Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Stamford gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $110K for a typical one, or 1.6 years of the Abilene metro’s $67K median household income. It grades B− overall, 185th among Texas's 640 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country, and the median household income is $47K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Saint John's Methodist Church and First Baptist Church. 25% of working residents work locally in Stamford, where Texas’ towns sit at 8.3% and U.S. towns at 8%. The biggest park or preserve is Lake Stamford Park, at 188 acres.
Where Stamford beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 3,902 in 1910, a peak of 5,819 in 1950, 2,907 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 3 maps from 1891 on.
20 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Stamford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stamford, 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 Stamford.
Stamford trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, fares better on crime within Texas than nationally and has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns.
Homes are within reach (about $110K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 35 miles. At 1.6 years of the Abilene metro’s $67K median household income, the typical home (about $110K) costs less against local pay than in 96% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
Typical home values rose 5.3% in the year to September 2026. 61% of households own their home in Stamford.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Stamford ISD. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 295 | B+ |
| Stamford H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 173 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
45% of Stamford adults have high blood pressure. Stamford beats the Texas average on 2 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 43% of Stamford adults have obesity.
| Stamford | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 24% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 30% | 25% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 8.1% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Stamford | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.8% | 17% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.3% | 74.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.9% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 9.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 89% of Texas’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 1 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Stamford is 4 per 1,000 residents.
| Stamford | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Jobs based here fell from 922 in 2013 to 659.
Since 2013, Stamford has lost 263 jobs, to 659 in 2023. Stamford’s average trip to work is 23 minutes. The top destinations are Abilene (16%), Haskell (6%) and Fort Worth (3%).
| Stamford | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Stamford 1 weather station, 14 miles away, records that about 115 days a year reach 90°, more than in 97% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 97.2°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 31°.
Stamford has mild winters and hot summers. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Stamford | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 97°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 31°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Stamford | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Harmon Park | 0.5 mi | 11 |
| 2. Lake Stamford Park | — | 188 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 33 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stamford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Stamford; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Stamford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
20 places in Stamford on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Stamford.
City in Texas, United States
Stamford is a city on the border of Jones and Haskell counties in west-central Texas, United States. The population was 2,907 at the 2020 census. Henry McHarg, president of the Texas Central Railroad, named the site in 1900 for his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut. The city is home to the Texas Cowboy Reunion. Stamford is on US 277 and SH 6. Most of the city is in Jones County. The portion of the city within Jones County is part of the Abilene Metro Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Stamford grades B− overall, better than 50% of U.S. towns and #185 of 640 in Texas. It grades D− for health, A− for safety and B for schools. Health 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−.
9 notable people were born here, including Joe S. Vasquez and Charles Coody.
