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%

Rochester$470/mo

Typical home $78K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.85% · or rent about $700/mo · Housing →

Mingus$520/mo

Typical home $82K (Census) · tax rate 1.32% · or rent about $850/mo · Housing →

The difference: $60 a month, about $700 a year, between Mingus and Rochester.

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

RochesterMingus

Snow a year4″1″

January low31°F 31°F

July high97°F 97°F

Growing season (days)232d 226d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)30th 49th

Outdoors & history

RochesterMingus

Trails—3 mi

Conserved land—0%

Community

RochesterMingus

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

99 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

RochesterTX MingusTX

Rochester ↔ Mingus99 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

RochesterMingus

People

Population 228Lowest 380Highest

Median age 32±14.3Lowest 10% below TX 37.6±16.8Highest 6% above TX

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

Kids under 18 22.4%±8.2Lowest TX: 25% 31.1%±6.8Highest TX: 25%

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

Age 65+ 21.1%±12.5Lowest TX: 13.4% 23.7%±9.6Highest TX: 13.4%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 7.5%Lowest TX: 33.8% 8%Highest TX: 33.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.8%±8.8Highest TX: 6.2% 0.8%±1.7Lowest TX: 6.2%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $31,827±$11kLowest 59% below TX $53,036±$10kHighest 32% below TX

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $55,000±$34kLowest 81% below TX $82,100±$23kHighest 71% below TX

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $700±$101Lowest 50% below TX $850±$86Highest 39% below TX

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $469Lowest 89% below TX $1,083Highest 74% below TX

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 68.8%±100Lowest TX: 51.7% 70.6%±56.1Highest TX: 51.7%

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

Below poverty line 31.6%Highest TX: 13.8% 23.4%Lowest TX: 13.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 75.3%Lowest TX: 62.6% 77.3%Highest TX: 62.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1953Lowest 39 yrs older than TX 1972Highest 20 yrs older than TX

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 20 minLowest 27% below TX 32 minHighest 20% above TX

Work from home 1%±3Lowest TX: 14.4% 4.8%±3.8Highest TX: 14.4%

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

Work in townworking residents 0%Lowest 1.6%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 61.3 miHighest 26.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.10Lowest 0.59Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Abilene (16%)Stephenville (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MingusFew work in Rochester

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 3.2 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 2.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 153Highest 42.6Lowest

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.

Rochester neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Rochester’s Town Square.

Mingus neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mingus’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Rochester and Mingus

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

Towns like Rochester

+ Compare

Whiteface361 people · $65K homes

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Bellevue359 people · $83K homes

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Big Wells544 people · $61K homes

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Emhouse142 people · $84K homes

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.

Rochester vs Mingus

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

99 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Rochester and Mingus

Towns like Rochester

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