Texas cities in more than one county
93 Texas cities and towns sit in two or more counties. In 8 of them, most of the land and most of the people are in different counties.
Updated · Data: U.S. Census Bureau · By the CountyFinder editorial desk
Search "what county is Katy in" and you get one county name. Katy's residents actually live in three counties. This guide lists every Texas place with 1,000+ people that crosses a county line, explains why the land and the people can point to different counties, and shows how to get the county for your own street.
Key points
- 93 Texas places with 1,000+ people span two or more counties [1].
- Katy: 53.8% of residents in Harris County, 25.5% in Fort Bend County, 20.7% in Waller County [1].
- In 8 places the county with the most land is not the county with the most residents [1][2].
- The largest split city is Houston (2,300,419 people) [1].
- Your county depends on your street, not your city name: use your location for the exact answer.
- Census estimates have margins of error, larger for small places [4].
Why a city can be in several counties
Texas cities grow by annexation, and city limits are drawn by the city, not by the county. Over decades many cities have spread across county lines, especially around Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio. The counties did not move; the city simply grew into more than one of them. Census-designated places, the named communities without a city government, can also straddle county lines.
How we count: residents, not just land
Most lists use the share of a city's land in each county. That can mislead, because farmland or a lake can make up most of the area while the homes are elsewhere. We use the American Community Survey's place-within-county estimates, which count the people living in each county part of a place [1], and we show land shares from the Census TIGER/Line boundaries next to them [2].
Where the land and the people disagree
In 8 places, the county with the biggest share of land is not the county where most residents live [1][2]:
- Amarillo: most land in Potter County, most residents in Randall County (50.1%).
- Carrollton: most land in Dallas County, most residents in Denton County (61.5%).
- Schertz: most land in Bexar County, most residents in Guadalupe County (81.0%).
- Katy: most land in Waller County, most residents in Harris County (53.8%).
- Aransas Pass: most land in Nueces County, most residents in San Patricio County (87.0%).
- Briar: most land in Wise County, most residents in Tarrant County (47.0%).
- Stamford: most land in Haskell County, most residents in Jones County (99.4%).
- Poetry: most land in Hunt County, most residents in Kaufman County (53.0%).
For these places, a map that colors the city by its biggest land area gives the wrong county for most households.
The full list
Every Texas place with more than 1,000 people that spans two or more counties, largest first [1]. Places with their own page are linked.
| Place | Population | Residents by county |
|---|---|---|
| Houston | 2,300,419 | Harris County 97.9%, Fort Bend County 1.8%, Montgomery County 0.3% |
| Dallas | 1,299,553 | Dallas County 93.8%, Collin County 4.0%, Denton County 2.2% |
| Austin | 967,862 | Travis County 93.4%, Williamson County 6.5% |
| Fort Worth | 941,311 | Tarrant County 98.0%, Denton County 1.9%, Parker County 0.1% |
| Plano | 287,339 | Collin County 98.1%, Denton County 1.9% |
| Frisco | 210,238 | Collin County 59.4%, Denton County 40.6% |
| Amarillo | 200,945 | Randall County 50.1%, Potter County 49.9% |
| Grand Prairie | 198,564 | Dallas County 63.7%, Tarrant County 36.3% |
| Mesquite | 148,848 | Dallas County 99.6%, Kaufman County 0.4% |
| Carrollton | 132,741 | Denton County 61.5%, Dallas County 38.3%, Collin County 0.2% |
