Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bay City earns a D−, ranked 636th of 640 in Texas, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $54K, and 26% of residents live below the poverty line. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 88% of the country. What it does well: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 53% of U.S. towns. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Bay City, where Texas’ towns sit at 12% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On hazard risk, just 4 of Texas’ 1,000 towns do worse. Bay City has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Matagorda County Monument and Hensley-Gusman House.
Where Bay City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Bay City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,156 in 1910, 18,061 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 2 maps from 1952 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bay City, 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 Bay City.
Bay City has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Texas (mostly hurricanes) and has poverty well above the Texas rate.
25% of Bay City adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Bay City beats the Texas average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 28% of Bay City adults worry about having enough food.
| Bay City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 20% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 24% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Bay City | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.7% | 12.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 27.7% | 19.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.1% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Bay City ISD. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bay City H S, with 1,042 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenie Holmes ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 763 | C |
| Bay City H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,042 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 576 to 366 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Bay City is 4 per 1,000 residents.
| Bay City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.1 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of Texas towns, with expected losses of about $495 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 445 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 41 properties have flooded more than once.
Bay City’s FEMA risk score is 92 of 100. Since 1979, 445 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bay City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 8,488 working residents takes 20.6 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
23% of working residents work locally in Bay City. Since 2013, Bay City has added 701 jobs, to 5,644 in 2023. The top destinations are Houston (18%), Matagorda (3%) and Austin (2%).
| Bay City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Bay City home is worth about $199,000, about the same as a year ago, 33% below the Texas typical home.
| Bay City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 46% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,025 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 44.6°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 92.3°. The Danevang 1 W weather station, 17 miles away, records that about 105 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 84% of Texas places with climate records.
Bay City has warm winters and hot summers. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Bay City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 45°F | 37°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 95°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.2 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves.
| Bay City | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hardeman Park | 0.2 mi | 10 |
| 2. Bay City Community Park | — | 7 |
| 3. Valiant Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Bay City; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Bay City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
6 places in Bay City on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Bay City.
City in Texas, United States
Bay City is a city and the county seat of Matagorda County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,614 at the 2010 census and 18,061 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Bay City.
Van Vleck has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Van Vleck reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Bay City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bay City grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #636 of 640 in Texas. It grades D for health, D for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($58,628 across the Bay City, TX area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
25 notable people were born here, including Mal Whitfield and Charles Austin.
