Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 1,701 residents, it is a town in Texas.
Cottonwood Shores’ weakest subject grade is a C− for hazard risk. Cottonwood Shores’ peak summer temperature is 97°F, above both Texas’ towns (95°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). Cottonwood Shores's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 95% of U.S. towns. Cottonwood Shores has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Cottonwood Shores is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 548 in 1990, 1,403 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 2024 and 3 maps from 1929 on.
Explore the history →1,123 counted in 2010 and 1,403 in 2020; an estimated 1,701 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Ordered by what stands out in Cottonwood Shores.
Just 1% of Cottonwood Shores’s working residents have a job in town. Since 2013, Cottonwood Shores has added 88 jobs, to 179 in 2023. Cottonwood Shores’ average commute stands at 21 minutes. The top destinations are Marble Falls (18%), Austin (15%) and Horseshoe Bay (9%).
| Cottonwood Shores | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.2% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Compared with 70% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Cottonwood Shores is higher. 58% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 16%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Cottonwood Shores after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2021.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Cottonwood Shores, the January low is 36°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Cottonwood Shores’ violent crime rate comes in at 0.6 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025.
| Cottonwood Shores | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.8 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Among adults in Cottonwood Shores, 18% binge drink and 40% sleep under 7 hours. Of 31 CDC measures, Cottonwood Shores beats the Texas average on 4 and trails it on 1. 73% of adults had a checkup this year locally.
| Cottonwood Shores | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 74% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 39% | 36% |
| What stands out | Cottonwood Shores | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 16.6% | 19.3% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 9.2% | 10.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A home in Cottonwood Shores typically sold within 95 days of listing. In the year to September 2026, typical home values slipped 3.7%.
| Cottonwood Shores | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 72% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,224 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Cottonwood Shores has 6 parks and preserves, 22 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cottonwood Shores Nature Preserve | — | 14 |
| 2. Aspen Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Noah Thompson Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cottonwood Shores. Close and well known come first.
38 mi CaveJacob's Well (Texas)
20 mi National Historical ParkLyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park38K visitors a year
28 mi LakeLake Travis
37 mi LakeLake Austin
30 mi Stadium & arenaCedar Park Center
38 mi Stadium & arenaQ2 StadiumJacob's Well (Texas): Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park: National Park Service, Public domain · Lake Travis: Trey Perry, CC BY 3.0 · Lake Austin: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Cedar Park Center: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Q2 Stadium: Daniel Ziegler, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cottonwood Shores, 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.
Where Cottonwood Shores’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
None within 15 miles of Cottonwood Shores; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Cottonwood Shores residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
City in Texas, United States
Cottonwood Shores is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,403 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Cottonwood Shores.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood Shores | — | — | C | — | C+ | C+ |
| Horseshoe Bay | #226 | C+ | D− | A− | B | B+ |
Cottonwood Shores has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Cottonwood Shores reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Cottonwood Shores with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($78,732 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.
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