What it's like to live in Baytown
Baytown is a smaller city in Texas with home prices that remain within reach and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Baytown deals with unemployment above the national average, household incomes below the national average, crime rates above the national average, and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks.
The good
- Affordable home prices
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment
- Below-average household incomes
- Crime above national average
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High poverty rate
How Baytown compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Baytown
Based on Baytown's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,614
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $52,280 a year
- 49% of Baytown renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$39,460
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $19,730
- Homes cost 3.3× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,307/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,307 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $197,300. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $197,300 · 49% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▲ 63% above US
7.0% unemployment
Unemployment here is 7.0%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▲ 21% above US
399 violent crimes per 100k
Crime is worth weighing seriously here. Rates run above the national average, and while plenty of residents live comfortably, neighborhood selection matters a lot more than it does in a safer city.
Property crime 2370/100k · Baytown Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
25 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 25.4 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 91°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 43°F. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
2 hospitals
There are 2 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 5.0 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 59% below US
15% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
28 public schools inside the boundary
There are 28 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Big Thicket National Preserve (59 miles away).
Bottom line
Baytown's strongest point is home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are unemployment above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,307/mo) equals 26% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up and anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Baytown
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