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%

Eagle Lake$1,040/mo

Typical home $171K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.05% · or rent about $1,229/mo · Housing →

Sweeny$1,570/mo

Typical home $246K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.39% · or rent about $1,203/mo · Housing →

The difference: $530 a month, about $6,400 a year, between Sweeny and Eagle Lake.

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

Sweeny places higher on 11 of 19 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

–Eagle LakeNot graded B−SweenySafer than 54% of U.S. towns

Schools

C−Eagle LakeBetter than 20% of districts in the state B−SweenyBetter than 51% of districts in the state

Health

C+Eagle LakeHealthier than 41% of U.S. towns C+SweenyHealthier than 41% of U.S. towns

7Eagle Lake

11Sweeny

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 584 towns #581#41 Best schoolsSchools · 583 towns #528#312 Lowest depressionHealth · 652 towns #18#256 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 652 towns #435#225 Lowest property taxCost of living · 647 towns #89#288 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 632 towns #520#362 Shortest commuteGetting around · 653 towns #381#538 Most affordableCost of living · 651 towns #144#282

Left end = #1 in Texas. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Eagle Lake’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

Eagle LakeSweeny

Snow a year0″0″

January low39°F 47°F

July high96°F 91°F

Growing season (days)255d 333d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)54th 74th

Outdoors & history

Eagle LakeSweeny

Trails4 mi 1 mi

Conserved land3.1%1.7%

National Register places1 —

Archive photos7 —

Famous people born here6 —

Community

Eagle LakeSweeny

Library hours a week36 hrs 41 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

53 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Eagle LakeTX SweenyTX

Eagle Lake ↔ Sweeny53 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

Eagle LakeSweeny

People

Population 3,485Lowest 3,591Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -5.4%Lowest TX: +15.9% -1.6%Highest TX: +15.9%

Median age 30.8±4Lowest 13% below TX 32.3±5.4Highest 9% below TX

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

Kids under 18 25.2%±8Highest TX: 25% 24.3%±11.8Lowest TX: 25%

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

Age 65+ 14.7%±4.7Lowest TX: 13.4% 18.1%±5.7Highest TX: 13.4%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 20.3%Lowest TX: 33.8% 23.5%Highest TX: 33.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.9%±2.2Highest TX: 6.2% 2.8%±3.1Lowest TX: 6.2%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $69,205±$25kLowest 12% below TX $73,457±$35kHighest 6% below TX

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $137,900±$29kLowest 51% below TX $199,100±$20kHighest 30% below TX

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,229±$267Highest 12% below TX $1,203±$190Lowest 14% below TX

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,448Lowest 66% below TX $2,777Highest 34% below TX

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 15.4%±11Lowest TX: 51.7% 24.5%±16.4Highest TX: 51.7%

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

Below poverty line 14.1%Highest TX: 13.8% 3.3%Lowest TX: 13.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 72.3%Lowest TX: 62.6% 73.9%Highest TX: 62.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1965Lowest 27 yrs older than TX 1972Highest 20 yrs older than TX

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 27 minLowest about the TX average 32 minHighest 20% above TX

Work from home 3%±1.9Lowest TX: 14.4% 16%±10.2Highest TX: 14.4%

Work in townworking residents 8.9%Lowest 10.6%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 38.3 miHighest 35.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.62Lowest 0.71Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Houston (19%)Houston (18%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in SweenyFew work in Eagle Lake

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.1%Highest 1.7%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 4.4 miHighest 0.5 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.5 miHighest 0.3 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 81.3Lowest 101Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #528 of 583 in TX #312 of 583 in TX

School district RICE CISDSWEENY ISD

High school in town Rice Challenge AcademySweeny H S

Students per teacherat that high school 28.5Highest 12.0Lowest

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.

Eagle Lake neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Eagle Lake’s Town Square.

Sweeny neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sweeny’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Eagle Lake and Sweeny

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

Towns like Eagle Lake

+ Compare

Sonora2,691 people · $143K homes

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West Orange3,420 people · $111K homes

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Taft2,871 people · $124K homes

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Primera5,344 people · $161K 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.

Eagle Lake vs Sweeny

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $530 more a month in Sweeny

Sweeny places higher on 11 of 19 TX lists

What daily life feels like in each

53 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Eagle Lake and Sweeny

Towns like Eagle Lake

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