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Andrews County, Texas: Oil Wealth, Affordable Homes, and a Paradox of Prosperity

There's a particular kind of West Texas arithmetic that doesn't quite add up at first glance. Andrews County sits atop the Permian Basin, one of the most productive oil fields on the planet, yet its median home value of $188,200 is barely 59% of the national median. Unemployment is a jaw-dropping 2.3% — essentially nonexistent — and household incomes eclipse the national average. So why does nearly a quarter of the population lack health insurance, and why do one in eight children live in poverty? Andrews County is a place where energy abundance and human vulnerability coexist in ways that demand a closer look.

The Permian Basin Effect

Andrews, the county seat and only incorporated city, exists almost entirely in service to oil and gas extraction. The Permian Basin drives everything here — hiring cycles, population swings, school enrollment, even the vacancy rate. That 4.0% vacancy rate is remarkably tight for a rural county with just 12 people per square mile, reflecting a workforce that has largely filled available housing to meet energy sector demand. When oil prices collapsed in 2015-2016, communities like Andrews felt it viscerally. The current low unemployment reflects the sustained Permian boom of recent years, which has pushed wages up while the remote location keeps real estate prices grounded.

That's the upside of being far from a major metro: a household earning the local median income faces a price-to-income ratio of roughly 2.4x — compared to the 4x national benchmark. Homeownership here at 76.3% runs well above national norms, and renters aren't squeezed either, with a rent burden of just 20.9% — one of the healthiest ratios in Texas.

Key Statistics

Stat	Value	Context
Median Home Value	$188,200	59% of national median — deeply affordable
Homeownership Rate	76.3%	well above national average of ~65%
Unemployment Rate	2.3%	among the lowest in Texas; Permian-driven
Uninsured Rate	22.4%	nearly double the national average of ~11%

The Inequality Underneath

The 0.456 Gini Index — a measure of income inequality — is elevated, hinting at a workforce split between well-compensated rig workers and operators on one side, and lower-wage service and agricultural workers on the other. With 23.1% of adults lacking a high school diploma and only 15.8% holding a bachelor's degree, Andrews skews heavily toward trades and manual labor. That's not unusual for an oil patch county, but it concentrates vulnerability: SNAP usage at 11.3% and a 22.4% uninsured rate both suggest a segment of the population not sharing proportionally in the boom.

The high rate of limited English proficiency (16.6%) reflects Andrews County's proximity to the Texas-New Mexico border and a substantial workforce drawn from across the region to fill energy and support roles.

FAQs

What makes Andrews County unique? Andrews County is one of the most affordable places to own a home in the United States relative to local incomes, yet it sits atop one of the world's most valuable oil reserves. The combination of near-full employment, low housing costs, and high homeownership makes it economically distinctive — even as workforce volatility and limited healthcare access reveal the uneven rewards of resource-extraction economies.

Is Andrews County a good place to buy a home? For affordability metrics alone, yes — the price-to-income ratio of roughly 2.4x is exceptional. But prospective buyers should weigh the county's economic dependence on oil prices, limited educational and medical infrastructure, and the boom-bust nature of Permian Basin employment cycles before committing.

Why is the uninsured rate so high if unemployment is so low? Much of the Permian Basin workforce is employed through contractors and subcontractors who may not offer employer-sponsored health insurance. Texas also has not expanded Medicaid, leaving a significant coverage gap for working adults who earn too much for traditional Medicaid but too little to afford private plans.