Back to Public Records Search
Bastiat & Liberty Watchdog Index
Texas Local Government Freedom Index
Objective, empirical rankings grading 6,167 Texas local governments and 31,351 elected officials on fiscal restraint, tax burden, private property rights, and regulatory overreach. Zero peer normalization.
Top Ranked Governments (Highest Liberty)
Showing 1–25 of 1,218 matching jurisdictions
28-Year Freedom & Budget Trend Benchmark (FY 2000 – FY 2027)
Cohort Average Across Visible Page (25 Ranked Entities)5-Yr Freedom Trend (FY 22→27)
▲ +0.9 pts
27-Yr Liberty Shift (FY 00→27)
▲ +2.8 pts
Annual Budget Growth (YoY)
+2.4% YoY
5-Yr Budget Expansion
+25.5% (CAGR +2.8%/yr)
#1
City of Weston Lakes
CITY • Fort Bend County • Pop: 4,570
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0000Fiscal: 100Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +1.2 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.3% YoY (+11.7% 5Y)
Grade A+(95.3/100)
#2
City of Hideaway
CITY • Smith County • Pop: 3,459
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0000Fiscal: 100Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +1.4 pts (5Y)Budget: +4.2% YoY (+11.3% 5Y)
Grade A+(95.3/100)
#3
City of DeCordova
CITY • Hood County • Pop: 3,296
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0000Fiscal: 100Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +1.2 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.7% YoY (+10.8% 5Y)
Grade A+(95.3/100)
#4
City of Beach City
CITY • Chambers County • Pop: 3,438
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0000Fiscal: 100Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +1.1 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.1% YoY (+17.6% 5Y)
Grade A+(95.3/100)
#5
Town of Domino
CITY • Cass County • Pop: 83
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.021803Fiscal: 98.7Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +1.1 pts (5Y)Budget: +1.9% YoY (+8.6% 5Y)
Grade A+(94.8/100)
#6
City of Pine Forest
CITY • Orange County • Pop: 504
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0500Fiscal: 97Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.4 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.4% YoY (+127.9% 5Y)
Grade A+(94.1/100)
#7
Town of Putnam
CITY • Callahan County • Pop: 70
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.052529Fiscal: 96.8Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.7 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.1% YoY (+15.8% 5Y)
Grade A+(94/100)
#8
Village of Bear Creek
CITY • Hays County • Pop: 476
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.06475Fiscal: 96.1Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.7 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.6% YoY (+18.7% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.8/100)
#9
City of Von Ormy
CITY • Bexar County • Pop: 1,215
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0000Fiscal: 100Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 93.9▲ +0.6 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.1% YoY (+21.8% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.8/100)
#10
City of Goodlow
CITY • Navarro County • Pop: 172
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0675Fiscal: 96Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.5 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.6% YoY (+33.6% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.7/100)
#11
City of Hallsburg
CITY • McLennan County • Pop: 455
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.056426Fiscal: 96.6Regulatory: 86Debt: 100▲ +0.5 pts (5Y)Budget: +1.8% YoY (+16.1% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.7/100)
#12
City of Spring Branch
CITY • Comal County • Pop: 267
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.072625Fiscal: 95.6Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +1.1 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.1% YoY (+12.2% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.6/100)
#13
City of Niederwald
CITY • Caldwell County • Pop: 1,168
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0850Fiscal: 94.9Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.7 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.7% YoY (+24.7% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.3/100)
#14
City of Blackwell
CITY • Coke County • Pop: 251
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.084626Fiscal: 94.9Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.7 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.0% YoY (+19.9% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.3/100)
#15
Town of Bishop Hills
CITY • Potter County • Pop: 195
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.07456Fiscal: 95.5Regulatory: 86Debt: 100▲ +0.7 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.3% YoY (+17.4% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.3/100)
#16
City of Gholson
CITY • McLennan County • Pop: 1,274
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0900Fiscal: 94.6Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.8 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.1% YoY (+56.7% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.2/100)
#17
Village of Point Venture
CITY • Travis County • Pop: 1,233
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.085828Fiscal: 94.9Regulatory: 86Debt: 100▲ +1.4 pts (5Y)Budget: +1.2% YoY (+5.5% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.1/100)
#18
City of Pecan Gap
CITY • Delta County • Pop: 186
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.082625Fiscal: 95Regulatory: 86Debt: 100▲ +0.9 pts (5Y)Budget: +1.4% YoY (+22.5% 5Y)
Grade A+(93.1/100)
#19
City of Hays
CITY • Hays County • Pop: 271
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0947Fiscal: 94.3Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.5 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.7% YoY (+51.4% 5Y)
Grade A+(93/100)
#20
City of Sunset Valley
CITY • Travis County • Pop: 612
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.0000Fiscal: 100Regulatory: 79.9Debt: 100▲ +1.1 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.8% YoY (+18.6% 5Y)
Grade A+(93/100)
#21
City of Kennard
CITY • Houston County • Pop: 285
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.1017Fiscal: 93.9Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +1.5 pts (5Y)Budget: +1.5% YoY (+5.1% 5Y)
Grade A+(92.9/100)
#22
Town of Annona
CITY • Red River County • Pop: 185
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.10067Fiscal: 94Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.6 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.8% YoY (+21.7% 5Y)
Grade A+(92.9/100)
#23
Town of Thornton
CITY • Limestone County • Pop: 429
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.1092Fiscal: 93.4Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +0.8 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.8% YoY (+29.1% 5Y)
Grade A+(92.7/100)
#24
Town of Kurten
CITY • Brazos County • Pop: 395
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.076091Fiscal: 95.4Regulatory: 84.1Debt: 100▲ +0.4 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.5% YoY (+32.4% 5Y)
Grade A+(92.6/100)
#25
City of Ravenna
CITY • Fannin County • Pop: 196
FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.11663Fiscal: 93Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 100▲ +1.0 pts (5Y)Budget: +1.5% YoY (+27.2% 5Y)
Grade A+(92.5/100)
Highest Tax & Overreach Burden in Category
City of Goliad (Goliad County)• FY 27 Tax Rate: $1.498402• 5Y Freedom: ▼ -1.5 pts • 5Y Budget: +32.6%
Grade F (31.8/100)
City of Seagraves (Gaines County)• FY 27 Tax Rate: $1.149793• 5Y Freedom: ▼ -0.4 pts • 5Y Budget: +18.9%
Grade F (34.6/100)
City of Crandall (Kaufman County)• FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.7500• 5Y Freedom: ▼ -4.1 pts • 5Y Budget: +49.9%
Grade F (34.7/100)
City of Pilot Point (Denton County)• FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.604974• 5Y Freedom: ▼ -5.2 pts • 5Y Budget: +25.2%
Grade F (35/100)
City of Breckenridge (Stephens County)• FY 27 Tax Rate: $1.0710• 5Y Freedom: ▼ -0.6 pts • 5Y Budget: +23.5%
Grade F (35/100)