Texas

State Office of Rural Health

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

29,243,342

Estimated population

2,904,828 (9.9%)

People living in nonmetro areas

Source: U.S. Census ACS 2022 5-year estimate

Texas Rural Healthcare Facilities

91

Critical Access Hospitals

4

Rural Emergency Hospitals

354

Rural Health Clinics

213

Federally Qualified Health Centers*

70

Short Term/PPS Hospitals*

*Sites according to data.HRSA.gov (July 2024), showing only locations outside of U.S. Census Bureau Urban Areas with a population of 50,000 or more

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural Texas

16.6% of Texas residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2022). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per capita income for Texans in 2021 was $59,865, with the rural per capita income at $50,113. The ERS reports, based on 2021 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural Texas is 17.3%, compared with 13.9% 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 4.3%, and in urban Texas it is 3.8% (USDA-ERS, 2022).