021	$64.69	$5,748
FY2022	$2,321	$5,221
FY2023	$2,296	$5,364
FY2024	$257	$5,501
FY2025	$34,506	$5,732
FY2026	$50.20

Transportation grantsUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Kenedy County, Texas and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
FY2021	$0	$298
FY2022	$0	$357
FY2023	$0	$301
FY2024	$0	$319
FY2025	$34,420	$360
FY2026	$0

SBA lending volumeUS dollars per resident

Table view

Money per resident, Kenedy County, Texas and the United States, by fiscal year
Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
FY2021	$264	$1,186
FY2022	$0	$465
FY2023	$0	$76.52
FY2024	$0	$120
FY2025	$0	$148
FY2026	$0

Fiscal years (FY2024 = October 2023 to September 2024)

How outcomes moved

Calendar years. Charts share the same years as the money above. Levels are shown as percent change since 2016; rates are shown as the rate itself.

Kenedy County, Texas
United States
Years with money loaded

Job growthpercent

Table view

Job growth, Kenedy County, Texas and the United States, by year
Calendar years	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
2014	19.2%	2.0%
2015	−17.0%

When its money jumped

A county-year with at least 10,000 residents whose money per resident is at least twice its earlier average counts as a jump. Each is compared with up to five similar counties in the same region whose money did not jump.

Counties under 10,000 residents are not assessed: their money per resident swings too much from year to year.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Business Formation Statistics, Building Permits Survey, Cartographic Boundary Files, Gazetteer and metro delineations, Population Estimates Program, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission), Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System), Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordability. JSON · /api/v1/outcomes/places/48261

See all comparisons

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.

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

House

Vicente GonzalezD-TX-34 · 100% of residentsWith party 73%Missed 5.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

Cities and towns in Kenedy County

Places whose residents live mostly in Kenedy County, largest first.

Sarita92

Neighboring counties

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar counties

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.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
National Risk IndexFederal Emergency Management Agency · release v1.20.0
Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-03
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
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
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/48261

Calendar years	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
2014	+13.2%	−4.2%
2015	0.0%	−1.3%
2016	0.0%	0.0%
2017	+9.9%	+3.3%
2018	+23.6%	+6.8%
2019	+33.5%	+10.5%
2020	+34.2%	+19.4%
2021	+31.1%	+26.1%
2022	+11.1%	+30.6%
2023	+16.7%	+35.0%
2024	+20.6%	+41.0%
2025	+28.8%	+46.8%

Calendar years	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
2014	+52.1%	−5.5%
2015	+39.5%	−1.9%
2016	0.0%	0.0%
2017	+26.7%	+4.1%
2018	+18.0%	+8.9%
2019	+32.7%	+13.5%
2020	+50.1%	+20.8%
2021	+48.4%	+32.1%
2022	+10.6%	+35.4%
2023	+45.2%	+42.9%
2024	+50.5%	+49.5%

Calendar years	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
2014	−0.7%	−6.9%
2015	+3.5%	−3.2%
2016	0.0%	0.0%
2017	−1.8%	+4.7%
2018	+8.9%	+7.5%
2019	+19.1%	+14.0%
2020	+18.8%	+16.9%
2021	+9.5%	+21.0%
2022	+11.8%	+29.7%
2023	+11.2%	+34.9%
2024	+21.3%	+41.6%

Calendar years	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
2014	0.0/1k	8.5/1k
2015	15.9/1k	8.7/1k
2016	9.4/1k	9.1/1k
2017	0.0/1k	9.8/1k
2018	19.1/1k	10.7/1k
2019	44.2/1k	10.6/1k
2020	2.9/1k	13.1/1k
2021	0.0/1k	16.2/1k
2022	0.0/1k	15.1/1k
2023	0.0/1k	16.2/1k
2024	6.2/1k	15.4/1k
2025	0.0/1k	16.6/1k

Calendar years	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
2014	3.0%	6.2%
2015	3.2%	5.3%
2016	6.4%	4.9%
2017	5.0%	4.4%
2018	5.6%	3.9%
2019	4.7%	3.7%
2020	7.1%	8.1%
2021	7.7%	5.4%
2022	7.1%	3.7%
2023	7.8%	3.6%
2024	7.2%	4.0%
2025	8.2%	4.3%

Calendar years	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
2014	17.9%	15.5%
2015	16.5%	14.7%
2016	16.2%	14.0%
2017	15.2%	13.4%
2018	14.3%	13.1%
2019	14.2%	12.3%
2020	10.8%	11.9%
2021	14.2%	12.8%
2022	7.6%	12.6%
2023	14.9%	12.5%
2024	15.5%	12.1%

Calendar years	Kenedy County, Texas	United States
2014	25.7%	13.5%
2015	22.7%	10.9%
2016	20.1%	10.0%
2017	22.8%	10.2%
2018	26.8%	10.4%
2019	26.3%	10.8%
2020	41.4%	10.4%
2021	46.3%	10.2%
2022	37.7%	9.5%
2023	29.2%	9.5%
2024	23.2%	9.8%

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends