Zavala County, Texas Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Zavala 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.
-
D
Health Well below average
-
F
Income Well below average
-
F
Education Well below averageLess educated than 91% of counties in Texas
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Zavala County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 9,412 | 30,160,889 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 7.2 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -2.94% | 1.41% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 32.0 | 35.9 | 37.3 |
| Households | 3,271 | 10,982,153 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Zavala County declined by 19.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9,412 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Zavala County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 25.1% of residents. That is 1.6 points above Texas as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 2,359 25.1% +1.6 pts
- Millennials 29–44 1,787 19.0% -3.9 pts
- Gen X 45–60 1,636 17.4% -2.1 pts
- Boomers 61–79 1,337 14.2% +1.0 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 49.0% of the people living in Zavala County and men 51.0%.
- Women 49.0% Texas 50.1%
- Men 51.0% Texas 49.9%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Zavala County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Zavala County has a the economy index of F, which means it scores poorly in the economy.
| Metric | Zavala County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $38,120 | $78,939 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 5.38% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 3.9% | 5.2% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Zavala County is about 52% lower than in Texas.
Housing
| Metric | Zavala County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $22,500 | $258,873 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $547 | $1,402 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 69.0% | 62.6% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Zavala County is about 3.4 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $547 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Zavala 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 4.7 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Zavala County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 13.6 | 22.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 27.3 | 45.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 114 | 190 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $3,523 | $5,888 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 6.4% | 14.4% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,259 | 9,879 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 453 | 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 Zavala 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
Zavala County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Zavala County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 12.6% | 29.3% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.86 | 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
Zavala County has a health index of D, which means it is barely healthy.
| Metric | Zavala County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 77.6 | 78.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 34.2% | 21.1% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 21.3% | 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).
Zavala County, TX Compared With Nearby Counties
Zavala County, TX is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 9,412 residents against a local median of 53,547. Zavala County, TX's median home price, at $22,500, runs 90% below the $217,410 typical of the counties around it.
Median household income tells the same story from another angle: $38,120 against a local median of $54,759, 30% below it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: commute runs ahead of the neighbourhood while median household income runs behind it, so Zavala County, TX is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The counties themselves spread $237,691 on median home price, so Zavala County, TX sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Zavala County, TX has the 4th highest median home price of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zavala County, TX | 9,412 | $38,120 #4/4 | $22,500 #4/4 | 13.6 min #2/4 |
| Uvalde County, TX | 24,881 | $54,759 | $217,410 | 12.9 min |
| Maverick County, TX | 58,082 | $49,611 | $174,073 | 16.9 min |
| Medina County, TX | 53,547 | $78,259 | $411,764 | 30.7 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Zavala County, Texas.
How many people live in Zavala County, Texas?
About 9,412 people live in Zavala County, Texas, in 3,271 households of 2.9 people on average. The median age is 32.0, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 5 years.
Is Zavala County, Texas urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Zavala County, Texas has 7 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 8% of the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Zavala County, Texas?
The median home costs 0.6 times the median household income ($22,500 against $38,120), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $547 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
Is unemployment high in Zavala County, Texas?
Unemployment in Zavala County, Texas is only 3.9%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.
How educated are people in Zavala County, Texas?
12.6% of adults in Zavala County, Texas hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 8), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
Analyze any area in the US
Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.
Explore the map →