A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Ballinger$890/mo

Typical home $141K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.27% · or rent about $986/mo · Housing →

Palacios$1,330/mo

Typical home $198K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.75% · or rent about $785/mo · Housing →

The difference: $440 a month, about $5,200 a year, between Palacios and Ballinger.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Ballinger places higher on 10 of 20 TX lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Texas ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

BBallingerSafer than 57% of U.S. towns C+PalaciosSafer than 36% of U.S. towns

Schools

C+BallingerBetter than 39% of districts in the state BPalaciosBetter than 58% of districts in the state

Health

C+BallingerHealthier than 36% of U.S. towns C+PalaciosHealthier than 38% of U.S. towns

10Ballinger

9Palacios

Lists won, of 20 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most walkableOutdoors · 653 towns #74#416 Most new homesHousing · 535 towns #526#283 Lowest depressionHealth · 652 towns #256#18 Lowest property taxCost of living · 647 towns #73#278 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 632 towns #614#420 Shortest commuteGetting around · 653 towns #74#264 SafestSafety · 470 towns #152#278 Most remote workersWork · 624 towns #455#614

Left end = #1 in Texas. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Ballinger’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

BallingerPalacios

Snow a year1″0″

January low31°F 46°F

July high96°F 91°F

Growing season (days)233d 321d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)68th 87th

Outdoors & history

BallingerPalacios

Trails1 mi 2 mi

Conserved land1%2%

Settled—1903

National Register places3 4

Community

BallingerPalacios

Library hours a week—40 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

305 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BallingerTX PalaciosTX

Ballinger ↔ Palacios305 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Texas average

BallingerPalacios

People

Population 3,583Lowest 4,388Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -3.9%Highest TX: +15.9% -6.8%Lowest TX: +15.9%

Median age 44.7±6.6Lowest 26% above TX 46.2±10.4Highest 30% above TX

Palacios and Ballinger are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 21.6%±5Highest TX: 25% 17.4%±7.3Lowest TX: 25%

Ballinger and Palacios are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 24.9%±5.1Highest TX: 13.4% 22.9%±7.7Lowest TX: 13.4%

Ballinger and Palacios are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 16.6%Lowest TX: 33.8% 22.8%Highest TX: 33.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.2%±1.6Lowest TX: 6.2% 3.7%±2.9Highest TX: 6.2%

Palacios and Ballinger are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $58,870±$5kHighest 25% below TX $52,620±$17kLowest 33% below TX

Ballinger and Palacios are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $109,400±$21kLowest 61% below TX $153,800±$67kHighest 46% below TX

Palacios and Ballinger are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $986±$120Highest 30% below TX $785±$300Lowest 44% below TX

Ballinger and Palacios are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,392Lowest 67% below TX $2,695Highest 36% below TX

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 30.8%±21.6Lowest TX: 51.7% 89.6%±26.4Highest TX: 51.7%

Below poverty line 8.3%Lowest TX: 13.8% 19.2%Highest TX: 13.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 76.1%Lowest TX: 62.6% 84%Highest TX: 62.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1956Lowest 36 yrs older than TX 1964Highest 28 yrs older than TX

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 18 minLowest 33% below TX 24 minHighest 12% below TX

Work from home 4.9%±4.1Highest TX: 14.4% 0%±0.8Lowest TX: 14.4%

Work in townworking residents 44.6%Highest 10.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 17.3 miLowest 56.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.06Highest 0.27Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town San Angelo (13%)Houston (15%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in PalaciosFew work in Ballinger

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1%Lowest 2%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.7 miLowest 1.7 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 0.3 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 2Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 106Highest 51.0Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #290 of 583 in TX #238 of 583 in TX

School district BALLINGER ISDPALACIOS ISD

High school in town Ballinger H SPalacios Junior Senior H S

Students per teacherat that high school 9.2Lowest 11.2Highest

Texas average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Ballinger neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ballinger’s Town Square.

Palacios neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Palacios’s Town Square.

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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Ballinger vs Palacios

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $440 more a month in Palacios

Ballinger places higher on 10 of 20 TX lists

What daily life feels like in each

305 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Ballinger and Palacios

Towns like Ballinger

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