Refugio County Courthouse · Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0How is Refugio run?
Refugio’s town government spent $3.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2022, about $1,281 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Refugio didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Refugio is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
The typical homeowner pays $1,468 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.55% 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 Refugio’s 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.
Tax bills are one input to Refugio’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Refugio →
About $1,281 per resident a year, or $3.51 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
Refugio 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 Refugio yet
Every year of Refugio’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the town 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 →Who’s in charge in Refugio
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time town employee for every 87 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (2,711).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Refugio Independent School District
Refugio’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $19,879 per pupil, $10,193 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.
Refugio’s votes are counted by county
Texas reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Refugio alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Refugio County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican69.4%2,134 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat29.9%919 votesOthers: 0.7% (22 votes).
Most votes in Refugio County: Donald J Trump
Texas: Trump 56.1%, Harris 42.5%
100% of Refugio lies in Refugio County. Every 2024 race in Refugio County is on the county’s page.
Refugio 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 Refugio.
- 1Your townTown governmentLocal 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 Refugio’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Refugio’s government
How much does Refugio spend per resident?
About $1,281 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Refugio 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 Refugio?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,468 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.55% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the town’s assessor.
Who runs Refugio’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Refugio yet.
How did Refugio vote in 2024?
Texas counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Refugio alone. Refugio County, where 100% of Refugio lies, voted Trump 69.4%, Harris 29.9% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Refugio?
31 full-time and 11 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $155,933 (about $1.9M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Refugio in the state legislature?
State Senate District 18 (Lois Kolkhorst) and State House District 43 (J.M. Lozano). The House district also covers 25 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Refugio’s 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 Refugio, 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 →