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Elm Creek, Texas

Elm Creek is an unincorporated community of about 3,700 people in Maverick County, Texas, in the Eagle Pass area. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, San Antonio, is about 128 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Eagle Pass

Population
3,680
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$170,100
Maverick County prices up 22% since 2022
Prices, Eagle Pass area
83.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Eagle Pass, TX
To San Antonio
128 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 16.2% below the U.S. average in the Eagle Pass metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Elm Creek to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Eagle Pass H S, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byFort Duncan Medical Center in Eagle Pass, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Antonio is about 128 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 Elm Creek 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Elm Creek runs into the built-up area around Eagle Pass (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$170,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Maverick County, 2022 to 2025
Typical property tax bill
$1,792 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
35%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
83.8U.S. average = 100 (the Eagle Pass 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 up 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Eagle Pass metro area, not Elm Creek 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
3,680The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
33 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
9%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
6%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%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 (23%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
16%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: Fort Duncan Medical Center, Eagle Pass, TX, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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 Elm Creek, run by Eagle Pass Isd. The nearest public high school is Eagle Pass H S, about 4 miles away.

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
51%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
40°F
July average high
98°F
Days 90°F or hotter
151 a year
Nights at or below freezing
12 a year
Rain and melted snow
20.8 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
750 feet

Weather station: Eagle Pass 3N (2 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

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: Fort Duncan Medical Center, Laredo, San Antonio.

Maverick County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Amistad National Recreation Area54 miles

Read about Elm Creek's history on Wikipedia.

Know Elm Creek?

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

Smaller places

  • Siesta Acres, TX (unincorporated)1,573 people, 1 mile
  • Seco Mines, TX (unincorporated)644 people, 2 miles
  • Fabrica, TX (unincorporated)774 people, 2 miles
  • Las Quintas Fronterizas, TX (unincorporated)2,203 people, 6 miles
  • Quemado, TX (unincorporated)119 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.