31,953 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.6% since 2020)
1,005 square miles of land · 32 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
12 active community water systems list Hale County in the area they serve, reporting 29,317 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| PLAINVIEW MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM surface water · local government · TX0950004 | 21,104 served |
| CITY OF ABERNATHY groundwater · local government · TX0950001 | 2,865 served |
| CITY OF HALE CENTER groundwater · local government · TX0950002 | 1,705 served |
| SETH WARD WSC groundwater · local government · TX0950065 | 1,700 served |
| CITY OF PETERSBURG groundwater · local government · TX0950003 | 1,205 served |
| COTTON CENTER WSC groundwater · local government · TX0950014 | 250 served |
| HALFWAY WSC groundwater · local government · TX0950016 | 110 served |
| SOUTH HAVEN groundwater · private · TX0950047 | 108 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 110 people were held in Hale County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 115.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
5 school districts have their office in Hale County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $86.8 million — $62.5 million to run schools, about $13,396 per student, plus $21.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $20.3 million local (mostly property tax), $34.6 million state, $16 million federal. Long-term debt: $64.8 million.
Spent $12 million — $10.8 million to run schools, about $12,895 per student, plus $715,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.5 million local (mostly property tax), $4.9 million state, $1.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $15.5 million.
Spent $9.5 million — $7.7 million to run schools, about $13,193 per student, plus $1.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.5 million local (mostly property tax), $6.9 million state, $1.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $4.1 million.
Spent $10 million — $4.6 million to run schools, about $17,077 per student, plus $4.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.6 million local (mostly property tax), $3.2 million state, $847,000 federal. Long-term debt: $21.2 million.
Spent $2.5 million — $2.4 million to run schools, about $24,270 per student, plus $28,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $561,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.9 million state, $546,000 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Hale County about $30.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
48 bridges in Hale County: 20 in good condition, 28 fair, and 0 poor (0.0%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $13.1 million of work in Hale County in fiscal 2025, about $403 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-19 to 2026-10-30. Mail ballot application must be received: 2026-10-23. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Texas Secretary of State, Sept. 28, 2026 · VoteTexas.gov — early voting · VoteTexas.gov
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Hale County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Hale County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Texas: the state government and every county in Texas.
Nearby counties: Floyd County (30 mi) · Lamb County (30 mi) · Lubbock County (32 mi) · Swisher County (32 mi) · Castro County (41 mi) · Crosby County (44 mi).