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Mustang Ridge, Texas

Mustang Ridge is a small town of about 1,000 people in Caldwell County, Texas. It has grown about 7% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.7 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, Austin, is about 17 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,025
up 7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$320,900
Caldwell County prices up 2.4% since 2022
Household income
$86,080
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Austin area
98.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Buda, TX
To Austin
17 mi
straight line

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 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood14 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 13.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 29.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Idea Bluff Springs College Preparatory, about 8 miles away.
  • A hospital close byBaylor Scott & White Medical Center - Buda in Buda, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityAustin is about 17 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 Mustang Ridge 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
$320,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 2.4%Caldwell County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,368 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$86,080U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$3,364 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
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 up 2.4% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area, not Mustang Ridge 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
1,0252020: 958
Median age
34.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%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 (17%); government (15%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Buda, Buda, TX, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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 Mustang Ridge itself. The nearest public high school is Idea Bluff Springs College Preparatory, about 8 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.

Weather

January average low
38°F
July average high
96°F
Days 90°F or hotter
124 a year
Nights at or below freezing
33 a year
Rain and melted snow
35.6 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
667 feet

Weather station: Austin Bergstrom Ap (9 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: Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Buda, Kyle, Austin.

Caldwell 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 Park45 miles

Read about Mustang Ridge's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mustang Ridge?

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

  • Creedmoor, TX402 people, 3 miles
  • San Leanna, TX530 people, 10 miles
  • Manchaca, TX (unincorporated)2,171 people, 10 miles
  • Hays, TX271 people, 11 miles
  • Mountain City, TX675 people, 11 miles
  • Garfield, TX (unincorporated)1,926 people, 13 miles
  • Sunset Valley, TX612 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.