What County Is It In? Central Texas Towns by County, ZIP Code & Population (2026)

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population estimates and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files; Texas Comptroller county directory; each county appraisal district. Figures current as of October 2026.

Most Central Texas towns sit inside a single county, but six in this guide have residents in two or three: Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, New Braunfels and Schertz. Here is every community with a Texas Home Talk guide, with its county or counties, main ZIP codes, appraisal district and the newest U.S. Census Bureau population estimate (July 1, 2025, released May 2026).

Central Texas Towns by County, ZIP Code and Population

Population figures are U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates for July 1, 2025, compared with the April 1, 2020 estimates base. Census city estimates cover incorporated cities only, so Canyon Lake, an unincorporated community, has no estimate; the 2020 Census counted 31,124 people in the Canyon Lake census-designated place. Spring Branch’s figure covers only the small incorporated city, which takes up about 2 percent of the land in the 78070 ZIP code. *San Marcos and Universal City: Census Bureau maps show their city limits reaching into a neighboring county (Caldwell and Guadalupe for San Marcos, Guadalupe for Universal City), but no residents are counted in those pieces. Main ZIP codes are the ZIP codes that cover most of each town’s land, based on the Census Bureau’s ZIP Code Tabulation Areas. CAD and AD are the abbreviations each appraisal district uses for itself.

Towns That Cross County Lines

Six towns in this guide have residents on both sides of a county line. The city name on your mailing address won’t tell you which side you’re on; your parcel’s location does. Here is how each town’s residents split, from the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 estimates.

Three more cities have city limits that reach into a second county with no residents counted there: San Marcos (Caldwell and Guadalupe counties), Universal City (Guadalupe County) and Cibolo (Bexar County). Every resident the Census Bureau counts in those cities lives in Hays, Bexar and Guadalupe counties, respectively.

Why it matters for property taxes

Your city tax rate is the same on either side of the line, but the county tax rate is not. A home in the Travis County part of Round Rock pays Travis County’s rate; a home a few streets away in the Williamson County part pays Williamson County’s. School district lines are a separate map again and don’t follow city or county boundaries. Our Central Texas property tax guide breaks down how the layers stack.

Which appraisal district you deal with

Each county has one appraisal district, and it values every property in that county for every taxing unit, including cities that spill over from next door. If your parcel is in the Comal County part of New Braunfels, the Comal Appraisal District sets your value and hears your protest. In the Guadalupe County part, it’s the Guadalupe Appraisal District.

Where you file a homestead exemption

The Texas Comptroller is clear on this one: you file your residence homestead exemption with the appraisal district in the county where the property is located. Not the county you think of as “your town,” and not the one on your utility bill.

Why Your County Matters

Your appraisal district

The appraisal district sets your taxable value every year and mails your notice. It doesn’t set tax rates; each taxing unit does that. Appraisal districts for the towns in this guide:

• Williamson Central Appraisal District
• Travis Central Appraisal District
• Hays Central Appraisal District
• Comal Appraisal District
• Guadalupe Appraisal District
• Bexar Central Appraisal District
• Kendall Appraisal District
• Caldwell County Appraisal District
• Bastrop Central Appraisal District
• Burnet Central Appraisal District
• Gillespie Central Appraisal District
• Blanco County Appraisal District

Homestead filing

To qualify, the home has to be your principal residence, and the general deadline is before May 1. The school district homestead exemption is now $140,000, with an additional $60,000 for homeowners 65 or older or disabled, according to the Texas Comptroller. Counties, cities and other taxing units can offer their own optional exemptions on top of that, which is one more reason the county line matters.

Tax-rate differences

Your total rate is a stack: county, city, school district, and in many newer neighborhoods a MUD, ESD or other special district. Two homes in the same city can carry different totals because of the county line, the school district line or a special district. Rates are set every year, so check the current year with your county tax office before you compare homes. The Central Texas property tax guide walks through it.

Vehicle inspection rules by county

Since January 1, 2025, non-commercial vehicles in Texas no longer need a safety inspection, per the Texas Department of Public Safety. Emissions testing still applies in 17 counties, and two of them are in this guide: Travis and Williamson. Bexar County joins them on November 1, 2026, according to the Texas DMV, which matters for vehicles registered in Converse, Universal City and the Bexar County part of Schertz. Hays, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Caldwell, Bastrop, Burnet, Gillespie and Blanco counties are not on the emissions list.

