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Richwood, Texas

Richwood is a suburb of about 4,800 people in Brazoria County, Texas, in the Lake Jackson area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 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, Houston, is about 50 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Lake Jackson

Population
4,777
down 0% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$249,600
Brazoria County prices up 8.8% since 2022
Household income
$88,380
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Houston area
98.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Lake Jackson, TX
To Houston
50 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.4% below the U.S. average in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood7 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Brazoswood H S, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCHI St. Luke's Health Brazosport in Lake Jackson, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 50 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 Richwood 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

Richwood runs into the built-up area around Lake Jackson (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
$249,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 8.8%Brazoria County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,250 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$88,380U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$3,986 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
21%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
98.6U.S. average = 100 (the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 8.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area, not Richwood 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
4,7772020: 4,778
Median age
35.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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 (26%); professional and business services (14%); manufacturing (12%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%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: CHI St. Luke's Health Brazosport, Lake Jackson, TX, about 4 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

2 public schools in Richwood, run by Brazosport Isd. The nearest public high school is Brazoswood H S, about 3 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Brazosport College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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
45°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
94 a year
Nights at or below freezing
10 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.9 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
12 feet

Weather stations: Angleton Brazoria Ap (5 miles away) and Freeport 2 NW (6 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

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: CHI St. Luke's Health Brazosport, Galveston, Houston.

Brazoria 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

Campus life. Check Brazosport College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Richwood's history on Wikipedia.

Know Richwood?

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

  • Bailey's Prairie, TX801 people, 8 miles
  • Surfside Beach, TX694 people, 10 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.