Living in Bartlett, Texas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.9% below the U.S. average in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town1 public school: 1 K-12 and 1 other.
A hospital close byBaylor Scott & White Medical Center -Taylor in Taylor, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityAustin is about 39 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bartlett meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $218,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Down 8%Williamson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $756 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $67,438U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,483 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940: 26%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 98.1U.S. average = 100 (the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved down 8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area, not Bartlett alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,6782020: 1,630
Median age: 39 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Retail (20%); construction (18%); schools, health care and social services (16%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 14%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Baylor Scott & White Medical Center -Taylor, Taylor, TX, about 14 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple, Temple, TX, about 20 miles away. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Bartlett, run by Bartlett Isd.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Texas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 63%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 37°F
July average high: 96°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 111 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 25 a year
Rain and melted snow: 35.1 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 601 feet

Weather station: Granger Dam (8 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Baylor Scott & White Medical Center -TaylorEmergency room14

Georgetown, TXCity of 107,00018

Austin, TXMetro of 2.6 million39

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Baylor Scott & White Medical Center -Taylor, Georgetown, Austin.

Williamson County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Bartlett Commercial Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Waco Mammoth National Monument58 miles

Read about Bartlett's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bartlett?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Granger, TX1,200 people, 5 miles
Holland, TX1,200 people, 7 miles
Sonterra, TX10,600 people, 10 miles
Jarrell, TX5,900 people, 11 miles
Salado, TX2,600 people, 12 miles
Little River-Academy, TX2,000 people, 14 miles

Smaller places

Weir, TX792 people, 12 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.