Photo: USDA NRCS Texas · Public domainHow is Kress run?
Kress’ city government spent $3.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2022, about $5,124 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Kress didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Kress is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
The typical homeowner pays $1,375 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.57% of the home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Kress’ rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Kress’ Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Kress →
About $5,124 per resident a year, or $14.04 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: courts, inspections & corrections, at 57%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Kress didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Kress yet
Every year of Kress’ figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, the same as 3 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Who’s in charge in Kress
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 226 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (678).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Kress Independent School District
Kress’ K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $16,811 per pupil, $9,098 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Texas districts overall: 51% local, 36% state, 13% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Kress’ votes are counted by county
Texas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Kress alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Swisher County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican81.1%1,840 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat17.8%403 votesOthers: 1.1% (25 votes).
Most votes in Swisher County: Donald J Trump
Texas: Trump 56.1%, Harris 42.5%
100% of Kress lies in Swisher County. Every 2024 race in Swisher County is on the county’s page.
Swisher County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Kress.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Texas HouseState representatives
- 3Texas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Texas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Kress’ government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Kress’ government
How much does Kress spend per resident?
About $5,124 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Kress didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $3.9 million.
What is the property tax rate in Kress?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,375 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.57% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Kress’ government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Kress yet.
How did Kress vote in 2024?
Texas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Kress alone. Swisher County, where 100% of Kress lies, voted Trump 81.1%, Harris 17.8% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Kress?
3 full-time and 1 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $16,423 (about $197,076 a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Kress in the state legislature?
State Senate District 31 (Kevin Sparks) and State House District 88 (Ken King). The House district also covers 50 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Kress’ government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Kress, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →