Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Plainview earns a D−, ranked 611th of 640 in Texas, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $45K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. One bright spot: 5% of its land is conserved. 40% of working residents work locally in Plainview, above both Texas’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). On hazard risk, just 37 of Texas’ 1,000 towns do worse. Plainview is home to Wayland Baptist University.
Where Plainview beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Plainview is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,829 in 1910, 20,187 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1969 and 2 maps from 1965 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Plainview, 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 Plainview.
Plainview is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Texas (mostly hail) and has seen reported crime rise beyond ordinary swings.
At 2.2 years of the Plainview area’s $53K median household income, the typical home (about $118K) costs less against local pay than in 89% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. The typical value, about $118K, is 15% below its August 2022 peak.
The typical Plainview home is worth about $118,000, down 3.8% in a year, 60% below the Texas typical home. 53% of Plainview households own their home.
| Plainview | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $851 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Plainview ISD. Two of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plainview J HLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 634 | – |
| Plainview H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,418 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Against the 3,915 U.S. towns with household incomes like Plainview’s, it is less healthy than 61%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
30% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Plainview. Plainview 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 Plainview.
| Plainview | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 24% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 30% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 20% | 14% |
| What stands out | Plainview | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 29.9% | 19.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 29.5% | 19.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.3% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes rose from 456 to 480 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Plainview is 6.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Plainview | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.6 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of Texas towns, with expected losses of about $617 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Plainview’s FEMA risk score is 83 of 100. Since 1981, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Plainview.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4.5 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Running Water Draw Regional Park, at 114 acres.
| Plainview | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.2% | 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. Running Water Draw Regional Park | 0.5 mi | 114 |
| 2. Earl and Essie Givens Park | 0.4 mi | 33 |
| 3. Travis Trussell Park | 0.3 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Plainview weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 209 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 94% of Texas places with climate records. The Plainview 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.
Plainview 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.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 8,959 working residents takes 18.6 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
The top destinations are Lubbock (16%), Amarillo (6%) and Levelland (2%). Half commute less than 40 miles.
| Plainview | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $45,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Plainview
About 7 of every 100 Plainview residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
16 notable people were born in Plainview.
City in Texas, United States
Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 20,187 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Wayland Baptist University. The Downtown Plainview Commercial Historic District is a business center for the high plains regions, with cafes and parks.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Plainview.
Seth Ward has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Seth Ward reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Plainview with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Plainview grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #611 of 640 in Texas. It grades D for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2.2 years of the area's median household income ($52,707 across the Plainview, TX 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−.
16 notable people were born here, including James H. Clark and Jodey Arrington.