Fastest-Growing Towns Since 2020

Ranked by Census-estimated change from the April 2020 base to July 1, 2025, among towns in this guide with a published estimate:

1. Liberty Hill: 13,317 residents, +276.6% since 2020. Liberty Hill sits on SH 29 west of Georgetown, with a compact downtown and an outdoor sculpture park that grew out of a 1976 international sculpture symposium.
2. Dripping Springs: 11,167 residents, +126.5% since 2020. On US 290 west of Austin, Dripping Springs pairs its historic Mercer Street downtown with wineries, distilleries and event venues spread across the surrounding hills.
3. Hutto: 46,048 residents, +66.9% since 2020. East of Round Rock on US 79, Hutto leans hard into its hippo mascot and has turned its old cotton co-op site into the Co-Op District, a mixed-use area that includes City Hall.
4. Georgetown: 106,907 residents, +58.5% since 2020. Georgetown wraps a historic courthouse square, Southwestern University and the San Gabriel River’s Blue Hole into one walkable core, and it has now passed 100,000 residents.
5. Leander: 91,132 residents, +53.8% since 2020. Leander anchors the north end of the CapMetro Red Line commuter rail, with most new construction spreading out along US 183 and the 183A toll road.

Kyle just missed the list at +53.0%. If you’re weighing the Hays County side of the corridor, start with Kyle vs Buda vs San Marcos, then check drive times in our I-35 commute guide. For the full corridor picture, see Best Places to Live Between Austin and San Antonio.

Look Up by ZIP Code

ZIP codes are mail routes, not legal boundaries, so a ZIP can cover addresses outside the town it’s named for and can cross county lines. Counties below are the ones that hold at least 1 percent of each ZIP code’s land, from the Census Bureau’s 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas. Use this as a starting point, then confirm a specific address with the appraisal district.

• 78006 · Boerne · mostly Kendall County; also reaches Bexar County
• 78015 · Boerne (mostly outside city limits) · Kendall, Bexar and Comal counties
• 78070 · Spring Branch · mostly Comal County; also reaches Kendall and Blanco counties
• 78108 · Cibolo (also part of Schertz) · mostly Guadalupe County; also reaches Bexar and Comal counties
• 78109 · Converse · Bexar County
• 78130 · New Braunfels · Guadalupe and Comal counties
• 78132 · New Braunfels · Comal County
• 78133 · Canyon Lake · Comal County
• 78148 · Universal City · Bexar County
• 78154 · Schertz · Bexar, Guadalupe and Comal counties
• 78155 · Seguin · Guadalupe County
• 78163 · Bulverde · Comal County
• 78602 · Bastrop · Bastrop County
• 78610 · Buda · Hays, Travis and Caldwell counties
• 78613 · Cedar Park · mostly Williamson County; also reaches Travis County
• 78620 · Dripping Springs · mostly Hays County; also reaches Travis and Blanco counties
• 78624 · Fredericksburg · mostly Gillespie County; also reaches Kendall County
• 78626 · Georgetown · Williamson County
• 78628 · Georgetown · Williamson County
• 78633 · Georgetown · Williamson County
• 78634 · Hutto · Williamson County
• 78636 · Johnson City · Blanco County
• 78640 · Kyle · mostly Hays County; also reaches Caldwell and Travis counties
• 78641 · Leander · Travis and Williamson counties
• 78642 · Liberty Hill · mostly Williamson County; also reaches Burnet County
• 78644 · Lockhart · Caldwell County
• 78654 · Marble Falls · mostly Burnet County; also reaches Travis County
• 78660 · Pflugerville · Travis County
• 78664 · Round Rock (also part of Pflugerville) · mostly Williamson County; also reaches Travis County
• 78665 · Round Rock · Williamson County
• 78666 · San Marcos · mostly Hays County; also reaches Guadalupe, Comal and Caldwell counties
• 78676 · Wimberley · mostly Hays County; also reaches Blanco County
• 78681 · Round Rock · Williamson County