Temple Commercial Historic District · Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0How is Temple run?
Temple’s city government spent $113.3 million on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, about $1,267 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Temple didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Temple is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,267 per resident a year, or $3.47 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 21%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Temple didn’t report all of its 2024 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Temple yet
Every year of Temple’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022–2024. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, up from 811 in 2022.
The typical homeowner pays $3,749 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.57% 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 Temple’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 Temple’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Temple →
Who’s in charge in Temple
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 95 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (89,458).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Temple Independent School District
Temple’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $12,407 per pupil, $7,231 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.
Belton Independent School District · $11,938 per pupil
Troy Independent School District · $11,183 per pupil
Academy Independent School District · $11,156 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Temple’s votes are counted by county
Texas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Temple alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Bell County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican57.4%75,161 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat41.2%53,973 votesOthers: 1.4% (1,879 votes).
Most votes in Bell County: Donald J Trump
Texas: Trump 56.1%, Harris 42.5%
100% of Temple lies in Bell County. Every 2024 race in Bell County is on the county’s page.
Bell 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 Temple.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Texas HouseTemple is split between 2 districts
- 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.
How Temple compares with the towns next door
Temple’s own figures are Census estimates, so it isn’t placed among its neighbors. 1 of the 2 towns next door reported 2022 figures, from $808 per resident. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Belton | $808 | $4,038 |
| Morgan's Point Resort | estimate | $4,311 |
| Temple | estimate | $3,749 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Temple’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Temple’s government
How much does Temple spend per resident?
About $1,267 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, a Census Bureau estimate (Temple didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $206.6 million.
What is the property tax rate in Temple?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $3,749 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.57% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Temple’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Temple yet.
How did Temple vote in 2024?
Texas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Temple alone. Bell County, where 100% of Temple lies, voted Trump 57.4%, Harris 41.2% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Temple?
944 full-time and 153 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $6.5M (about $78.0M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Temple in the state legislature?
Temple is split among 2 State House districts, so your address decides. The Texas Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Its State Senate district is District 24 (Pete Flores). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Temple’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 Temple, 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 →