Refugio County, Texas Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Refugio County, TX Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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C
Health Below averageLess healthy than 72% of counties in Texas
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D
Income Well below averageLess wealthy than 74% of counties in Texas
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F
Education Well below averageLess educated than 81% of counties in Texas
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Refugio County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,707 | 30,160,889 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 8.2 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -1.07% | 1.41% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 43.7 | 35.9 | 37.3 |
| Households | 2,495 | 10,982,153 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Refugio County declined by 8.9% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 6,707 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Refugio County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 20.7% of residents. That is 7.4 points above Texas as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 1,330 19.8% -3.6 pts
- Millennials 29–44 1,241 18.5% -4.4 pts
- Gen X 45–60 1,336 19.9% +0.5 pts
- Boomers 61–79 1,385 20.7% +7.4 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Texas, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 51.1% of the people living in Refugio County and men 48.9%.
- Women 51.1% Texas 50.1%
- Men 48.9% Texas 49.9%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Refugio County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Refugio County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Refugio County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $60,343 | $78,939 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 2.40% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.5% | 5.2% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Refugio County is about 24% lower than in Texas.
Housing
| Metric | Refugio County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $56,710 | $258,873 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $794 | $1,402 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 77.0% | 62.6% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Refugio County is about 6.0 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $794 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Refugio County spend about 27 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 114 hours, about 4.8 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Refugio County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 13.7 | 22.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 27.4 | 45.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 114 | 190 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $3,540 | $5,888 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 2.4% | 14.4% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 3,559 | 9,879 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 451 | 1,441 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Texas:
Loving County (3.2 min), King County (5.8 min), Terrell County (6.5 min).
Slowest:
Bandera County (38.6 min), San Jacinto County (35.9 min), Liberty County (33.6 min).
The average commute time in Refugio County is 14 minutes, shorter than the 23 minutes in Texas.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Refugio County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Refugio County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 10.1% | 29.3% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.62 | 2.69 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Texas:
Collin County (0.4), Travis County (0.4), Fort Bend County (0.4).
Lowest:
Kenedy County (0.0), Hudspeth County (0.1), La Salle County (0.1).
Health
Refugio County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Refugio County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 76.8 | 78.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 22.6% | 21.1% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 18.7% | 19.9% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Texas:
Collin County (0.8), Travis County (0.8), Denton County (0.8).
Lowest:
Starr County (0.7), Brooks County (0.7), Presidio County (0.7).
Refugio County, TX Compared With Nearby Counties
Refugio County, TX is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 6,707 residents against a local median of 69,985. Refugio County, TX's median home price, at $56,710, runs 81% below the $291,463 typical of the counties around it.
Commute tells the same story from another angle: 13.7 min against a local median of 17.5 min, 22% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is commute, and at 22% below the local median it puts Refugio County, TX at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves sit within $77,100 of each other on median home price, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Refugio County, TX, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Refugio County, TX has the 4th highest median home price of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refugio County, TX | 6,707 | $60,343 #4/4 | $56,710 #4/4 | 13.7 min #1/4 |
| Aransas County, TX | 24,876 | $69,093 | $291,463 | 13.8 min |
| San Patricio County, TX | 69,985 | $68,913 | $216,507 | 21.1 min |
| Victoria County, TX | 91,396 | $70,933 | $293,607 | 17.5 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Refugio County, Texas.
What is the population of Refugio County, Texas?
About 6,707 people live in Refugio County, Texas, in 2,495 households of 2.6 people on average. The median age is 43.7, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 6 years.
Is Refugio County, Texas mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Refugio County, Texas has 8 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 9% of the U.S. average of 86.
Is Refugio County, Texas an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 0.9 times the median household income ($56,710 against $60,343), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $794 a month takes about 16% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How educated are people in Refugio County, Texas?
10.1% of adults in Refugio County, Texas hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 10), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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