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%

Barry$2,070/mo

Typical home $307K (Zillow) · tax rate est. 1.8% · or rent about $1,056/mo · Housing →

Mertens$1,380/mo

Typical home $204K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.82% · or rent about $630/mo · Housing →

The difference: $690 a month, about $8,300 a year, between Barry and Mertens.

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.

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

BarryMertens

Snow a year0″0″

January low35°F —

July high95°F —

Growing season (days)246d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)9th 23rd

Outdoors & history

BarryMertens

Archive photos4 —

Famous people born here1 —

Community

BarryMertens

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

15 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BarryMertens

Barry ↔ Mertens15 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

BarryMertens

People

Population 236Highest 123Lowest

Median age 35.4±15.4Highest about the TX average 30.3±1.5Lowest 15% below TX

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

Kids under 18 32.6%±9.4Highest TX: 25% 26.8%±28.9Lowest TX: 25%

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

Age 65+ 9.3%±15.1Lowest TX: 13.4% 13.8%±30.4Highest TX: 13.4%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 10.1%Highest TX: 33.8% 9%Lowest TX: 33.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.3%±6.5Lowest TX: 6.2% 3.3%±13Highest TX: 6.2%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $67,500±$24kHighest 14% below TX $43,000±$14kLowest 45% below TX

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $164,800±$103kHighest 42% below TX $88,000±$14kLowest 69% below TX

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,056±$327Highest 25% below TX $630±$112Lowest 55% below TX

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

Property taxmedian, yearly — $1,600 62% below TX

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 0%±100 TX: 51.7% 0%±100 TX: 51.7%

Below poverty line 6.1%Lowest TX: 13.8% 10.9%Highest TX: 13.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 63.5%Highest TX: 62.6% 54.5%Lowest TX: 62.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1960Lowest 32 yrs older than TX 1975Highest 17 yrs older than TX

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 27 minLowest about the TX average 49 minHighest 83% above TX

Work from home 3.2%±4.8Highest TX: 14.4% 0%±30.6Lowest TX: 14.4%

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

Work in townworking residents 0% 0%

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 46.3 miLowest 48.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.10Highest 0.00Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Corsicana (30%)Hillsboro (13%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MertensFew work in Barry

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 42.7Lowest 46.1Highest

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.

Barry neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Barry’s Town Square.

Mertens neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mertens’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Barry and Mertens

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Barry

+ Compare

Cranfills Gap305 people · $102K homes

+ Compare

Kennard270 people · $105K homes

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Cove378 people · $281K homes

+ Compare

Broaddus390 people · $88K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Texas towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Barry vs Mertens

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $690 more a month in Barry

What daily life feels like in each

15 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Barry and Mertens

Towns like Barry

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