Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bowie grades D overall, 484th among Texas's 640 graded towns, mostly because of incomes. The median household income is $57K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: natural-hazard risk is low. Bowie’s average trip to work is 35 minutes, above both Texas’ towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes).
Where Bowie beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Bowie is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,486 in 1890, 5,448 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 5 maps from 1905 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bowie, 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 Bowie.
Bowie is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bowie.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by Bowie ISD. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bowie H S, with 467 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowie ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 350 | – |
| Bowie H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 467 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Bowie’s property crime rate is 15 per 1,000 residents.
| Bowie | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 8,163 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bowie’s, it is healthier than 53%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Bowie beats the Texas average on 6 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 15% of Bowie adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Bowie | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 22% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bowie | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.1% | 19.3% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.4% | 16.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 95°, hotter than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 31.4°. The Bowie weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 228 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 85% of Texas places with climate records.
Bowie has mild winters and hot summers. The July high in Bowie is 95°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Bowie | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 95°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 31°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median property tax bill is $1,703, against $4,232 across Texas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Bowie home is worth about $247,000, down 2.9% in a year, 17% below the Texas typical home.
| Bowie | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,080 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 69% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based here fell from 2,586 in 2013 to 2,060. The average commute for its 2,698 working residents takes 34.9 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
Most working residents leave Bowie for work: only 19% work in town. Since 2013, Bowie has lost 526 jobs, to 2,060 in 2023. The top destinations are Fort Worth (9%), Decatur (5%) and Wichita Falls (4%).
| Bowie | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pelham Park | — | 18 |
| 2. Meyers Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Bowie; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Bowie residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
City in Montague County, Texas, US
Bowie ( BOO-ee) is a town in Montague County, Texas, United States. Its population was 5,448 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bowie grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #484 of 640 in Texas. It grades C for health, C for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($64,545 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.