Living in Ransom Canyon, Texas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.7% below the U.S. average in the Lubbock metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 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 Roosevelt H S, about 4 miles away.
A hospital close byGrace Surgical Hospital in Lubbock, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityOklahoma City is about 273 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 Ransom Canyon 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: $341,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 6%Lubbock County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $113,950U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 98%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $5,487 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 8%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 91.3U.S. average = 100 (the Lubbock 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 6% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Lubbock metro area, not Ransom Canyon 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: 1,1722020: 1,191
Median age: 50.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 34%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 49%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 0%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 (30%); professional and business services (14%); construction (9%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 3%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Grace Surgical Hospital, Lubbock, TX, about 11 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 Ransom Canyon itself. The nearest public high school is Roosevelt H S, about 4 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: 90%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 98%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: 93°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 91 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 61 a year
Rain and melted snow: 18.4 inches a year
Snow: 7 inches a year
Elevation: 2,975 feet

Weather stations: Lubbock Wfo (11 miles away) and Ransom Canyon (less than a mile 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

Grace Surgical HospitalEmergency room11

Lubbock, TXCity of 273,00012

Oklahoma City, OKMetro of 1.5 million273

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: Grace Surgical Hospital, Lubbock, Oklahoma City.

Lubbock 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

Read about Ransom Canyon's history on Wikipedia.

Know Ransom Canyon?

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

Slaton, TX5,700 people, 6 miles
Idalou, TX2,100 people, 9 miles
Wolfforth, TX8,700 people, 19 miles
Ralls, TX1,600 people, 20 miles
Shallowater, TX3,000 people, 21 miles
Abernathy, TX2,800 people, 23 miles

Smaller places

Buffalo Springs Lake, TX445 people, 1 mile
Lorenzo, TX910 people, 13 miles
Wilson, TX464 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.