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Mills County, Texas: Where Land Is Cheap, Life Is Quiet, and Nearly a Third of the Housing Sits Empty

In the rolling cedar and mesquite country of Central Texas, Mills County occupies a particular kind of American geography that demographers call "persistent rural" — places where the trends of the last half-century have bent consistently in one direction. With just 4,499 residents spread across roughly 750 square miles, the county registers a population density of 6 people per square mile. That's not a typo. For context, the national average is about 90.

What makes Mills County worth examining isn't any single data point — it's what all of them say together about the economic physics of a place where land is abundant, people are aging, and yet basic stability largely prevails.

The Vacancy Puzzle

The most arresting figure in this dataset is the 29.4% housing vacancy rate — nearly three in ten housing units sit unoccupied. Nationally, vacancy hovers around 11-12%. This isn't a sign of housing distress in the conventional sense; it's a signature of rural depopulation combined with seasonal and recreational property use. The Colorado River runs through the county, and Brownwood Lake anchors neighboring Brown County to the north. A meaningful share of those empty units are weekend cabins, hunting leases, and inherited family properties that owners hold but rarely occupy. The land itself is the asset class here, not the structure on it.

Ownership Without Wealth Accumulation

At 84.5% homeownership, Mills County dramatically outpaces the national average of roughly 65%. But the median home value of $200,200 — about 63% of the national benchmark — means that ownership here represents shelter security more than wealth-building. With a price-to-income ratio of just 3.1x, homes are genuinely affordable relative to local incomes, one of the few remaining places where a working household can own outright without financial acrobatics.

Key Statistics

Stat	Value	Context
Vacancy Rate	29.4%	Nearly 3x the national average of ~11%
Homeownership Rate	84.5%	Well above national avg of ~65%
Median Age	52.2	vs. national median of 38.9
Price-to-Income Ratio	3.1x	Well below the 4x national benchmark

An Aging County With Quiet Finances

The median age of 52.2 — more than 13 years above the national median — is the demographic engine behind several other numbers. When 28.9% of the population is 65 or older (versus about 17% nationally), labor force participation naturally compresses. The 53.0% participation rate here isn't primarily a sign of unemployment; it reflects retirement. The 3.9% unemployment rate among those actually working is healthy. Rent burden at 24.1% stays comfortably below the 30% distress threshold, and rents averaging $713 per month are among the most affordable in Texas.

The 12.4% uninsured rate is a genuine concern — higher than the national average and consistent with a county where many residents work in agriculture, ranching, and trades outside employer-sponsored coverage.

FAQs

What makes Mills County, Texas unique? Mills County is one of Texas's least densely populated counties, combining a very high homeownership rate with extremely affordable home prices, a strikingly aged population, and a vacancy rate that reflects recreational and inherited property use as much as any economic downturn. It represents a form of rural stability that is increasingly rare nationally.

Is Mills County a good place to buy property? For buyers seeking affordability and low density, yes — the price-to-income ratio is exceptionally favorable and rent burden is low. However, the high vacancy rate and aging population signal limited appreciation potential compared to growth markets. This is a place to own for lifestyle reasons, not as a speculative investment.

Why is the population so old in Mills County? Like many rural Central Texas counties, Mills has experienced decades of outmigration by younger residents seeking employment and education in San Antonio, Austin, and the DFW metroplex. What remains is an older, rooted population — many of them retirees or long-time landowners — alongside a smaller working-age cohort employed in agriculture, local services, and trades.