Best PlacesHardeman County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hardeman County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hardeman County ranks 1,745th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hardeman County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Hardeman County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hardeman County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- Short commute14.9 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 131 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of counties
Where Hardeman County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hardeman County
A household needs to earn about $24,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hardeman County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,979, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Hardeman County's effective rate of 0.86%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hardeman County
Hardeman County runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hardeman County.
Who works in Hardeman County, and how
Work in Hardeman County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Hardeman County
Hardeman County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hardeman County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hardeman County growing, and who is moving in?
Hardeman County has lost about 14% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Dallas, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hardeman County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hardeman County, month by month
Hardeman County sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 42° | 32° |
| April | 79° | 64° | 52° |
| July | 99° | 86° | 75° |
| October | 80° | 66° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Hardeman County
The nearest airport, Sheppard AFB/Wichita Falls Municipal, is about 72 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 181 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hardeman County
Schools across Hardeman County average a B−, better than 60% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Childress ElB · 46% proficient
- Reagan ElC · 33% proficient
- Shive ElC− · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Childress J HB · 46% proficient
- Travis MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Quanah H SB+ · 57% proficient
- Childress H SB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hardeman County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hardeman County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Hardeman County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hardeman County
Is Hardeman County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hardeman County ranks 1,745th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, short commutes, and cell coverage, and lowest on summer heat and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hardeman County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $90,027. The overall cost of living runs about 27% below the national average. Set against a $67,979 median income, cost of living beats 78% of counties.
Is Hardeman County safe?
Hardeman County is safer than 10% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $635 per resident a year.
Compare Hardeman County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hardeman County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hardeman County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Hardeman County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hardeman County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hardeman County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hardeman County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hardeman County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hardeman County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.