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%

Wells$780/mo

Typical home $141K (Census) · tax rate 0.33% · or rent about $510/mo · Housing →

Buckholts$1,780/mo

Typical home $297K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.93% · or rent about $710/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,010 a month, about $12,100 a year, between Buckholts and Wells.

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

Grades and rankings, side by side

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.

Schools

C−WellsBetter than 22% of districts in the state D−BuckholtsBetter than 4% of districts in the state

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

WellsBuckholts

Snow a year0″0″

January low35°F 39°F

July high92°F 94°F

Growing season (days)239d 261d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)33rd 23rd

Outdoors & history

WellsBuckholts

Settled1885 —

Archive photos5 —

Community

WellsBuckholts

Library hours a week31 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

136 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WellsTX BuckholtsTX

Wells ↔ Buckholts136 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

WellsBuckholts

People

Population 484Highest 374Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8%Highest TX: +15.9% -29.1%Lowest TX: +15.9%

Median age 31.1±10.4Lowest 13% below TX 31.3±13.1Highest 12% below TX

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

Kids under 18 31.6%±12.1Lowest TX: 25% 31.8%±5.6Highest TX: 25%

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

Age 65+ 27.5%±10.4Highest TX: 13.4% 18.7%±9.4Lowest TX: 13.4%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 4.5%Highest TX: 33.8% 3%Lowest TX: 33.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0%±4.4 TX: 6.2% 0%±5.7 TX: 6.2%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian — $33,333±$19k 58% below TX

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $140,600±$82kHighest 50% below TX $75,600±$22kLowest 73% below TX

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $510±$424Lowest 64% below TX $710±$154Highest 49% below TX

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $467Lowest 89% below TX $700Highest 83% below TX

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 42.6%±96.9Lowest TX: 51.7% 63.9%±33Highest TX: 51.7%

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

Below poverty line 42.1%Lowest TX: 13.8% 47.9%Highest TX: 13.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 45.4%Lowest TX: 62.6% 54.3%Highest TX: 62.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1970Lowest 22 yrs older than TX 1985Highest 7 yrs older than TX

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minLowest 17% below TX 29 minHighest 7% above TX

Work from home 0%±15Lowest TX: 14.4% 1.3%±3.7Highest TX: 14.4%

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

Work in townworking residents 3.4%Highest 0.6%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 57.8 miHighest 41.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.60Highest 0.14Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Lufkin (16%)Temple (17%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in BuckholtsFew work in Wells

Outdoors

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 22.5Lowest 42.8Highest

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.

Wells neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wells’s Town Square.

Buckholts neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Buckholts’s Town Square.

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Towns like Wells

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Driscoll511 people · $101K homes

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Beckville690 people · $115K 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.

Wells vs Buckholts

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,010 more a month in Buckholts

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

136 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Wells and Buckholts

Towns like Wells

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