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Moving to
Heartland.
Heartland is an unincorporated community in Kaufman County, TX. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Heartland
Heartland is an unincorporated community in Texas with household incomes running above the national average 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. Heartland deals with rent well above the national average, long average commutes, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin.
The good
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- Long commutes
- Air quality concerns
- High rent burden for renters
- Hot summers
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Heartland compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Heartland
Based on Heartland's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$4,666
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $93,320 a year
- 78% of Heartland renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$64,400
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $32,200
- Homes cost 3.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 65% above US
$2,333/mo median rent
Rent is expensive here, at $2,333 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $322,000. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $322,000 · 78% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.1% county unemployment
Unemployment in Kaufman County is 4.1%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Kaufman County (county-wide)
Safety
96 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Heartland doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 277/100k · Policed by Kaufman County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 54% above US
40 min average commute
Commutes run long, averaging 40 minutes, and that's just the average, meaning a lot of people are doing significantly more. This isn't a city where living far from the office is a comfortable bet. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 15% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 95°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 38°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforceNear US average
33% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 33% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, 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 Waco Mammoth National Monument (86 miles away).
Bottom line
Heartland's strongest point is household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and long average commutes. A year of median rent ($2,333/mo) equals 30% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (15% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget and people who dread long commutes.
Other places near Heartland
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