Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
San Saba gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $190K for a typical one, or 3.4 years of the county’s $56K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 219th of 640 in Texas. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $50K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 75% of the country. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 80% of U.S. towns. San Saba’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both the Texas town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). San Saba County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where San Saba beats most towns.
6.7% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far San Saba is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 111 in 1860, 3,117 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1904 and 2 maps from 1931 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in San Saba, 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 San Saba.
San Saba trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it is a long drive from an emergency room and has seen reported crime rise by about half.
On this, San Saba is above Texas’ towns (1.9%) and close to U.S. towns (4.3%). 3.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. San Saba River Nature Park, at 38 acres with 1.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. San Saba River Nature Park | 1.5 mi | 38 |
| 2. Mill Pond Park | 0.4 mi | 10 |
| 3. Risien Park | 0.1 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by San Saba ISD. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Saba ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 305 | C+ |
| San Saba H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 217 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes rose from 8 to 24 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. At 8.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 93% of Texas’s graded towns.
San Saba’s property crime rate is 6 per 1,000 residents.
| San Saba | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $190K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 43 miles. The typical value, about $190K, is 20% below its July 2022 peak.
The median rent in San Saba is $943 a month. The typical San Saba home is worth about $190,000, down 1.9% in a year, 36% below the Texas typical home.
| San Saba | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $943 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 nearest emergency room, Mid Coast Medical Center - Central, is 31.5 miles away in a straight line. Against the 5,925 U.S. towns with household incomes like San Saba’s, it is healthier than 56%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
22% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in San Saba. San Saba beats the Texas average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 20% of adults report frequent mental distress in San Saba.
| San Saba | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 74% | 79% |
| What stands out | San Saba | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.8% | 12.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.1% | 5.7% |
| More smokers | 14.7% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
About one in 4 of San Saba’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in San Saba fell to 729 in 2023, 104 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Austin (8%), San Antonio (3%) and Brownwood (3%).
| San Saba | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Goldthwaite 1 Wsw weather station, 18 miles away, records that about 89 days a year reach 90°, more than in 96% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 95.7°, hotter than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.2°.
San Saba has mild winters and hot summers. Snow is almost unheard of.
| San Saba | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1997, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in San Saba.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of San Saba; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 San Saba residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
10 notable people were born in San Saba.
City in Texas, United States
San Saba is a city in and the county seat of San Saba County, Texas, United States. It was settled in 1854 and named for its location on the San Saba River and for Sabbas the Sanctified. As of the 2020 census, San Saba had a population of 3,117.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
San Saba grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #219 of 640 in Texas. It grades C− for health, A− for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income 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+.
10 notable people were born here, including Tommy Lee Jones and M. King Hubbert.