| Lewisville | 128,313 | Denton County 98.9%, Dallas County 1.1% |
| Abilene | 127,130 | Taylor County 95.0%, Jones County 5.0% |
| Pearland | 125,983 | Brazoria County 89.0%, Harris County 6.4%, Fort Bend County 4.6% |
| Round Rock | 124,288 | Williamson County 98.1%, Travis County 1.9% |
| Richardson | 118,269 | Dallas County 64.2%, Collin County 35.8% |
| The Woodlands | 116,916 | Montgomery County 86.2%, Harris County 13.8% |
| League City | 114,885 | Galveston County 97.8%, Harris County 2.2% |
| Odessa | 114,080 | Ector County 96.6%, Midland County 3.4% |
| New Braunfels | 98,700 | Comal County 77.1%, Guadalupe County 22.9% |
| Baytown | 84,538 | Harris County 94.3%, Chambers County 5.7% |
| Longview | 82,765 | Gregg County 96.4%, Harrison County 3.6% |
| Flower Mound | 77,886 | Denton County 98.5%, Tarrant County 1.5% |
| Cedar Park | 77,474 | Williamson County 90.7%, Travis County 9.3% |
| Mansfield | 75,398 | Tarrant County 92.0%, Johnson County 6.5%, Ellis County 1.5% |
| Missouri City | 75,234 | Fort Bend County 92.3%, Harris County 7.7% |
| Leander | 67,880 | Williamson County 85.3%, Travis County 14.7% |
| Rowlett | 64,139 | Dallas County 87.8%, Rockwall County 12.2% |
| Wylie | 58,991 | Collin County 95.1%, Dallas County 2.6%, Rockwall County 2.2% |
| Burleson | 50,981 | Johnson County 81.0%, Tarrant County 19.0% |
| Cedar Hill | 48,547 | Dallas County 99.0%, Ellis County 1.0% |
| Schertz | 43,128 | Guadalupe County 81.0%, Bexar County 13.4%, Comal County 5.5% |
| Coppell | 42,029 | Dallas County 98.1%, Denton County 1.9% |
| Friendswood | 40,827 | Galveston County 74.4%, Harris County 25.6% |
| Mission Bend | 37,280 | Fort Bend County 65.3%, Harris County 34.7% |
| Copperas Cove | 37,149 | Coryell County 98.2%, Lampasas County 1.8% |
| Prosper | 34,567 | Collin County 79.5%, Denton County 20.5% |
| Southlake | 31,044 | Tarrant County 97.9%, Denton County 2.1% |
| Sachse | 29,075 | Dallas County 63.2%, Collin County 36.8% |
| Celina | 27,141 | Collin County 91.8%, Denton County 8.2% |
| Fort Hood | 25,786 | Coryell County 53.2%, Bell County 46.8% |
| Katy | 23,900 | Harris County 53.8%, Fort Bend County 25.5%, Waller County 20.7% |
| Cinco Ranch | 19,139 | Fort Bend County 80.6%, Harris County 19.4% |
| Crowley | 19,007 | Tarrant County 99.4%, Johnson County 0.6% |
| Royse City | 17,357 | Rockwall County 67.4%, Collin County 16.9%, Hunt County 15.7% |
| Stafford | 17,279 | Fort Bend County 99.5%, Harris County 0.5% |
| Glenn Heights | 17,175 | Dallas County 70.6%, Ellis County 29.4% |
| Mineral Wells | 15,130 | Palo Pinto County 98.3%, Parker County 1.7% |
| Azle | 13,734 | Tarrant County 80.5%, Parker County 19.5% |
| Trophy Club | 13,454 | Denton County 96.1%, Tarrant County 3.9% |
| Kilgore | 13,444 | Gregg County 75.4%, Rusk County 24.6% |
| Selma | 11,302 | Bexar County 66.5%, Guadalupe County 32.3%, Comal County 1.1% |
| Elgin | 10,996 | Bastrop County 82.5%, Travis County 17.5% |
| Fair Oaks Ranch | 10,630 | Bexar County 63.7%, Kendall County 22.0%, Comal County 14.3% |
| Heath | 10,218 | Rockwall County 99.5%, Kaufman County 0.5% |
| Aransas Pass | 8,807 | San Patricio County 87.0%, Aransas County 13.0% |
| Cleveland | 8,137 | Liberty County 99.1%, Montgomery County 0.9% |
| Dalhart | 7,885 | Dallam County 67.7%, Hartley County 32.3% |
| Pecan Plantation | 6,539 | Hood County 98.1%, Johnson County 1.9% |
| Gladewater | 6,297 | Gregg County 60.3%, Upshur County 39.7% |
| Briar | 6,253 | Tarrant County 47.0%, Wise County 34.2%, Parker County 18.8% |
| Venus | 5,874 | Johnson County 90.6%, Ellis County 9.4% |
| Yoakum | 5,649 | Lavaca County 68.2%, DeWitt County 31.8% |
| Horseshoe Bay | 4,534 | Llano County 81.3%, Burnet County 18.7% |
