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Compare towns

Cool vs Thompsons

269 miles apart. The biggest differences: street grid (14.1× in Cool) and average commute (11 min in Thompsons).

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Cool, TXA small town of 159Texas · 159 people
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Thompsons, TXA small town of 222Texas · 222 people
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Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

CoolA small town of 159
Quiet strengthsCool doesn’t stand out on the data we haveNeighbors can tell you what the numbers miss.
All about Cool →
ThompsonsA small town of 222
Quiet strengthsThompsons doesn’t stand out on the data we haveNeighbors can tell you what the numbers miss.
All about Thompsons →
The biggest differences

Where they differ most

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Street grid14.1×
Cool has the more walkable street grid
Cool 22.5Thompsons 1.6
Average commute11 min
Thompsons has the shorter commute
Cool 38 minThompsons 27 min
Typical home built19 yrs
Thompsons’s homes are older
Cool 1997Thompsons 1978
Jobs per worker+63%
Cool is more of a job hub
Cool 0.44Thompsons 0.27
Homeowners+8.9 pts renters
Cool has more renters
Thompsons 91.8%Cool 82.9%
★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $450 more a month in Cool

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.

Cool$2,650/mo
Typical home $428K (Census) · tax rate 1.13% · or rent about $2,150/mo · Housing →
Thompsons$2,190/mo
Typical home $325K (Census) · tax rate est. 1.8% · Housing →

The difference: $450 a month, about $5,400 a year, between Cool and Thompsons.

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
CoolThompsons
Snow a year—0″
January low—43°F
July high—92°F
Growing season (days)—297d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)42nd73rd
Outdoors & history
CoolThompsons
Archive photos2—
Community
CoolThompsons
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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

269 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

CoolTXThompsonsTX
Cool ↔ Thompsons269 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.

CoolThompsons
People
Population 159Lowest 222Highest
Median age 50.5±12Lowest 42% above TX 54.5±13.5Highest 53% above TX
Thompsons and Cool are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 6.9%±19.3Lowest TX: 25% 7.2%±21.7Highest TX: 25%
Thompsons and Cool are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 17.6%±19.7Lowest TX: 13.4% 34.7%±27.2Highest TX: 13.4%
Thompsons and Cool are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 16.8%Highest TX: 33.8% 15.9%Lowest TX: 33.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.8%±10.5Lowest TX: 6.2% 5%±8.4Highest TX: 6.2%
Thompsons and Cool are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $87,614±$39kHighest 12% above TX $62,500±$16kLowest 20% below TX
Cool and Thompsons are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $428,000±$129kHighest 51% above TX $325,000±$269kLowest 15% above TX
Cool and Thompsons are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,150±$558 53% above TX —
Property taxmedian, yearly $4,818 14% above TX —
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 66.7%±100Lowest TX: 51.7% 75%±100Highest TX: 51.7%
Thompsons and Cool are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 8.8%Highest TX: 13.8% 8.1%Lowest TX: 13.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 82.9%Lowest TX: 62.6% 91.8%Highest TX: 62.6%
Typical home builtmedian year 1997Highest 5 yrs newer than TX 1978Lowest 14 yrs older than TX
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 38 minHighest 42% above TX 27 minLowest about the TX average
Work from home 25%±24.7Highest TX: 14.4% 0%±13.3Lowest TX: 14.4%
Cool and Thompsons 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 39.3 miHighest 20.3 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.44Highest 0.27Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Fort Worth (18%)Houston (45%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in ThompsonsFew work in Cool
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 2.8%Highest 0%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 0.3 miHighest
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 22.5Highest 1.6Lowest
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.

Cool neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cool’s Town Square.

Thompsons neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Thompsons’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.

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