Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,373, settled in 1889.
Sonora’s best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A− for safety and schools; its weakest is a C− for health. 29% of working residents work locally in Sonora, against 8.3% in Texas’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 48 of Texas’ 998 towns do better. 9.8% of the land in Sonora is conserved, above both the Texas town median (1.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Sonora has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Sutton County Courthouse and Old Mercantile Building. Sonora has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Sonora beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Sonora El | PK–6 | 365 |
| Sonora Secondary School | 7–12 | 278 |
3,027 counted in 2010 and 2,502 in 2020; an estimated 2,373 in 2025.
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 Sonora is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2010.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sonora, 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 Sonora.
The typical Sonora home is worth about $142,000, down 4.4% in a year, 52% below the Texas typical home. Sonora’s median rent is $772 a month.
| Sonora | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $772 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Sonora ISD. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonora ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 365 | B+ |
| Sonora Secondary SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 278 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
The property crime rate in Sonora is 1.2 per 1,000 residents. Sonora reports less crime per resident than 80% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade. The violent crime rate in Sonora is 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Sonora | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Sonora beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 27% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Sonora.
| Sonora | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 20% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sonora | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78% | 74.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.9% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
About one in 3 of Sonora’s working residents works in town. 5.4% of Sonora residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Sonora has lost 939 jobs, to 685 in 2023.
| Sonora | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Sonora has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 94°, January nights drop to 33° and about 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 23 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sonora.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sutton County Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Liberty Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Sonora; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Sonora residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
2 places in Sonora on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Texas, United States
Sonora is a city in and the county seat of Sutton County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,502 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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+.