| Mabank | 4,481 | Kaufman County 77.4%, Henderson County 22.6% |
| Ovilla | 4,239 | Ellis County 96.6%, Dallas County 3.4% |
| Bullard | 4,080 | Smith County 95.8%, Cherokee County 4.2% |
| Pecan Acres | 3,966 | Tarrant County 51.3%, Wise County 48.7% |
| San Diego | 3,795 | Duval County 77.7%, Jim Wells County 22.3% |
| Winnsboro | 3,386 | Wood County 80.5%, Franklin County 19.5% |
| Lake Cherokee | 3,358 | Rusk County 83.1%, Gregg County 16.9% |
| Reno | 3,156 | Parker County 98.9%, Tarrant County 1.1% |
| Abernathy | 3,108 | Hale County 74.9%, Lubbock County 25.1% |
| Waller | 3,062 | Waller County 76.7%, Harris County 23.3% |
| Bushland | 2,950 | Potter County 89.7%, Randall County 10.3% |
| Stamford | 2,902 | Jones County 99.4%, Haskell County 0.6% |
| Combine | 2,780 | Kaufman County 58.7%, Dallas County 41.3% |
| Overton | 2,633 | Rusk County 83.6%, Smith County 16.4% |
| Fritch | 2,544 | Hutchinson County 99.3%, Moore County 0.7% |
| Lytle | 2,484 | Atascosa County 78.8%, Medina County 18.8%, Bexar County 2.4% |
| Old River-Winfree | 2,308 | Chambers County 96.7%, Liberty County 3.3% |
| Uhland | 2,199 | Hays County 80.7%, Caldwell County 19.3% |
| Mart | 2,025 | McLennan County 99.0%, Limestone County 1.0% |
| Troup | 1,965 | Smith County 95.2%, Cherokee County 4.8% |
| Bartlett | 1,758 | Williamson County 57.2%, Bell County 42.8% |
| Mustang Ridge | 1,610 | Travis County 52.7%, Caldwell County 47.3% |
| Whitewright | 1,610 | Grayson County 99.5%, Fannin County 0.5% |
| Cresson | 1,556 | Hood County 47.4%, Parker County 46.4%, Johnson County 6.2% |
| Tatum | 1,528 | Rusk County 92.0%, Panola County 8.0% |
| Poetry | 1,352 | Kaufman County 53.0%, Hunt County 47.0% |
| Seven Points | 1,287 | Henderson County 98.8%, Kaufman County 1.2% |
| Frankston | 1,270 | Anderson County 98.9%, Henderson County 1.1% |
| Valley Mills | 1,183 | Bosque County 98.1%, McLennan County 1.9% |
| Niederwald | 1,089 | Hays County 68.6%, Caldwell County 31.4% |
Why it matters for you
Your county decides where you vote and who runs your elections, which appraisal district values your home for property tax [3], which courts and justice precincts serve your address and which county offices handle your records. Two neighbors in the same city, on opposite sides of a county line, can have different tax rates, different polling places and different county services.
How to get the county for your address
Use the county finder with your location at home: it checks your exact point against the county lines and warns you if you are within 500 m of one. You can also type the city on the city lookup to see its split. For an official answer, use the records listed in how to confirm your county in Texas.
Honest limits
The ACS figures are survey estimates averaged over 2019 to 2023, published with margins of error at the 90 percent confidence level [4]. For a small county part (a few dozen residents) the estimate can be off by a large share. Cities also annex land after the survey period, so a fast-growing city's split can change. Treat the percentages as a good picture of where people live, not a census count.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019-2023 5-year estimates, table B01003, place and place-within-county (summary level 155).
- U.S. Census Bureau, TIGER/Line Shapefiles 2024, county layer (counts and LSAD codes computed by CountyFinder).
- Texas Tax Code Sec. 6.01: "An appraisal district is established in each county."
- U.S. Census Bureau, Using American Community Survey margins of error (90 percent confidence level).
Method: CountyFinder figures are computed from the files above; see our methodology. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.
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