New Bacliff WaterTower, 2015
Bacliff’s story
116 years in pictures
Census counts: 4,851 in 1980, 9,677 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2015 and 7 maps from 1929 on.
- 1910Bacliff is established
BacliffTX
A town of 9,541, established in 1910. Public schools that outperform most of Texas.
3 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Djetelina at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
9,541
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$214K
−0.4% in a year
Household income
$51K
median
Median age
32.4
years
Jobs based here
448
A commuter town
TownGrade
C−
#399 of 640 in TX
Is Bacliff a good place to live?
Bacliff grades C− overall, 399th of 640 graded towns in Texas, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 93% of the country. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 72% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $51K, and 29% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $214K, 2.6 years of the Houston metro’s $82K median household income. 29% of residents live below the poverty line in Bacliff, against 12% in Texas’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 8 of the 642 Texas towns we compare have a lower peak summer temperature than Bacliff.
What makes Bacliff stand out
Where Bacliff beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
DICKINSON ISD schools
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Kenneth E Little El | PK–3 | 505 |
SchoolsB+
On state tests and graduation
NCES · EDFacts.
31 measures vs. Texas
0 better11 too close to call20 worse
| Widest gap | Bacliff | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.9% | 12.5% |
Worth knowing · HealthD
Trails TX on 20 of 31 CDC measures, beats it on none
Less healthyHealthier
CDC PLACES 2025 estimates.
A growing town
Bacliff has grown 12% from 2010 to 2020
8,619 counted in 2010 and 9,677 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Bacliff grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Bacliff is from typical.
HealthHouston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital 6.5 miles awayDOpen →Jobs & income448 jobs based hereC−Open →SchoolsB+Open →Hazard riskcold waves tops the listC+Open →Cost of livingC+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 7.3 of 20; 4.4% of households have no car; 2.3% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
ClimateMild winters, 90° summer afternoons–Open →Housing market$214K typical home, down 0.4% in a year; 58 days on market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 32.4; 21% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 59 attractions →Reliant Stadium and 50 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bacliff. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaReliant Stadium
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaDaikin Park
7 mi MuseumSpace Center Houston
18 mi LandmarkSan Jacinto Monument
28 mi Stadium & arenaToyota Center
29 mi MuseumRothko ChapelSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Reliant Stadium: User eschipul on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Daikin Park: Delaywaves, CC BY 3.0 · Space Center Houston: Shujianyang, CC BY 4.0 · San Jacinto Monument: Tijuana Brass at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Toyota Center: Ed Uthman from Houston, TX, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Rothko Chapel: Unknown, Public domain
Getting set up
Moving to Bacliff: who provides what
Bacliff is unincorporated, so Galveston County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerEntergy Texas13.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterBacliff MUDNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesGalveston CountyGalveston County provides services here
SchoolsDickinson Independent School DistrictClear Creek Independent School District2 districts serve Bacliff; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteIn personTexas has no online registration; you can register in person until 30 days before Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereGalveston County Early Voting ClerkGalveston County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code7751877518 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Bacliff.
Bacliff has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has poverty well above the Texas rate.
HealthD
Bacliff earns a D for health
All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than that grade, from Texas City (C−) to League City (A).
Among adults in Bacliff, 17% report frequent physical distress. Two figures for adults in the town: 30% say their health is fair or poor, 19% smoke cigarettes.
7%healthier than U.S. townsDHealth Grade
| Bacliff | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 20% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 24% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
31 measures vs. Texas
0 better11 too close to call20 worse
| What stands out | Bacliff | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.9% | 12.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 5.7% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 30.3% | 19.3% |
Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital
6.5 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
10th
percentile among TX towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
SchoolsB+
Bacliff earns a B+ for schools
Dickinson ISD runs its public schools. Its one school is below. Bacliff’s only public school teaches 505 students.
72%of TX districts it outscoresB+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth E Little ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 505 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Bacliff sends most of its workers out of town
Bacliff has 448 jobs for its 4,001 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
In Bacliff, 7.3% of workers work remotely from home. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 3% of working residents work locally. The town’s mean commuting time is 29 minutes. Half the trips to work are shorter than 18 miles.
3%work in town
| Bacliff | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.7% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 7.3% | 9.7% | 11% |
Where working residents work
In Bacliff3%
Houston25%
League City8%
Galveston6%
Texas City5%
18 mi
median commute distance
448
jobs based in Bacliff
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HousingCost of living grade C+
Bacliff earns a C+ for cost of living
At 2.6 years of the Houston metro’s $82K median household income, the typical home (about $214K) costs less against local pay than in 81% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. 63.8% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 51.7% across Texas.
Bacliff’s rent at the middle of the market comes in at $1,498 a month. Zillow values the typical Bacliff home at about $214,000, about the same as a year ago, 28% below the Texas typical home. Also worth knowing: for households locally, the share who own their home is 62%.
$214KZillow home value
| Bacliff | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,498 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Bacliff$214K
Texas$296K
Market temperature
58
days on market
89.8%
sale-to-list price
−0.4%
value change, 1 year
8
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Climate
The climate in Bacliff brings mild winters and hot summers
The Houston Nwso weather station, 6 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 317 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. January nights average 46.4°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.9°.
In Bacliff, the January low is 46°F. Snow is a rarity.
90°summer high
Typical low → high °F
Winter48–64°
Spring63–76°
Summer77–89°
Fall65–79°
Dec 14
typical first frost
Jan 31
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
90°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
The biggest natural risk in Bacliff is cold waves, at a moderate overall level
The national flood insurance program has paid 44 claims in Bacliff since 2001. FEMA expects more storm and flood damage in the town than in 53% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 40% come from cold waves and 21% from hurricanes. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 7 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
53risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Cold wavesHurricanesInland flooding
44
paid flood claims since 2001
7
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Bacliff
16pages on Bacliff
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Bacliff
College of the MainlandCommunity college · Public · Texas City7.8 mi$2,310 in-state tuitionRemington College-Houston Southeast CampusCommunity college · Private nonprofit · League City7.9 mi$16,926 tuitionUniversity of Houston-Clear LakeUniversity or college · Public · Houston8.3 mi$7,770 in-state tuition
About 5 of every 100 Bacliff residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
A commuter town
97% of working residents leave Bacliff for work
Where Bacliff’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
448jobs based in Bacliff
3%of working residents work in town
18 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Bacliff
Census-designated place in Texas, United States
Bacliff is a census-designated place (CDP) in north-central Galveston County, Texas, United States, 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Galveston. The population was 9,677 at the 2020 census, up from 8,619 at the 2010 census. Bacliff, originally called Clifton-by-the-Sea, began as a seaside resort town. Located on the western shore of Galveston Bay, Bacliff, along with San Leon and Bayview, are the largest unincorporated communities on the Galveston County mainland. The Bacliff CDP is home to the Kenneth E. Little Elementary school and Bayshore Park, created from land donated by Texas Genco.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 16 ft
- ZIP code
- 77518
- Area code
- 281
Bacliff’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Bacliff.
Texas CityKemahLeague CityBacliff
How the neighbors grade
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bacliff | #399 | C− | C+ | — | B+ | D |
| Texas City | #520 | D | C+ | C− | C | C− |
| Kemah | #355 | C− | D | D | A− | B+ |
| League City | #84 | B+ | D | B | A− | A |
Bacliff reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Bacliff with a neighbor →
Questions about Bacliff
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bacliff, TX a good place to live?
Bacliff grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #399 of 640 in Texas. It grades D for health and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Bacliff, TX expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.