Every Texas county, shaded by median earnings in the past 12 months, in 2023 dollars. Darker counties have higher median earnings. County borders are the U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary (cb_500k).
A typical Texas county had median earnings of $37,334 in the 2023 ACS five-year estimates, the midpoint across all 254 counties. The statewide figure is higher, $42,495, because most Texans with earnings live in large metro counties that sit above that middle. One hundred and ninety-six counties, more than three in four, fall short of the state figure. Collin County leads at $61,438, just ahead of Rockwall at $60,010. Edwards is lowest at $18,415. Only two counties clear $60,000, twenty-one reach $50,000, and nineteen sit below $30,000. In the middle county, men earned $46,799 and women $29,808.
In short
$37,334typical countythe middle county, not a statewide figure
$42,495statewide medianall Texans with earnings, ACS state estimate
196counties below the state figuremore than three in four of 254
21counties at $50,000 or moreCollin leads at $61,438
The complete ranking, nothing left out. Collin County leads at $61,438, then Rockwall at $60,010. Glasscock, Yoakum and Martin follow, Permian Basin counties lifted by oil and gas work. Edwards is lowest at $18,415. The middle county sits at $37,334. Only two counties reach $60,000 and twenty-one reach $50,000, while nineteen fall below $30,000. One hundred and ninety-six counties sit below the statewide figure of $42,495. Kenedy’s $48,750 estimate has a margin of error of $48,245, so it is effectively a guess in a county of a few dozen people.
Figure 2
Male median earnings, all 251 counties reporting
Male median earnings · all 251 with a published figure, of 254 · ranked high to low
Every county where the Census published a male median, 251 of the 254; Culberson, Jeff Davis and Kenedy are suppressed. Collin leads at $77,763, then Carson at $75,682 and Yoakum at $73,713. Hudspeth trails at $18,696. The middle county sits at $46,799. Statewide, men with earnings had a median of $50,011.
Figure 3
Female median earnings, all 251 counties reporting
Female median earnings · all 251 with a published figure, of 254 · ranked high to low
Every county where the Census published a female median, 251 of the 254; Bailey, Kenedy and Loving are suppressed. Armstrong leads at $55,221, then Collin at $49,021 and Travis at $48,316. Edwards trails at $7,428. The middle county sits at $29,808. Statewide, women with earnings had a median of $35,501.
Figure 4
Male earnings against female earnings
Female against male · one point per row, 249 of 254 plotted
Each point is one county with both a male and a female median published, 249 of the 254. The relationship is moderate: the correlation coefficient is 0.56, so the male figure accounts for about 31 per cent of the variation in the female figure. In the typical county men earned $16,494 more than women, and the female median was about 65 cents on the male dollar. Female medians reach or pass male medians in only six counties. Edwards pairs a $23,000 male median with $7,428 for women. Hudspeth is the other extreme, with women at $35,179 against $18,696 for men.
Table 1
All counties
254 rows · 4 columns · sorted by median earnings, high to low
The full dataset: all 254 counties with median earnings for all workers, men and women, sorted by total median earnings and re-sortable on any column. Use the filter box to jump straight to a county by name. The Census published a total for every Texas county. Male figures are missing for Culberson, Jeff Davis and Kenedy, and female figures for Bailey, Kenedy and Loving; those cells show an em dash rather than a zero. Each figure is a median for that county alone, so the column cannot be averaged into a state figure; that would weight Loving County the same as Harris. The statewide estimate is $42,495.
Median earnings are in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars and cover the past 12 months for people 16 and over with earnings. The figure includes part-time and part-year work, so it is not a full-time wage.
The Census published a total median for every Texas county. Male medians were suppressed for Culberson, Jeff Davis and Kenedy. Female medians were suppressed for Bailey, Kenedy and Loving. Those cells are shown as an em dash and are excluded from the sex-specific charts.
A county median is the midpoint for that county, so the 254 county figures cannot be averaged to produce a state figure. The ACS estimate for Texas as a whole is $42,495. The typical-county figure of $37,334 is the midpoint of the 254 county estimates.
Kenedy’s $48,750 total has a margin of error of $48,245 in a county of a few dozen people.
