Signature · 5.0% SNAP (10th pct in TX)
Hays County, TX
Hays County lands in the lower national band on low-access (8.3%); supermarket distance is less binding than in the upper band, though local tracts can still diverge.
- 8.3%
- low-access pop.
- 1
- food-desert tracts
- 5.0%
- on SNAP
- 269K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Hays County, TX
LA-MODERATE · BELOW-NATIONAL · LILA-SINGLE · SNAP-LIGHT · VEH-OK · DENSITY-THIN
- LA-MODERATE 8.3% low-access
- BELOW-NATIONAL -13.8 pts vs US
- LILA-SINGLE 1 food-desert tract
- SNAP-LIGHT 5.0% SNAP
- VEH-OK 3.9% no vehicle
- DENSITY-THIN 4% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Ward County (+ 0.0 pts)
Lower-band low-access
Hays County lands in the lower national band (8.3%, #2,618 of 3,079); local tracts can still diverge from the county mean.
- #2,618
- national by low-access %
- #231
- in TX
- 4
- low-access tracts
- 4K
- food-desert residents
Lower-band county means still leave tract outliers on the table below.
Signature read: 5.0% SNAP (10th pct in TX) (-7.1 pts vs U.S. SNAP) .
How Hays County compares nationally
Hays County lands in the middle of the national distribution: a 8.3% low-access share that beats 16% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data (rank #2,623).
Hays County's lower-band USDA tier split
25 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 1 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Hays County has 8 urban and 17 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Hays County vs nearby low low-access peers
Poles + nearest peers in Texas, not a full county-board reprint
- Throckmorton
Throckmorton 100%
100 % low-access
- Kendall 8.6
Kendall 8.6%
8.6 % low-access
- Hays 8.3
Hays 8.3%
8.3 % low-access
- Ward 8.3
Ward 8.3%
8.3 % low-access
- Marion 7.9
Marion 7.9%
7.9 % low-access
- Culberson 7.8
Culberson 7.8%
7.8 % low-access
- Rains 0
Rains 0%
0 % low-access
FARA 2019 · lower low-access
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 25 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 157,107 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 4 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 1 |
| Low-Access Population | 13,082 |
| Low-Access Share | 8.3%well below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 3,848 |
ACS 2024 · lower SNAP band
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 268,638 |
| Median Household Income | $89,097 |
| Poverty Rate | 12.1%below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 5,032 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 5.0%well below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 3.9%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 3.1% |
Thick SNAP store book in Hays County
Hays County has 137 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 7 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 71 locations (52% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 71
- 7-eleven 35881j, kyle
- 7-eleven 40579h, san marcos
- 7-eleven 41670h, san marcos
- 7-eleven convenience store 42153a, san marcos
- 7-eleven convenince store 40560a, san marcos
- 7-eleven store 40586h, buda
- 7-eleven convenience store 38575a, austin
- 7-eleven convenience store 38610a, san marcos
- 7-eleven convenience store 38621a, dripping springs
- 7-eleven convenience store 40582a, kyle
- 7-eleven convenience store 40584a, kyle
- 7-eleven convenience store 41708a, buda
- african eats & market, san marcos
- bob cat express, san marcos
- bread basket, kyle
- bread basket, kyle
- bread basket, kyle
- circle k 2704692, dripping springs
- corner store 2741318, dripping springs
- fast break 7, san marcos
- fast break 8, san marcos
- food & fuel express, san marcos
- herberts grocery, san marcos
- kwik chek 57, wimberley
- kyle food mart, kyle
- murphy express 8833, san marcos
- murphy usa 7395, buda
- neu hub #4, kyle
- poco loco market 4, buda
- poco loco market 5, kyle
- pac n go 901, san marcos
- pac n go 904, san marcos
- park place foods, kyle
- pilot travel center 1054, mustang ridge
- poco loco, kyle
- q-way mart, kyle
- quiktrip 4151, buda
- quiktrip 4154, kyle
