What it's like to live in Sweetwater
Sweetwater is a small city in Texas with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and commutes that run shorter than most cities. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Sweetwater deals with household incomes below the national average, crime rates above the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, and a population that has been shrinking.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Short commutes
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Crime above national average
- Low college degree attainment
- Shrinking population
- High poverty rate
- Hot summers
How Sweetwater compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Sweetwater
Based on Sweetwater's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,814
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $36,280 a year
- 41% of Sweetwater renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$16,160
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $8,080
- Homes cost 1.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 36% below US
$907/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $907 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $80,800. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $80,800 · 41% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.7% county unemployment
Unemployment in Nolan County is 3.7%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Nolan County (county-wide)
Safety▲ 47% above US
485 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 1278/100k · Sweetwater Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 38% below US
16 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 16.1 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 93°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 33°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 61% below US
14% 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
6 public schools inside the boundary
There are 6 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 13:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Bottom line
Sweetwater's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and crime rates above the national average. A year of median rent ($907/mo) equals 24% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and people who want short commutes.
Other places near Sweetwater
All Texas guides →Moving to Abilene →
39 mi away · pop. 128,053
Rent $1,157/mo · Income $62,648
Compare with Sweetwater →Moving to Big Spring →
64 mi away · pop. 23,975
Rent $1,050/mo · Income $67,581
Compare with Sweetwater →Not sure Sweetwater is the one?
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