Bay City, Texas
2026 Edition · 10 cards · data as of Oct 30, 2026
Read it as a page
-
Population
Down 3.1% since 2020.
17,488
people, the 173rd-largest of Texas's cities and towns.
Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Texas's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates
-
The workday
7 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.
65.1%
of 5,985 jobs located in Bay City are filled by in-commuters.
Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES
-
Rent
Median rent is up 84% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.
$1,025
a month. Texas's median is $1,403.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
-
The seam
Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.
A $846 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Matagorda County.
- $578 Tract 7301
- $1,424 Tract 7302.03
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
-
Room to build
The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.
$961–$1,442
is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.
- $1,025 median
Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year
-
Building
Most of the housing here is older than 2000.
- 499 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
- 12% of those were in multifamily buildings
- 79% of all homes were built before 2000
Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year
-
Units needed
Closing the gap would add 0.5–0.7% to the 8,200 homes here.
39–60
is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.
Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac
-
Home value
A median home costs 43% less than Texas's.
$160,800
median home value in Bay City.
- $160,800 Bay City
- $283,800 Texas
- $332,700 U.S.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year