County profile
Hays County, TX
United States · GDP 2024
#324 of 3,127 US counties by GDPtop-quartile growthmore diversified than 69% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$15.3B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+8.9%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
76,995
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
5,891
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$53.1k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
304,390
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
4.1%
Median HH income
$89.1k±$2.5k
Bachelor's degree+
43.2%±1.7%
Poverty rate
12.1%±0.9%
Business applications
4,316 · 2025
Retail establishments
737
25.0/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
No public companies loaded for this state yet — universe expands with the full ingest.
HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Retail trade29%
Food & accommodation25%
Health care16%
Construction13%
Manufacturing9%
Admin & support8%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
304,390
residents · 2025 · +24.8% since 2020
Income per capita $67.5k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+47,293
International migration+4,642
Natural change+8,080
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$8.9B2019
$9.1B2020
$10.5B2021
$12.4B2022
$14.1B2023
$15.3B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$399.8k±$10.3k
Median gross rent
$1.5k/mo±$39/mo
Vacancy rate
4.6%±0.6%
Affordability
7.5× wages
Residential permits
$1.4B
4,595 units · 15.1/1k pop
FEMA risk score
90.6
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.9k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Hail 97Tornado 96Lightning 95
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
4472016
4822017
5032018
5322019
5602020
6752021
8522022
8382023
8102024
8092025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -16% since 20215,4392021
5,5282022
5,0112023
5,4052024
4,5952025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
16.8 km
I-35
Nearest freight rail
16.1 km
UP
Nearest port
173.6 km
Victoria, TX
Nearest commercial airport
37.9 km
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTL
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$53.1k
avg. annual pay · +26% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Hays?
Hays's economy produced $15.3B in 2024, growing 8.9% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is retail trade.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.