Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Childress gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $135K, 2.3 years of the county’s $59K median household income. It grades B overall, 107th of 640 graded towns in Texas. On the plus side, its schools outperform 82% of the state's. 46% of working residents work locally in Childress, against 8.3% in Texas’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On history, just 21 of Texas’ 1,000 towns do better. The biggest place to walk is Fair Park, 97 acres with 1.5 miles of trail.
Where Childress beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Childress is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 692 in 1900, 5,737 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 2 maps from 1967 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Childress, 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 Childress.
Childress pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, fares better on crime within Texas than nationally and has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns.
At 2.3 years of the county’s $59K median household income, the typical home (about $135K) costs less against local pay than in 87% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. Values rose 25.7% in the past year while the Texas typical home fell 1.5%.
Typical home values rose 26% in the year to September 2026. Childress’ median rent is $910 a month.
| Childress | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $910 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A− for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $135K.
Its public schools are run by Childress ISD. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Childress H S, with 317 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childress ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 447 | A− |
| Childress H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 317 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
At 10.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 87% of Texas’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Childress is 5.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Childress | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.3 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Childress | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fair Park | 1.5 mi | 97 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Childress Muni Ap weather station records that about 102 days a year reach 90°, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 96.6°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 28.8°.
Childress has mild winters and hot summers. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Childress | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 97°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 29°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
14% of residents live below the poverty line in Childress. The top destinations are Amarillo (6%), Quanah (3%) and Lubbock (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.
| Childress | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $58,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,207 U.S. towns with household incomes like Childress’s, it is healthier than 66%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Childress beats the Texas average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 21% of Childress adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Childress | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 74% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 36% |
| What stands out | Childress | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.6% | 12.5% |
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 44.6% | 54.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 6.7% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Childress; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Childress residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
10 notable people were born in Childress.
City in and county seat of Childress County, Texas, United States
Childress ( CHIL-driss) (established 1887; incorporated 1890) is a city in and the county seat of Childress County, Texas, United States. Its population was 5,737 at the 2020 census. The city and county were named after George Campbell Childress, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, who was the principal author of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The county and city were incorporated more than four decades after Childress' death.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Childress grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #107 of 640 in Texas. It grades C+ for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools.
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 B+.
10 notable people were born here, including Lou Dobbs and Hardy Brown.
