Retiring in Burnet, Texas

Retiring in Burnet: overview

Burnet is in Burnet County, Texas, within the Highland Lakes region.

Burnet is a city in Burnet County in the Highland Lakes region. The American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 profile counts 6,630 residents with a median age of 41.4, of whom 1,316, or 19.8 percent, are 65 or older. That is a lower older share than Horseshoe Bay or Lago Vista. Its strongest retirement argument is practical: a critical access hospital with an emergency department and intensive care unit is on Highway 281 South in Burnet, and housing costs less than at the lake resorts.

This page covers the city's tax numbers, hospital access, flood and fire context and housing profile from the appraisal district, the Texas Comptroller, the hospital system, CMS, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and the Census Bureau. Water and sewer rates, watering stages and city services come from the City of Burnet, so confirm them with the city before buying.

Cost of living in Burnet

The ACS profile for Burnet city estimates 2,533 housing units, with 8.3 percent vacant, and 74.7 percent of occupied units owner-occupied and 25.3 percent rented. The estimated median value of an owner-occupied home is $245,900, median selected monthly owner costs are $1,845 for homes with a mortgage and $780 without one, and median gross rent is $1,012. Estimated median household income is $88,000, and 15.2 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized population has no health insurance coverage. These are citywide, five-year estimates for all ages; prices have moved since the survey period.

The same economic profile shows 36.7 percent of households with Social Security income, averaging $23,139, and 28.4 percent with retirement income, averaging $33,358. Texas has no state personal income tax, so retirement income is not taxed at the state level (see Texas retirement taxes). Property tax, homeowners and flood insurance and utilities are the main local costs.

Property taxes in Burnet

Property in Burnet County is appraised by the Burnet Central Appraisal District, which publishes a table of adopted rates and exemptions for each taxing unit and a five-year truth-in-taxation summary. For tax year 2026 the table lists the City of Burnet at 0.6131 per $100 of taxable value, the same figure shown for each of the years 2022 through 2025. The truth-in-taxation summary breaks the 2026 city rate into 0.4962 for maintenance and operations and 0.1169 for debt, with a no-new-revenue rate of 0.6149 and a voter-approval rate of 0.6988. The Texas Comptroller's 2025 city file lists the same city total of 0.6131.

Other units add to the city's rate. For tax year 2026 the Burnet Central Appraisal District table lists Burnet County General at 0.3009 and Burnet County Special at 0.0532, Burnet Consolidated Independent School District at 0.8673, and the Central Texas Water Conservation District at 0.0057. The school district's 2026 rate splits into 0.6723 for maintenance and operations and 0.195 for debt. The Comptroller's 2025 county file lists a total county rate of 0.3323 and its school file lists Burnet CISD at 0.871. As arithmetic only, the city, county and school rates add to about 1.8345 per $100 for 2026 (0.6131 plus 0.3541 plus 0.8673), which would be about $5,504 on $300,000 of taxable value before any exemption and before any special district. The table also lists numbered Burnet County emergency services districts and utility districts, and an address may fall in one, so read the tax statement.

Exemption amounts are where this table needs care. The district's rate table prints each unit's exemption figures in a text layer that does not separate columns reliably, so which amount belongs to which exemption should be confirmed with the district for the tax year. The City of Burnet row carries a 3000 figure marked (Fz), and the school district row carries 140,000 and a figure marked (Fz). The Texas Comptroller states that Tax Code Section 11.13(b) requires school districts to provide a $140,000 residence homestead exemption and Section 11.13(c) an additional $60,000 for homeowners aged 65 or older or disabled, and that any taxing unit may adopt local-option exemptions, with a minimum of $3,000 for the age-65 option. A school-tax ceiling applies at 65, but a city or county ceiling applies only if that unit adopted one; see the guides on property taxes and appraisal districts and the homestead and age-65 exemption and school tax ceiling. Rates are adopted each budget year.

Insurance and risk in Burnet

Burnet's flood context is the Colorado River above Lake Buchanan. LCRA states that heavy rains in Brown, Coleman, San Saba and Mills counties and portions of Lampasas, Burnet and Llano counties reach Lake Buchanan in a relatively short time, and that Lake Buchanan is filled primarily from that runoff. LCRA's flood page showed Lake Buchanan about 96 percent full on October 8, 2026, with no gate operations expected at any Highland Lakes dam. LCRA states that FEMA and local officials, not LCRA, designate floodplains, so a property near a creek or lake should be checked against the FEMA flood map and the lot's elevation.

