Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Port Lavaca gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $185K, 2.3 years of the Port Lavaca area’s $80K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 255th of 640 in Texas. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top, and the median household income is $70K, and 10% of residents live below the poverty line. Port Lavaca’s January low is 46°F, against 37°F in Texas’ towns and 22°F across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Little Chocolate Bayou Park, at 32 acres.
Where Port Lavaca beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Port Lavaca is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 315 in 1850, a low of 315 in 1850, 11,557 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 3 maps from 1953 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Port Lavaca, 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 Port Lavaca.
Port Lavaca has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Texas (mostly hurricanes).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Texas towns, with expected losses of about $582 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 104 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 11 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1979, 104 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Port Lavaca. Among 642 Texas towns, just 8 have a higher FEMA risk score than Port Lavaca.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by Calhoun County ISD. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Calhoun H S, with 989 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson/Roosevelt ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 836 | A− |
| Calhoun H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 989 | B+ |
| Harrison/Jefferson/Madison ElTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 709 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
At 2.3 years of the Port Lavaca area’s $80K median household income, the typical home (about $185K) costs less against local pay than in 87% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,908, against $4,232 across Texas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Port Lavaca’s median rent is $849 a month. The typical Port Lavaca home is worth about $185,000, up 1.6% in a year, 38% below the Texas typical home.
| Port Lavaca | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $849 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 4,845 working residents takes 18.9 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
About one in 4 of Port Lavaca’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Port Lavaca is 19 minutes. Since 2013, Port Lavaca has lost 583 jobs, to 3,448 in 2023.
| Port Lavaca | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Port Lavaca | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 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. Bayfront Peninsula Park | 0.9 mi | 21 |
| 2. Little Chocolate Bayou Park | 0.4 mi | 32 |
| 3. Tilley Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Port Lavaca beats the Texas average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 26% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Port Lavaca.
| Port Lavaca | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 30% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Port Lavaca | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 26.3% | 19.1% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 34.1% | 27.8% |
| More adults in fair or poor health | 26.6% | 21.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Pt Comfort weather station, 5 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 321 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. January nights average 46°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.7°.
Port Lavaca has warm winters and warm summers. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Port Lavaca; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Port Lavaca residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
4 notable people were born in Port Lavaca.
City in Texas, United States
Port Lavaca ( lə-VAH-kə) is a city in Calhoun County, located in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 12,248 at the 2010 census and 11,557 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Calhoun County and part of the Port Lavaca, Texas micropolitan statistical area. Port Lavaca is 130 miles (210 km) southwest of Houston.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Port Lavaca grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #255 of 640 in Texas. It grades C for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk 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 A.
4 notable people were born here, including Steven Saylor and Hope Dworaczyk Smith.
