Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,957, settled in 1909. Public schools that outperform most of Texas.
0% of its land is conserved. Overall it grades B+, 80th among Texas's 640 graded towns. Its schools outperform 90% of the state's and the median household earns $89K. 31% of residents are under 18 in Shallowater, against 26% in Texas’ towns and 22% across U.S. towns.
Where Shallowater beats most towns.
2,484 counted in 2010 and 2,964 in 2020; an estimated 2,957 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 19.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Shallowater is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,001 in 1960, 2,964 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and a map from 1975 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shallowater, 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 Shallowater.
Shallowater has schools in the top 5% of Texas, fares better on crime within Texas than nationally and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of Texas.
Its A ranks #23 of the 642 Texas towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by Shallowater ISD. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Shallowater H S, with 518 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shallowater ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 428 | – |
| Shallowater H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 518 | A+ |
| Shallowater MiddleTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 397 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 1,325 working residents takes 19.6 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas. Jobs based here grew from 452 in 2013 to 736.
Most working residents leave Shallowater for work: only 10% work in town. 3.7% of Shallowater residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Shallowater grew to 736 in 2023, 284 more than in 2013.
| Shallowater | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Shallowater beats the Texas average on 10 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of adults binge drink in Shallowater.
| Shallowater | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 74% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Shallowater | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.7% | 19.3% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 7.5% | 10.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.1% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 93°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 86% of Texas places with climate records; January nights average 26.6°.
Shallowater has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Shallowater is 93°F. About 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Shallowater | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 93°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 27°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (24% statewide); children under 18 are 31% of residents (25% statewide).
| Shallowater | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 14% | 18% |
| Median age | 37.8 years | 35.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 23% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.2 points. Across Texas, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Shallowater | TX | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.8% | 13.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 15.3% | 11.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.1% | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.6% | 14.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.5% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 21.3% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 6.3% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 8.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 5.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.1% | 14% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.3% | 20.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.3% | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.8% | 21.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.5% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,000, single groups can be off by several points
At 13.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 78% of Texas’s graded towns.
Shallowater’s violent crime rate is 4 per 1,000 residents.
| Shallowater | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.7 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Shallowater since 2015.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Values rose 3.4% in the past year while the Texas typical home fell 1.5%.
Typical home values rose 3.4% in the year to September 2026.
| Shallowater | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 77% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,202 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shallowater. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Stadium & arenaGalaxy Stadium
11 mi Theme parkJoyland Amusement Park9 mi MuseumNational Ranching Heritage Center
11 mi MuseumBuddy Holly Center
9 mi MuseumSilent Wings Museum
9 mi MuseumMuseum of Texas Tech UniversityGalaxy Stadium: Falcon8765, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Joyland Amusement Park: Larry Pieniazek, User:Lar, (primary), CC BY 2.5 · Buddy Holly Center: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Silent Wings Museum: Leaflet, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Museum of Texas Tech University: Billy Hathorn at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Shallowater
About 7 of every 100 Shallowater residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
Where Shallowater’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Texas, United States
Shallowater is a city in Lubbock County, Texas, United States. Shallowater is on U.S. Route 84 and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line, 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Lubbock. Its population was 2,964 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lubbock metropolitan statistical area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Shallowater grades B+ overall, better than 69% of U.S. towns and #80 of 640 in Texas. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4.7 years of the area's median household income ($63,629 across the Lubbock, TX metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
