Rank

1556of 3,144

Hays, Texas

Score 6.29 / 10· population 280,486

About 280,500 people live in Hays, Texas. It ranks #1,556 of 3,144 counties for liberty, and #178 of 254 in Texas. The combined sales tax is 6.75%, higher than in 48% of counties. Property tax takes about 1.4% of a home's value each year, more than in 90% of counties. Local government employs a smaller share of working residents than in 55% of counties. The homicide rate is higher than in 55% of counties. Life expectancy is about 79.5 years, longer than in 87% of counties. Air quality is worse than in 88% of counties (a typical day's air quality index is 48), and flood and hurricane risk is higher than in 89% of counties. On this site's state scores, Texas gets 8.15 of 10 for economic freedom, based on the Fraser Institute's ranking, and 10 of 10 for gun rights.

v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values