FEMA states that most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage, that flood insurance is a separate policy and that an NFIP policy typically has a 30-day waiting period. The Texas Department of Insurance advises filing a claim as soon as you can if hail or strong winds damage a home or car. No premium is quoted because premiums vary by insurer, roof, claims history and address.

Wildfire and burn bans matter in dry years. The Burnet County website carried a banner on October 8, 2026 stating that a burn ban was in effect for all of Burnet County. The Texas A&M Forest Service is the lead wildfire agency in Texas and publishes a risk assessment portal and homeowner guidance. Check the specific address rather than assuming the city's overall exposure.

Healthcare access in Burnet

Burnet has a hospital inside the city. Ascension Seton says Ascension Seton Highland Lakes, in Burnet, has a full-service hospital with 24/7 emergency care and a Level IV trauma center with an intensive care unit, and is a destination for cardiology, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, spine care and imaging. It also says the hospital earned a 5-star rating in the CMS 2026 Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) file for Burnet County lists the hospital on Highway 281 South as a critical access hospital with emergency services and an overall rating of 5.

The same CMS file lists Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Marble Falls, at 810 W Highway 71 in Marble Falls, as an acute care hospital with emergency services and an overall rating of 4; the hospital's own page describes its services. Together the two give Burnet County two emergency-capable hospitals. CMS classifies the Burnet hospital as a critical access hospital rather than an acute care hospital, so confirm which services, such as complex surgery, it offers; see the guide to Texas healthcare geography and Medicare for how to plan around that and the Austin page for the large-city alternatives. Ratings change, so verify on Medicare's Care Compare, and confirm that your doctors and plan are accepted.

Climate in Burnet

NOAA publishes 1991-2020 climate normals for the Austin Bergstrom Airport station, which is a regional reference and not a Burnet measurement. At that station the normal daily high is 62.5 degrees Fahrenheit in January, 96.1 in July and 97.0 in August, and the normal low is 37.7 in January. The monthly counts of days at or above 90 degrees are 24.4 in June, 28.4 in July and 29.4 in August. Monthly precipitation normals range from 1.89 inches in February to 5.00 inches in May.

Drought is the recurring condition in the Highland Lakes. The Texas Water Development Board's drought dashboard, for a map dated October 6, 2026, shows 82.00 percent of Texas in at least moderate drought and 13.49 percent in extreme drought or worse. The statewide guide to heat, humidity and climate by region gives more context.

Lifestyle and recreation in Burnet

Burnet is a smaller-town setting than the lake resorts. The lake towns nearby, including Marble Falls, Granite Shoals and Horseshoe Bay, offer more waterfront and golf, at higher cost. Burnet's case rests on hospital access and a lower purchase price rather than on waterfront.

Housing in Burnet

The ACS profile shows 77.3 percent of housing units as single-family detached homes, 1.4 percent attached, 3.7 percent mobile homes and 4.3 percent in buildings of 20 or more units. By age, 6.0 percent of units were built in 1939 or earlier, 15.0 percent from 2010 to 2019 and 1.5 percent in 2020 or later, so the stock includes some older homes in town and newer subdivisions. For a purchase near a creek, check the FEMA flood map, and for any home with an older roof ask the insurer about roof coverage.

Places near Burnet

• Marble FallsA Burnet County city on Lake Marble Falls with a full-service hospital inside the city, a younger and more renter-heavy population than the lake resort towns, and city water restrictions that have recently moved between stages.
• Granite ShoalsA Burnet County city of about 5,200 residents on the east shore of Lake LBJ that calls itself a residential, resort and retirement community, with nineteen city parks, an estimated median home value of $194,500, a high share of mobile homes and vacant units, and no hospital inside the city.

Guides relevant to Burnet

• Texas healthcare geography and Medicare network considerations
• Texas homestead exemption, the age-65 exemption and the school tax ceiling
• Texas property taxes and appraisal districts: how to compare actual total tax bills