- rainbow food mart, san marcos
- rancho food mart, kyle
- refuel 1328, san marcos
- refuel 1330, san marcos
- refuel 1332, buda
- refuel 1333, san marcos
- refuel 1334, san marcos
- refuel 352, san marcos
- rise n stop #1, buda
- riverside mart enterprises inc, san marcos
- stripes 40568h, wimberley
- stripes 40569h, san marcos
- stripes 40576h, san marcos
- stripes 40577h, san marcos
- stripes 40578h, san marcos
- stripes 40580h, san marcos
- stripes 40581h, san marcos
- stripes 40583h, kyle
- stripes 40585h, kyle
- stripes 40587h, kyle
- stripes 40590h, buda
- shell food mart, dripping springs
- snax max 2, san marcos
- snax max 4, buda
- speed in food store, kyle
- speedy stop 105, buda
- stripes no. 5203 5203, san marcos
- sunfield market, buda
- sunny foods, san marcos
- sunrise market, san marcos
- super stop, san marcos
- txb 68, kyle
- tex best travel center 503, kyle
Combination Grocery/Other · 36
- cvs 10535, buda
- cvs pharmacy inc 7422, san marcos
- cvs pharmacy 10669, austin
- cvs pharmacy 8925, bee cave
- cvs pharmacy cvs07607, austin
- cvs/ pharmacy inc 3505, kyle
- cvs/ pharmacy inc 5776, san marcos
- dollar general 10491, buda
- dollar general 10493, kyle
- dollar general 14603, san marcos
- dollar general 3951, san marcos
- dollar general 7191, san marcos
- dollar general 12667, creedmore
- dollar general 13481, kyle
- dollar general 14467, kyle
- dollar general 17682, buda
- dollar general 19871, buda
- dollar general 22772, buda
- dollar general 30133, niederwald
- dollar general 31117, kyle
- dollar general 5728, san marcos
- dollar general 6585, wimberley
- dollar general 6686, kyle
- dollar general 6919, dripping springs
- dollar tree 1172, san marcos
- dollar tree 4228, kyle
- dollar tree 7427, san marcos
- dollar tree 8018, kyle
- family dollar 12209, kyle
- family dollar 12288, kyle
- walgreens 12029, dripping springs
- walgreens 12521, san marcos
- walgreens 15156, kyle
- walgreens 04550, san marcos
- walgreens 10841, buda
- walgreens 12517, kyle
Supermarket · 17
- heb 014, kyle
- heb 243, san marcos
- heb 455, san marcos
- heb 477, buda
- heb food store 611, dripping springs
- heb food store 708, wimberley
- heb food store 780, austin
- los jefe's restaurant supply and supermarket 1, kyle
- mills street market, san marcos
- poco loco market, buda
- poco loco supermercado 20, san marcos
- poco loco supermercado 21, kyle
- poco loco supermercado 3, kyle
- poco loco supermercado 4, buda
- poco loco supermercado 5, uhland
- quinta caporales meat market, san marcos
- sprouts farmers market 189, kyle
Super Store · 9
- brookshire brothers 0067, wimberley
- costco wholesale 1629, kyle
- sam's club 4958, san marcos
- target store 2438, san marcos
- target store 2725, kyle
- target store t3335, san marcos
- walmart 404, san marcos
- walmart supercenter 4219, buda
- walmart supercenter 4130, kyle
Medium Grocery Store · 2
- bon ton market, uhland
- lone star family market 10, san marcos
Bakery Specialty · 1
- papa murphy's pizza tx042, kyle
Large Grocery Store · 1
- b b market, san marcos
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Texas
One of 253 counties in Texas, 6 are shown here.
Compare Hays County vs Anderson County → · All Texas counties →
Counties near Hays County's lower low-access or SNAP band
SNAP-led peer set first for Hays County (5.0%), with low-access neighbours deduped against it, both outside Texas.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside TX (8.3% here).
- Cabell County, WV · 8.3% low-access
- Cabell County, WV · 8.3% low-access
- Green Lake County, WI · 8.3% low-access
- Green Lake County, WI · 8.3% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside TX (5.0% here).
- Codington County, SD · 5.0% SNAP
- Codington County, SD · 5.0% SNAP
- Ozaukee County, WI · 5.0% SNAP
- Ozaukee County, WI · 5.0% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Hays County inside a lower low-access state context
Hays County sits inside Texas (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Hays County, TX are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 48209. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.