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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.

Cities & Municipalities (1,218)Counties (254)School Districts (1,252)Special Districts (3,443)Elected Officials (31,351)

Population:All Sizes Metro (>250k)Large (50k–250k)Mid-Sized (15k–50k)Small (2.5k–15k)Rural (<2.5k)

Grade Filter:All Grades Grade A+ (90–100)Grade A (80–89.9)Grade B (70–79.9)Grade C (60–69.9)Grade D (50–59.9)Grade F (<50)

Top Ranked Governments (Highest Liberty)

Showing 26–39 of 39 matching jurisdictions

Sort Metric:Overall Score Fiscal Score Regulatory Score Debt Score FY 27 Tax Rate Population

Highest Score First•Lowest Score / Heaviest Burden

28-Year Freedom & Budget Trend Benchmark (FY 2000 – FY 2027)

Cohort Average Across Visible Page (14 Ranked Entities)

5-Yr Freedom Trend (FY 22→27)

▲ 0.0 pts

27-Yr Liberty Shift (FY 00→27)

▼ -4.0 pts

Annual Budget Growth (YoY)

+4.0% YoY

5-Yr Budget Expansion

+39.5% (CAGR +4.2%/yr)

Brazoria County

COUNTY • Brazoria County • Pop: 346,295

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.304758Fiscal: 81.7Regulatory: 31.2Debt: 80.1▼ -1.0 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.8% YoY (+26.9% 5Y)

Grade C(63.6/100)

COUNTY • Calhoun County • Pop: 17,429

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.626555Fiscal: 62.4Regulatory: 63.9Debt: 64.8▼ -1.6 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.9% YoY (+48.4% 5Y)

Grade C(63.5/100)

COUNTY • Dallas County • Pop: 1,981,085

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.213776Fiscal: 87.2Regulatory: 20Debt: 85.8▼ -0.9 pts (5Y)Budget: +5.3% YoY (+21.5% 5Y)

Grade C(63.3/100)

COUNTY • Lubbock County • Pop: 270,293

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.322782Fiscal: 80.6Regulatory: 22.7Debt: 90.1▼ -0.1 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.3% YoY (+15.8% 5Y)

Grade C(62.7/100)

COUNTY • Potter County • Pop: 78,666

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.58442Fiscal: 64.9Regulatory: 46.1Debt: 82.2▼ -0.5 pts (5Y)Budget: +5.2% YoY (+25.3% 5Y)

Grade C(62.6/100)

COUNTY • Willacy County • Pop: 15,593

FY 27 Tax Rate: $1.26012Fiscal: 24.4Regulatory: 86.6Debt: 89.6▲ +2.2 pts (5Y)Budget: +4.0% YoY (+92.5% 5Y)

Grade C(62.5/100)

McLennan County

COUNTY • McLennan County • Pop: 213,362

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.319638Fiscal: 80.8Regulatory: 32.9Debt: 74.3▼ -1.2 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.8% YoY (+25.6% 5Y)

Grade C(62.4/100)

Jeff Davis County

COUNTY • Jeff Davis County • Pop: 2,106

FY 27 Tax Rate: $1.370753Fiscal: 17.8Regulatory: 85.4Debt: 100▲ +3.5 pts (5Y)Budget: +6.4% YoY (+165.8% 5Y)

Grade C(62/100)

COUNTY • Comal County • Pop: 200,335

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.305015Fiscal: 81.7Regulatory: 31.4Debt: 73▼ -1.4 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.0% YoY (+38.7% 5Y)

Grade C(61.9/100)

San Patricio County

COUNTY • San Patricio County • Pop: 61,005

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.358961Fiscal: 78.5Regulatory: 32.5Debt: 75.3▼ -1.1 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.5% YoY (+21.6% 5Y)

Grade C(61.6/100)

Galveston County

COUNTY • Galveston County • Pop: 333,343

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.320724Fiscal: 80.8Regulatory: 20.7Debt: 86.5▲ 0.0 pts (5Y)Budget: +2.5% YoY (+13.0% 5Y)

Grade C(61.2/100)

COUNTY • Hidalgo County • Pop: 615,325

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.5750Fiscal: 65.5Regulatory: 39.6Debt: 83.2▲ 0.0 pts (5Y)Budget: +4.1% YoY (+25.8% 5Y)

Grade C(60.9/100)

Jim Hogg County

COUNTY • Jim Hogg County • Pop: 4,610

FY 27 Tax Rate: $1.181439Fiscal: 29.1Regulatory: 75.6Debt: 90.9▲ +1.8 pts (5Y)Budget: +4.7% YoY (+30.3% 5Y)

Grade C(60.8/100)

Victoria County

COUNTY • Victoria County • Pop: 77,718

FY 27 Tax Rate: $0.3966Fiscal: 76.2Regulatory: 23.2Debt: 88▼ -0.1 pts (5Y)Budget: +3.8% YoY (+2.4% 5Y)

Grade C(60.6/100)