Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Brownwood grades D overall, 486th among Texas's 640 graded towns, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its crime rate is higher than 85% of U.S. towns, with 79 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $49K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, natural-hazard risk is low. 42% of working residents work locally in Brownwood, above both the Texas town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Brownwood is home to Howard Payne University. Brownwood is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns.
Where Brownwood beats most towns.
Santa Fe Railroad Station
Census counts: 725 in 1880, 18,862 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 2 maps from 1980 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Brownwood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brownwood, 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 Brownwood.
Brownwood has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Reported crimes fell from 596 to 515 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Brownwood is 23.2 per 1,000 residents. Brownwood reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 85% report less. The violent crime rate in Brownwood is 4.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Brownwood | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.2 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by Brownwood ISD. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coggin ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 708 | B |
| Brownwood H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 935 | A− |
| East ElTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 281 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
The typical Brownwood home is worth about $171,000, down 1% in a year, 42% below the Texas typical home. 55% of Brownwood households own their home.
| Brownwood | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $882 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 5,395 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brownwood’s, it is healthier than 53%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Brownwood beats the Texas average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 19% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Brownwood.
| Brownwood | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Brownwood | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.6% | 5.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.2% | 12.5% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.4% | 5.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
251 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 24 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 251 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brownwood.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Brownwood 2ene weather station records that about 116 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 96°, hotter than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 33.2°.
Brownwood has mild winters and hot summers. Brownwood’s July high is 96°F. About 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Brownwood | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 33°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 7,978 working residents takes 14.1 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
The top destinations are Austin (5%), Early (3%) and San Antonio (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.
| Brownwood | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 3.6% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.5 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Riverside Park, at 32 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverside Park | — | 32 |
| 2. Camp Bowie Soccer Complex | — | 24 |
| 3. Coggin Park | — | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Brownwood
About 7 of every 100 Brownwood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
7 places in Brownwood on the National Register of Historic Places.
26 notable people were born in Brownwood.
City in Texas, United States
Brownwood is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,862 as of the 2020 census. Brownwood is in the Texas Hill Country and is home to Howard Payne University, which was founded in 1889.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Brownwood.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Brownwood grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #486 of 640 in Texas. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 3 years of the area's median household income ($57,470 across the Brownwood, 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+.
26 notable people were born here, including Madylin Sweeten and Sawyer Sweeten.
