Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wharton earns a D−, 594th of 640 graded towns in Texas, mostly because of health and schools. Residents are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its schools rank behind 85% of the state's. What it does well: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Wharton County Courthouse Historic Commercial District and Stephen F. Austin Elementary School. Only 90 of Texas’ 1,000 towns score lower on hazard risk. Wharton is home to Wharton County Junior College.
Where Wharton beats most towns.
Wharton County Courthouse Historic Commercial District| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Wharton County Junior College | 4,826 |
Census counts: 1,505 in 1910, 8,627 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1858 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
32 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Wharton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wharton, 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 Wharton.
Wharton has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Houston and other neighbors, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Texas (mostly inland flooding).
18% of adults have diabetes in Wharton, against 13% in Texas’ towns and 12% across U.S. towns. 23% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Wharton. Wharton beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 18.
| Wharton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 12% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 20% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Wharton | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.5% | 74.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.5% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Wharton ISD. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Wharton H S, with 566 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wharton ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 478 | C− |
| Wharton H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 566 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 238 to 170 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
At 17.2 per 1,000 residents, Wharton’s property crime rate is above both the Texas town median (10.7) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9).
| Wharton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.2 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of Texas towns; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on. 339 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 35 properties have flooded more than once.
Wharton’s FEMA risk score is 77 of 100. Since 1979, 339 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wharton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Values rose 2.5% in the past year while the Texas typical home fell 1.5%.
The typical Wharton home is worth about $218,000, 27% below the Texas typical home. 54% of Wharton households own their home.
| Wharton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,051 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 43.6°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 93.8°.
Wharton has warm winters and hot summers. The January low in Wharton is 44°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Wharton | 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
Wharton has about as many jobs (3,807) as working residents, but only 634 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Wharton for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Houston (22%), Rosenberg (5%) and El Campo (4%). Half commute less than 42 miles.
| Wharton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1.1 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Wharton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Port of Wharton Riverfront Park | 0.3 mi | 13 |
| 2. Croom Park | 0.2 mi | 18 |
| 3. Harris Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Wharton
About 7 of every 100 Wharton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
32 places in Wharton on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Wharton.
City in Texas, United States
Wharton is a city in and the county seat of Wharton County, Texas, United States. This city is 60 mi (97 km) southwest of Houston. Its population was 8,832 at the 2010 census and 8,627 at the 2020 census. Wharton is located on the Colorado River of Texas. U.S. Highway 59 passes west of it.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wharton grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #594 of 640 in Texas. It grades D for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.3 years of the area's median household income ($66,924 across the El Campo, TX 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+.
18 notable people were born here, including Dan Rather and Horton Foote.
