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Lakeside City, Texas

Lakeside City is a suburb of about 1,300 people in Archer County, Texas, in the Wichita Falls area. It's growing fast: its population is up 21% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.4 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, Dallas, is about 125 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townSuburb of Wichita Falls

Population
1,307
up 21% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$268,300
Archer County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$113,636
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Wichita Falls area
89.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Wichita Falls, TX
To Dallas
125 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.5% below the U.S. average in the Wichita Falls metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Rider H S, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byUnited Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDallas is about 125 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 Lakeside City 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

Lakeside City runs into the built-up area around Wichita Falls (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.

Boom town. The population is up 21% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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
$268,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Archer County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,144 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$113,636U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
90%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,947 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
15%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.5U.S. average = 100 (the Wichita Falls 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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Wichita Falls metro area, not Lakeside City 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
1,3072020: 1,084
Median age
36.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
33%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
38%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
15%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 (35%); government (14%); retail (8%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
2%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: United Regional Health Care System, Wichita Falls, TX, about 6 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

There are no public schools inside Lakeside City itself. The nearest public high school is Rider H S, about 3 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
84%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
30°F
July average high
97°F
Days 90°F or hotter
105 a year
Nights at or below freezing
58 a year
Rain and melted snow
27.9 inches a year
Snow
3 inches a year
Elevation
979 feet

Weather station: Wichita Falls Muni Ap (11 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: United Regional Health Care System, Wichita Falls, Dallas.

Archer 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

Read about Lakeside City's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lakeside City?

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

  • Pleasant Valley, TX366 people, 8 miles
  • Dean, TX521 people, 10 miles
  • Jolly, TX168 people, 11 miles
  • Scotland, TX432 people, 13 miles
  • Cashion Community, TX301 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.