Hale Center Texas grain elevator 2011, 2011
Hale Center’s story
133 years in pictures
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2004.
- 1893Hale Center is settled
Hale CenterTX
A town of 1,979, settled in 1893.
Photo: Leaflet · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,979
2025 Census estimate · −3.9% since 2020
Typical home
$110K
−10.1% in a year
Household income
$57K
median
Median age
43.5
years
Jobs based here
179
A commuter town
Is Hale Center a good place to live?
Hale Center’s best subject grade is an A+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for health. On cost of living, just 36 of Texas’ 998 towns do better. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 81% of U.S. communities, with hail at the top. Among 614 Texas towns, just 8 have a lower median rent than Hale Center. Hale Center has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Hale Center stand out
Where Hale Center beats most towns.
Typical home value
Hale Center$110K
Texas$296K
Cost of livingA+
2.1 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 98% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Hale Center1
Texas3.5
U.S.3.3
SafetyB+
71% less violent crime than TX
FBI data, 2025. Crimes reported to police.
A commuter town
95% of working residents leave Hale Center for work
Where Hale Center’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
179jobs based in Hale Center
5%of working residents work in town
35 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Hale Center grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Hale Center is from typical.
Cost of livingA+Open →HealthCovenant Hospital Plainview 11.7 miles awayDOpen →Hazard riskhail tops the listDOpen →SchoolsDOpen →Jobs & income$57K median household income; 179 jobs based hereC−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.9 of 20; 10.8% of households have no car; 1.1% of workers walk, bike or ride transitCOpen →SafetyB+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsC−Open →History2 notable people born hereCOpen →Civic life5.9 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsCOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 43.5; 7% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Hale Center: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hale Center, and how to reach them.
PowerXcel Energy13.9¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCity of Hale Center water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers99% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Hale Center’s trash rules yet
Register to voteIn personTexas has no online registration; you can register in person until 30 days before Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereHale County Early Voting ClerkHale County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2024
ZIP code7904179041 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Hale Center.
HousingCost of living grade A+
The typical home in Hale Center is valued at about $110K
The typical Hale Center home is worth about $110,000, down 10.1% in a year, 63% below the Texas typical home. 84% of households own their home in Hale Center, above both the Texas town median (69%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%).
$110KZillow home value
Typical home value
Hale Center$110K
Texas$296K
−10.1%
value change, 1 year
1
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
SchoolsD
Hale Center’s schools rank behind 87% of Texas districts
Its public schools are run by Hale Center ISD. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
13%of TX districts it outscoresDSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akin ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 226 | B |
| Hale Center H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 174 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
HealthD
On CDC estimates, Hale Center is less healthy than 88% of U.S. towns
On this, Hale Center is above both Texas’ towns (18%) and U.S. towns (8.1%). Hale Center beats the Texas average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 32% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Hale Center.
12%healthier than U.S. townsDHealth Grade
| Hale Center | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 24% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 20% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 30% | 25% |
31 measures vs. Texas
0 better13 too close to call18 worse
| What stands out | Hale Center | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 31% | 19.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 31.2% | 19.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.8% | 12.5% |
Covenant Hospital Plainview
11.7 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Very high risk in Hale Center, with hail at the top
81risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
HailInland floodingTornadoes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Hale Center’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Hale Center for work: only 5% work in town. The average trip to work in Hale Center is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Lubbock (22%), Plainview (18%) and Amarillo (7%).
5%work in town
| Hale Center | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.9% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Hale Center5%
Lubbock22%
Plainview18%
Amarillo7%
Olton2%
35 mi
median commute distance
179
jobs based in Hale Center
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
SafetyB+
Crime per resident in Hale Center is lower than in 73% of U.S. towns
Hale Center’s property crime rate is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
73%of U.S. towns report more crimeB+Safety Grade
| Hale Center | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Hale Center1
Texas3.5
U.S.3.3
Property crime per 1,000 residents
Hale Center2.5
Texas18.1
U.S.15.5
73rd
percentile among U.S. towns we grade
2
violent crimes reported in 2025
5
property crimes reported in 2025
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Climate
In Hale Center, expect four seasons and hot summers
Hale Center has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 26° and about 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
8″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter27–55°
Spring44–74°
Summer65–91°
Fall46–74°
Nov 2
typical first frost
Apr 6
typical last frost
+1.3°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 922 acres
0.1 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | — | 2 |
| 2. Hale Center City Park | — | 1 |
| 3. Windmill Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Hale Center
20pages on Hale Center
The big questions
SchoolsDBehind 87% of TX districts · 4 schoolsSafetyB+1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents (2025)HealthDBetter than TX on 0 of 31 CDC measuresCost of livingA+$110K typical home · down 10.1% in a yearWork & commuteC−$57K median household income · 179 jobs hereNatural hazardsDFEMA risk higher than 81% of U.S. communities · hail
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hale Center
About 2 of every 100 Hale Center residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
About Hale Center
City in Texas, United States
Hale Center is a city in Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,062 at the 2020 census, down from 2,252 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,419 ft
- ZIP code
- 79041
- Area code
- 806
Questions about Hale Center
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Hale Center, TX expensive?
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 A+.
What is Hale Center, TX known for?
2 notable people were born here, including William Carey Mathes and Emzy Harvey Lynch.