Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ballinger gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $138K for a typical one, or 2.2 years of the county’s $63K median household income. It grades B− overall, 174th of 640 graded towns in Texas. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 68% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 45% of working residents work locally in Ballinger, above both Texas’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). On history, just 92 of Texas’ 1,000 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is City Park, at 21 acres.
Where Ballinger beats most towns.
Ballinger Carnegie LibraryEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Ballinger is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,128 in 1900, a peak of 5,302 in 1950, 3,619 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 3 maps from 1921 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ballinger, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ballinger.
Ballinger fares better on crime within Texas than nationally, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
At 2.2 years of the county’s $63K median household income, the typical home (about $138K) costs less against local pay than in 89% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. Values rose 2.4% in the past year while the Texas typical home fell 1.5%.
The typical Ballinger home is worth about $138,000, 53% below the Texas typical home. Ballinger’s median rent is $986 a month.
| Ballinger | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $986 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Ballinger ISD. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinger ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 377 | B− |
| Ballinger H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 231 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Since 2014, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ballinger.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Ballinger 2 Nw weather station records that about 117 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 96.5°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 32.5°.
Ballinger has mild winters and hot summers. The July high in Ballinger is 97°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Ballinger | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 97°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 33°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 8,625 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ballinger’s, it is healthier than 59%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Ballinger beats the Texas average on 7 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 19% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Ballinger.
| Ballinger | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ballinger | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 15.9% | 19.3% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.9% | 10.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.6% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 1,542 working residents takes 18 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
Jobs based in Ballinger fell to 1,630 in 2023, 156 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are San Angelo (13%), Abilene (4%) and Midland (3%). Half commute less than 17 miles.
| Ballinger | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 16.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 68% of Texas’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 54 to 23 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Ballinger | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. City Park | 0.5 mi | 21 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Ballinger; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Ballinger residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
3 places in Ballinger on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Ballinger.
City in the United States
Ballinger ( BAL-in-jər) is a city in Runnels County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,619 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Runnels County. Downtown Ballinger features historic 1800s buildings with shops and restaurants.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ballinger grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #174 of 640 in Texas. It grades C+ for health, B for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
4 notable people were born here, including Roxy Gordon and David Wendell Guion.
