Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Victoria grades D− overall, 582nd among Texas's 640 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. It reports more crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, including 240 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Residents are less healthy than 79% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also has a long history, with 112 places on the National Register. 43% of working residents work locally in Victoria, above both Texas’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Victoria Grist Windmill and Proctor House.
Where Victoria beats most towns.
Victoria Grist Windmill| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Victoria College | 2,156 |
| University of Houston-Victoria | 1,687 |
Matt ProkopIts founding year, 1835, comes before those of 96% of the Texas towns we grade with a known year. Its 112 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Texas towns with a listing.
Census counts: 806 in 1850, 65,534 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Victoria is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Victoria, 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 Victoria.
Victoria has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
26 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Riverside Park, at 689 acres with 9.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. The trail density in Victoria is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Victoria | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverside Park | 9.5 mi | 689 |
| 2. Ethel Lee Tracy Park | 0.6 mi | 29 |
| 3. Hopkins Park | 0.6 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Victoria ISD. Three of its 32 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Cade MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 730 | B |
| Victoria East H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,861 | C+ |
| Vickers ElTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 510 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 1,714 to 1,465 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Victoria’s violent crime rate is 3.6 per 1,000 residents. Victoria reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 79% report less. Victoria’s property crime rate is 18.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Victoria | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.5 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
25% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Victoria. Victoria beats the Texas average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 27% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Victoria.
| Victoria | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 20% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Victoria | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.7% | 12.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 24.8% | 19.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 24.8% | 19.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
381 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 38 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 381 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Victoria.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Victoria home is worth about $214,000, up 1.3% in a year, 28% below the Texas typical home. 58% of Victoria households own their home.
| Victoria | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 69% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 50% | 51% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 44°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 94.4°.
Victoria has warm winters and hot summers. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Victoria | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 44°F | 37°F | 22°F |
| July high | 94°F | 95°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 26,997 working residents takes 20 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
Jobs based in Victoria fell to 27,534 in 2023, 2,055 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Houston (7%), San Antonio (4%) and Point Comfort (3%). Half commute less than 24 miles.
| Victoria | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 within 15 miles of the center of Victoria
About 5 of every 100 Victoria residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
2 colleges in town.
112 places in Victoria on the National Register of Historic Places.
31 notable people were born in Victoria.
City and county seat in Texas, United States
Victoria is a city in and the county seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 census. Its elevation is 95 ft (29 m). Victoria is located 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. It is a two-hour drive from Houston, San Antonio, and Austin and a one hour and twenty minute drive to Corpus Christi. The city is named for General Guadalupe Victoria, who became the first president of independent Mexico. It is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria in Texas.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Victoria grades D− overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #582 of 640 in Texas. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 3 years of the area's median household income ($70,236 across the Victoria, 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.
31 notable people were born here, including Matt Prokop and Michael Bates.
