Living in Ganado, Texas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.2% below the U.S. average in the parts of Texas outside metro areas.
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 neighborhood4 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byJackson Healthcare Center in Edna, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 85 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 Ganado 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: $180,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 12%Jackson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,070 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $57,315U.S.: $80,734
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87.8U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Texas outside metro areas)

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 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Texas outside metro areas, not Ganado 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: 2,0092020: 1,972
Median age: 31.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 8%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 9%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: Farming, forestry and mining (14%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 9%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Jackson Healthcare Center, Edna, TX, about 9 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: El Campo Memorial Hospital, El Campo, TX, about 18 miles away. 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

3 public schools in Ganado, run by Ganado 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 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: 43°F
July average high: 93°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 105 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 13 a year
Rain and melted snow: 40.9 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 62 feet

Weather stations: Danevang 1 W (17 miles away) and Edna 7 NW (16 miles 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

Jackson Healthcare CenterEmergency room9

Victoria, TXCity of 67,00032

Houston, TXMetro of 7.9 million85

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: Jackson Healthcare Center, Victoria, Houston.

Jackson County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Ganado's history on Wikipedia.

Know Ganado?

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

Edna, TX6,100 people, 9 miles
El Campo, TX12,100 people, 18 miles
Palacios, TX4,400 people, 28 miles
Port Lavaca, TX11,100 people, 30 miles
Wharton, TX8,800 people, 31 miles
Victoria, TX67,000 people, 32 miles

Smaller places

Louise, TX (unincorporated)890 people, 8 miles
La Ward, TX210 people, 14 miles
Lolita, TX (unincorporated)217 people, 15 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.