Towns / Texas

Gregory, Texas

Gregory is a suburb of about 1,700 people in San Patricio County, Texas, in the Corpus Christi area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.5 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, San Antonio, is about 130 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Corpus Christi

Population
1,708
down 1.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$117,700
San Patricio County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$47,167
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Corpus Christi area
92.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Corpus Christi, TX
To San Antonio
130 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.3% below the U.S. average in the Corpus Christi metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.5 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 2.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Gregory-Portland H S, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCorpus Christi Medical Center,the in Corpus Christi, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Antonio is about 130 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 Gregory 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

Gregory runs into the built-up area around Corpus Christi (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
$117,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%San Patricio County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$938 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$47,167U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
68%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,082 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
23%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.7U.S. average = 100 (the Corpus Christi 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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Corpus Christi metro area, not Gregory 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
1,7082020: 1,737
Median age
35.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
5%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
0%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (17%); construction (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Corpus Christi Medical Center,the, Corpus Christi, TX, about 13 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

1 public school in Gregory, run by Gregory-Portland Isd. The nearest public high school is Gregory-Portland H S, about 2 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
55%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
71%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
44°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
113 a year
Nights at or below freezing
8 a year
Rain and melted snow
36.4 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
31 feet

Weather station: Welder Wildlife Foundation (15 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: Corpus Christi Medical Center, Corpus Christi, San Antonio.

San Patricio County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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:

  • Padre Island National Seashore27 miles

Read about Gregory's history on Wikipedia.

Know Gregory?

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

  • Tradewinds, TX (unincorporated)390 people, 5 miles
  • Ingleside on the Bay, TX604 people, 8 miles
  • Taft Southwest, TX (unincorporated)1,635 people, 8 miles
  • Bayside, TX279 people, 13 miles
  • Loma Linda, TX (unincorporated)340 people, 14 miles
  • Rancho Chico, TX (unincorporated)384 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.