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Compare towns

Thompsons vs Cool

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

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Thompsons, TXA small town of 222Texas · 222 people
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Cool, TXA small town of 159Texas · 159 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.

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 →
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 →
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.

Thompsons$2,190/mo
Typical home $325K (Census) · tax rate est. 1.8% · Housing →
Cool$2,650/mo
Typical home $428K (Census) · tax rate 1.13% · or rent about $2,150/mo · 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
ThompsonsCool
Snow a year0″—
January low43°F—
July high92°F—
Growing season (days)297d—
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)73rd42nd
Outdoors & history
ThompsonsCool
Archive photos—2
Community
ThompsonsCool
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.

ThompsonsTXCoolTX
Thompsons ↔ Cool269 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.

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

Thompsons neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Thompsons’s Town Square.

Cool neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cool’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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