Key Contact for Texas

Texas State Office of Rural Health

Phone: 512.936.6730
Email: RuralHealth@TexasAgriculture.gov

Works with local health care providers, county leaders, and state partners to support access to quality health care for rural Texans. Assists rural health providers through a variety of programs including information and referral, assistance with medical license applications, grants and educational awards for individual clinicians, health care institutions, and other organizations.
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Texas Nonmetro Population

28,635,442

Estimated population

3,101,348 (10.8%)

People living in nonmetro areas

Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020 estimate

Texas Rural Healthcare Facilities

88

Critical Access Hospitals

328

Rural Health Clinics

208

Federally Qualified Health Centers*

104

Short Term/PPS Hospitals*

*Sites located outside of Urbanized Areas according to data.HRSA.gov. July 2022.

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural Texas

16.7% of Texas residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2021). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per capita income for Texans in 2020 was $55,129, with the rural per capita income at $45,120. The ERS reports, based on 2020 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural Texas is 15.8%, compared with 13.2% in urban areas of the state. 18.3% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 14.8% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2017-2021 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural Texas is 6.0%, and in urban Texas it is 5.6% (USDA-ERS, 2021).