Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Elgin grades C− overall, 439th among Texas's 640 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $91K and natural-hazard risk is low. On the other side, its schools rank behind 90% of the state's. Elgin’s average commute is 32 minutes, above both Texas’ towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Elgin has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Elgin Commercial Historic District and Mary Christian Burleson House. Elgin's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 85% of U.S. towns.
Where Elgin beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Elgin Commercial Historic District| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Elgin El | PK–4 | 673 |
| Booker T Washington El | PK–4 | 638 |
| Neidig El | K–4 | 528 |
8,135 counted in 2010 and 9,784 in 2020; an estimated 13,327 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 37.4% since 2020, after 20.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Elgin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,707 in 1910, 9,784 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 3 maps from 1948 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elgin, 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 Elgin.
Elgin has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
Its public schools are run by Elgin ISD. Below: Two of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. The largest public high school is Elgin H S, with 1,771 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin IntLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 863 | C− |
| Elgin H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,771 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Paid flood insurance claims in Elgin since 2012: 5. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in nearly four fifths of U.S. communities. 49% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 24%. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 2,045 in 2013 to 3,576.
The top destinations are Austin (40%), Round Rock (4%) and San Antonio (3%). Most people who work leave Elgin to do it: just 10% work in town. 5.3% of residents live below the poverty line locally. Employers in Elgin added 1,531 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 3,576.
| Elgin | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.3% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.8% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2.3 miles of trail wind through 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Elgin Memorial Park, at 23 acres. For Elgin, the trail network density is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Elgin | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Elgin Memorial Park | 0.7 mi | 23 |
| 2. Shenandoah Greenbelt | 0.5 mi | 19 |
| 3. Thomas Memorial Park | 0.3 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,830 U.S. towns with household incomes like Elgin’s, it is less healthy than 87%, so it trails even them.
The share of adults in Elgin who say their health is fair or poor: 24%. Among adults here, 73% had a checkup this year and 41% have obesity.
| Elgin | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 20% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 74% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Elgin | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.7% | 12.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 25.8% | 19.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.1% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Elgin 1 N weather station records that about 117 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 95.4°, hotter than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39°.
Elgin’s midsummer high stands at 95°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Elgin | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 95°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 39°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 205 to 173 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Elgin, the rate of reported violence is 2 per 1,000 residents. Its property crime rate comes in at 11.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Elgin | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.1 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 2.6 years of the Austin metro’s $100K median household income, the typical home (about $266K) costs less against local pay than in 81% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living. The typical value, about $266K, is 24% below its August 2022 peak.
Home values are down 6.9% over the year to September 2026. The going rate for rent for Elgin comes to $1,440 a month. Homes sold in Elgin spent a median 77 days on the market.
| Elgin | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,440 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Elgin. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaDarrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
21 mi Stadium & arenaMoody Center
21 mi LakeLady Bird Lake
21 mi Park & preserveCOTALAND
20 mi Stadium & arenaQ2 Stadium
21 mi LandmarkTexas State CemeteryDarrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium: Brint03, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Moody Center: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Lady Bird Lake: Arvindn on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · COTALAND: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Q2 Stadium: Daniel Ziegler, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Texas State Cemetery: WhisperToMe, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Elgin; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Elgin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
Where Elgin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 notable people were born in Elgin.
City in Texas, United States
Elgin ( EL-ghin) is a city in Bastrop County and Travis County in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 9,784 at the 2020 census. In 1995, the Texas Legislature proclaimed Elgin the "Sausage Capital of Texas". Elgin is also known as the Brick Capital of the Southwest due to the presence of three operating brickyards in the mid-20th century (two of which are still open).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Elgin grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #439 of 640 in Texas. It grades C for health, C+ for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2.6 years of the area's median household income ($100,431 across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro 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.
5 notable people were born here, including Jake Helgren and Ray Culp.
