Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 101,951, Wichita Falls does unevenly: it grades C−, 423rd among Texas's 640 graded towns. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. The trade-off: its police reported 360 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 84% of U.S. towns. 62% of working residents work locally in Wichita Falls, above both the Texas town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Wichita Falls has 13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Frank Kell House and Joe and Lois Perkins House.
Where Wichita Falls beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,978 in 1890, 102,316 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 2 maps from 1957 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Wichita Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wichita Falls, 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 Wichita Falls.
Wichita Falls has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
Reported crimes fell from 3,065 to 2,564 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Wichita Falls’ property offense rate comes in at 21.5 per 1,000 residents. In Wichita Falls, the level of violent crime is 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Wichita Falls | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 21.5 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Three of its 36 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The public schools here belong to Wichita Falls ISD. Also worth knowing: 6 public schools serve Wichita Falls, with 3,048 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barwise MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,164 | C |
| Legacy H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,857 | – |
| Sheppard Afb ElTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 312 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
At 2.7 years of the Wichita Falls metro’s $65K median household income, the typical home (about $174K) costs less against local pay than in 78% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living.
Values rose 1.6% in the 12 months to September 2026. 56% of Wichita Falls households live in a home they own. Homes sold in Wichita Falls spent a median 58 days on the market.
| Wichita Falls | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,022 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 45% | 51% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Wichita Falls Muni Ap weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 105 days a year reach 90°, more than in 96% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 97.2°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 30.1°.
Wichita Falls’ peak summer temperature stands at 97°F. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Wichita Falls | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 97°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 30°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest park or preserve is Lake Wichita Park, at 283 acres. Trails total 14 miles in 38 parks and preserves. The density of trails for Wichita Falls comes to 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Wichita Falls | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lucy Park | 2.3 mi | 178 |
| 2. Stone Lake Park | 0.5 mi | 16 |
| 3. Lynwood East Park | 0.5 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The average commute for its 36,716 working residents takes 14.3 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
Wichita Falls’ average commute is 14 minutes. The top destinations are Fort Worth (2%), Dallas (2%) and Burkburnett (2%). The share of residents in Wichita Falls who live below the poverty line: 18%. Half commute less than 5 miles.
| Wichita Falls | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7.1% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,957 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wichita Falls’s, it is healthier than 59%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
18% of adults binge drink in Wichita Falls. This Texas town beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 7.
| Wichita Falls | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 74% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Wichita Falls | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 16.9% | 19.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.1% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
965 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 38 properties have flooded more than once.
In Wichita Falls, the FEMA risk score is 37 of 100. Paid flood insurance claims in the town since 1979: 965. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 49% come from inland flooding and 21% from tornadoes. Federal aid has come to Wichita Falls households in 4 declared disasters; the latest was in 2021.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 29% of residents (24% statewide). College graduates make up a quarter of adults 25 and older, against 34% across Texas. Among residents in Wichita Falls, 22% are under 18.
| Wichita Falls | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.8 years | 35.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 22% | 26% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 14% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 23% | 29% |
47.6% women, 52.4% men
About 110 men for every 100 women. Across Texas, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.7, men 32.5.
| Wichita Falls | TX | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.7% | 13.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 11.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.1% | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.3% | 14.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.8% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 8.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 5.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.6% | 14% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.2% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.1% | 20.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.7% | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.9% | 21.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.4% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Wichita Falls
About 7 of every 100 Wichita Falls residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
13 places in Wichita Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
56 notable people were born in Wichita Falls.
City in Texas, United States
Wichita Falls ( WITCH-ih-tah) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita Counties. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 102,316, making it the 43rd-most populous city in Texas. Wichita Falls is home to Midwestern State University, enrolling more than 5,500 students.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Wichita Falls.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wichita Falls | #423 | C− | C+ | C− | C+ | C+ |
| Pleasant Valley | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Pleasant Valley isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wichita Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wichita Falls grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #423 of 640 in Texas. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 2.7 years of the area's median household income ($65,379 across the Wichita Falls, 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+.
56 notable people were born here, including Rex Tillerson and Greg Abbott.
