15,137 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.2% since 2020)
748 square miles of land · 20 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.
5 active community water systems list Karnes County in the area they serve, reporting 19,007 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CITY OF KENEDY groundwater · local government · TX1280002 | 6,454 served |
| EL OSO WSC groundwater · local government · TX1280007 | 6,288 served |
| CITY OF KARNES CITY groundwater · local government · TX1280001 | 4,269 served |
| CITY OF RUNGE groundwater · local government · TX1280003 | 1,482 served |
| CITY OF FALLS CITY groundwater · local government · TX1280004 | 514 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 553 people were held in Karnes County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 539.
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.
4 school districts have their office in Karnes County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $86.7 million — $50.2 million to run schools, about $10,386 per student, plus $17.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $44.1 million local (mostly property tax), $15 million state, $3.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $26.4 million.
Spent $15.5 million — $12.7 million to run schools, about $17,443 per student, plus $416,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $11.7 million local (mostly property tax), $1.1 million state, $3 million federal. Long-term debt: $22.9 million.
Spent $11 million — $6.5 million to run schools, about $14,674 per student, plus $326,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $10.6 million local (mostly property tax), $486,000 state, $407,000 federal. Long-term debt: $20.9 million.
Spent $6.8 million — $3.9 million to run schools, about $18,683 per student, plus $124,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.5 million local (mostly property tax), $335,000 state, $981,000 federal. Long-term debt: $7.4 million.
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 Karnes County about $12 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
145 bridges in Karnes County: 68 in good condition, 75 fair, and 2 poor (1.4%). “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.
| CR 326 over SAN ANTONIO RIVER · built 1973 | 100 vehicles a day |
| CR 230 over DRAW · built 1932 | 90 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $6.7 million of work in Karnes County in fiscal 2025, about $457 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 Karnes 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 Karnes County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Texas: the state government and every county in Texas.
Nearby counties: Wilson County (23 mi) · Goliad County (31 mi) · DeWitt County (32 mi) · Bee County (35 mi) · Atascosa County (41 mi) · Live Oak County (42 mi).