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Towns / Texas

Rosebud, Texas

Rosebud is a small town of about 1,300 people in Falls County, Texas. It has grown about 4% since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Austin, is about 71 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,344
up 3.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$83,000
Falls County prices up 0.7% since 2022
Prices, Waco area
92.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
17 miles
Marlin, TX
To Austin
71 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.5% below the U.S. average in the Waco metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Rosebud to say.
  • 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 Rosebud-Lott H S, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close byFalls Community Hospital and Clinic in Marlin, about 17 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityAustin is about 71 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 Rosebud 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
$83,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 0.7%Falls County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$728 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,676 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.5U.S. average = 100 (the Waco 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 0.7% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Waco metro area, not Rosebud 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
1,3442020: 1,298
Median age
50 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%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
Government (6%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
17%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Falls Community Hospital and Clinic, Marlin, TX, about 17 miles away. It's a rural emergency hospital (24-hour emergency care and outpatient services, no overnight stays). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple, Temple, TX, about 23 miles away. Medicare gives it 5 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 Rosebud itself. The nearest public high school is Rosebud-Lott H S, about 5 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
39°F
July average high
94°F
Days 90°F or hotter
88 a year
Nights at or below freezing
28 a year
Rain and melted snow
38.6 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
405 feet

Weather station: Cameron (16 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: Falls Community Hospital and Clinic, Temple, Austin.

Falls 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Waco Mammoth National Monument38 miles

Read about Rosebud's history on Wikipedia.

Know Rosebud?

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

  • Lott, TX686 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.