Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hereford gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $168K, 2.8 years of the Hereford area’s $61K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 327th of 640 in Texas. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 87% of the country, and the median household income is $57K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. 28% of working residents work locally in Hereford, where Texas’ towns sit at 8.3% and U.S. towns at 8%. Hereford's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 90% of U.S. towns. Among 642 Texas towns, just 3 have a lower January low than Hereford.
Where Hereford beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Hereford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 532 in 1900, 14,972 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1942 and 2 maps from 1970 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hereford, 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 Hereford.
Hereford has homes that are cheap against local pay, fares better on crime within Texas than nationally and has more 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Texas.
35% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Hereford. Hereford beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 40% of adults get no exercise outside work in Hereford.
| Hereford | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 30% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 24% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 20% | 14% |
| What stands out | Hereford | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 6.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 35% | 19.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Hereford ISD. Three of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hereford J HLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–7 | Grades 6–7 | 534 | C+ |
| Hereford H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,182 | B |
| Hereford Preparatory AcademyTop results in townGrades 8 | Grades 8 | 322 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
At 2.8 years of the Hereford area’s $61K median household income, the typical home (about $169K) costs less against local pay than in 75% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,797, against $4,232 across Texas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Hereford is $953 a month. The typical Hereford home is worth about $169,000, down 1.8% in a year, 43% below the Texas typical home.
| Hereford | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $953 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
The average commute for its 6,318 working residents takes 15.9 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
About one in 4 of Hereford’s working residents works in town. Hereford’s average trip to work is 16 minutes. The top destinations are Amarillo (11%), Lubbock (3%) and Plainview (2%).
| Hereford | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1989, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hereford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Hereford weather station records that about 77 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 94% of Texas places with climate records. July afternoons average 92°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 93% of Texas places with climate records; January nights average 22.9°.
Hereford has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. About 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.1 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Veterans Park, at 92 acres.
| Hereford | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.5% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dameron Park | 0.6 mi | 13 |
| 2. Aquatic Center Park | 0.5 mi | 10 |
| 3. Veterans Park | — | 92 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 17.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 65% of Texas’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 303 to 82 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Hereford; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Hereford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
7 notable people were born in Hereford.
City in Texas, United States of America
Hereford ( HUR-fərd) is a city in and the county seat of Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It is 48 miles southwest of Amarillo. Its population was 14,972 at the 2020 census. It is the only incorporated locality named "Hereford" in the United States. The area is known for its semiarid climate, with heavy farming and ranching throughout the area sustained by irrigation from the Ogallala Aquifer and the saltier Santa Rosa Aquifer beneath it. Hereford's local water supply contains an unusually high level of naturally occurring fluoride. Because fluoride is used to protect against tooth decay, Hereford earned the title "The Town Without a Toothache". It is also known as the "Beef Capital…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hereford grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #327 of 640 in Texas. It grades D for health, B− for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
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+.
7 notable people were born here, including Edgar Mitchell and Ron Ely.
