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Rockport, Texas

Rockport is a small town of about 11,300 people in Aransas County, Texas. It's the county seat. It's growing fast: its population is up 12% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.4 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, San Antonio, is about 132 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townCounty seat

Population
11,348
up 12% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$320,500
Aransas County prices up 13% since 2022
Household income
$72,174
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Corpus Christi area
92.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
22 miles
Corpus Christi, TX
To San Antonio
132 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 4.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood24 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 17.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byChristus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, about 22 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Antonio is about 132 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 Rockport 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

Boom town. The population is up 12% 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
$320,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 13%Aransas County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,212 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$72,174U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
71%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,753 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
22%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
19%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 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Corpus Christi metro area, not Rockport 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
11,3482020: 10,141
Median age
51.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
30%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
13%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
41%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%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
Professional and business services (21%); schools, health care and social services (19%); retail (14%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
27%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, about 22 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

4 public schools in Rockport, run by Rockport-Fulton Isd.

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
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%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
46°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
89 a year
Nights at or below freezing
4 a year
Rain and melted snow
36.4 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
14 feet

Weather station: Rockport (2 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: Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, San Antonio.

Aransas 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

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Padre Island National Seashore37 miles

Read about Rockport's history on Wikipedia.

Know Rockport?

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

  • Lamar, TX (unincorporated)1,202 people, 7 miles
  • Holiday Beach, TX (unincorporated)427 people, 9 miles
  • Bayside, TX279 people, 10 miles
  • Tradewinds, TX (unincorporated)390 people, 13 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.