Living in Florence, 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 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close bySeton Medical Center Harker Heights in Harker Heights, about 17 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityAustin is about 38 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 Florence 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: $239,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Down 8%Williamson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,018 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $78,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 77%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,819 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940: 20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 16%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 Florence 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: 1,2452020: 1,193
Median age: 34.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%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: Construction (19%); manufacturing (17%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (14%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 37 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 2%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Seton Medical Center Harker Heights, Harker Heights, TX, about 17 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

3 public schools in Florence, run by Florence 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: 78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 97%U.S.: 91%

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: 36°F
July average high: 96°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 112 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 28 a year
Rain and melted snow: 35.9 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 996 feet

Weather stations: Georgetown Lake (12 miles away) and Florence (less than a mile away, rain and snow). 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

Seton Medical Center Harker HeightsEmergency room17

Georgetown, TXCity of 107,00013

Austin, TXMetro of 2.6 million38

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: Seton Medical Center Harker Heights, 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park54 miles

Read about Florence's history on Wikipedia.

Know Florence?

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

Jarrell, TX5,900 people, 11 miles
Sonterra, TX10,600 people, 12 miles
Santa Rita Ranch, TX6,600 people, 13 miles
Liberty Hill, TX13,300 people, 14 miles
Salado, TX2,600 people, 17 miles
Bertram, TX2,100 people, 17 miles

Smaller places

Serenada, TX (unincorporated)1,444 people, 11 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.