Compare towns
Toco vs Mertens 132 miles apart. The biggest differences: property tax bill (3.4× in Mertens) and home values (2.5× in Mertens).
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Toco, TX A small town of 76 Texas · 76 people
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.
Toco A small town of 76
Quiet strengths Toco doesn’t stand out on the data we have Neighbors can tell you what the numbers miss.
All about Toco →
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.
★ What stands out · Monthly cost A typical home costs $1,160 more a month in Mertens 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 payment3.5% 10% 20% Rate
Toco $220 /mo
Typical home $35K (Census) · tax rate 1.33% · or rent about $1,266/mo · Housing →
Mertens $1,380 /mo
Typical home $204K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.82% · or rent about $630/mo · Housing →
The difference: $1,160 a month , about $13,900 a year , between Mertens and Toco.
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.
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 132 miles apart Straight-line miles between town centers.
Toco ↔ Mertens 132 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.
Raising kids Affordability Owning a home Short commute Working from home Younger crowd Settled, older crowd Growing town Outdoorsy Walkable streets
Population
76 Lowest 123 Highest
Median age
36.3 ±23.1 Highest about the TX average 30.3 ±1.5 Lowest 15% below TX
Kids under 18
34.2% ±33.4 Highest TX: 25% 26.8% ±28.9 Lowest TX: 25%
Age 65+
22.4% ±47.5 Highest TX: 13.4% 13.8% ±30.4 Lowest TX: 13.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+
6.1% Lowest TX: 33.8% 9% Highest TX: 33.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents
7.9% ±26.4 Highest TX: 6.2% 3.3% ±13 Lowest TX: 6.2%
Household incomemedian
$47,292 ±$11k Highest 40% below TX $43,000 ±$14k Lowest 45% below TX
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied
$35,000 ±$24k Lowest 88% below TX $88,000 ±$14k Highest 69% below TX
Rentmedian gross, monthly
$1,266 ±$339 Highest 10% below TX $630 ±$112 Lowest 55% below TX
Property taxmedian, yearly
$467 Lowest 89% below TX $1,600 Highest 62% below TX
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent
80% ±100 Highest TX: 51.7% 0% ±100 Lowest TX: 51.7%
Below poverty line
17.1% Highest TX: 13.8% 10.9% Lowest TX: 13.8%
Homeownersof occupied homes
57.1% Highest TX: 62.6% 54.5% Lowest TX: 62.6%
Typical home builtmedian year
1974 Lowest 18 yrs older than TX 1975 Highest 17 yrs older than TX
Average commuteone way
18 min Lowest 34% below TX 49 min Highest 83% above TX
Work from home
6.7% ±12.1 Highest TX: 14.4% 0% ±30.6 Lowest TX: 14.4%
Work in townworking residents
0% 0%
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line
51.3 mi Highest 48.8 mi Lowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub
0.00 0.00
Top workplaceoutside town
Paris (20%) Hillsboro (13%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others
Few work in Mertens Few work in Toco
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
35.2 Lowest 46.1 Highest
“±” Census margin of error ACS 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.
Toco or Mertens: which would you pick? → What’s it really like to live in Toco? → Moving to Toco: what should I know? →
Your question goes to Toco’s Town Square.
Mertens or Toco: which would you pick? → What’s it really like to live in Mertens? → Moving to Mertens: what should I know? →
Your question goes to Mertens’s Town Square.
Add a town Set another town beside Toco and Mertens One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.
Towns like Toco 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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