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Freeport, Texas

Freeport is a suburb of about 10,500 people in Brazoria County, Texas, in the Lake Jackson area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Houston, is about 58 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Lake Jackson

Population
10,508
down 1.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$135,900
Brazoria County prices up 8.8% since 2022
Household income
$61,134
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Houston area
98.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Lake Jackson, TX
To Houston
58 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.4% below the U.S. average in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood40 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 12.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byCHI St. Luke's Health Brazosport in Lake Jackson, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 58 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 Freeport 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

Freeport runs into the built-up area around Lake Jackson (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
$135,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 8.8%Brazoria County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,176 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$61,134U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,176 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
98.6U.S. average = 100 (the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 8.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area, not Freeport 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
10,5082020: 10,693
Median age
34.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
7%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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
Schools, health care and social services (25%); construction (24%); manufacturing (16%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%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: CHI St. Luke's Health Brazosport, Lake Jackson, TX, about 8 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

4 public schools in Freeport, run by Brazosport 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
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
46°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
82 a year
Nights at or below freezing
4 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.9 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
0 feet

Weather station: Freeport 2 NW (3 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: CHI St. Luke's Health Brazosport, Galveston, Houston.

Brazoria 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

Read about Freeport's history on Wikipedia.

Know Freeport?

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

  • Surfside Beach, TX694 people, 4 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.