Retiring in Horseshoe Bay, Texas

Retiring in Horseshoe Bay: overview

Horseshoe Bay is in Llano and Burnet County, Texas, within the Highland Lakes region.

Horseshoe Bay is a city on Lake LBJ whose boundaries cross the line between Llano County and Burnet County, a fact that shapes how its property is appraised and taxed. The American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 profile estimates a population of 4,534 and a median age of 64.6 years; 2,174 residents are 65 or older, or 47.9 percent of the city. Those are survey estimates with margins of error, but by that measure Horseshoe Bay is the most retirement-oriented town in Highland Lakes.

The case for Horseshoe Bay is a golf-and-lake lifestyle in a community where nearly half of residents are 65 or older, a city nature park and trail, and a lake that LCRA operates within a narrow band. The case against is cost, a large share of homes that sit empty part of the year, taxes that depend on which county a lot is in, restrictions on water use in dry years, and the absence of a hospital inside the city. The sections below set out what public records show, with the year of each figure.

Cost of living in Horseshoe Bay

The ACS profile for Horseshoe Bay city estimates 3,801 housing units, of which 83.8 percent of occupied units are owner-occupied and 16.2 percent rented. The estimated median value of an owner-occupied home is $489,100, the median monthly owner cost for a home with a mortgage is $2,234, and the median gross rent is $1,575 a month. The estimated median household income is $105,024. These are survey medians across 2019 to 2023; the city's resort and golf-course lots span a much wider range, and prices have moved since.

The same profile shows a vacancy rate of 39.5 percent of housing units. A figure that high means a large share of the housing stock is not occupied year-round by a household that answered the survey, so a street can feel quiet in winter or summer depending on seasonal use. Ask a prospective neighbor or the property owners' association how many homes are full-time residences, because services, social life and neighborhood watch all depend on it.

Texas has no state personal income tax, so retirement income is not taxed at the state level (see Texas retirement taxes). Property tax, insurance, club dues and utilities are the costs that matter more in a resort town. The city's sales and use tax rate is 8.25 percent, with 6.25 percent to the State of Texas and 2.00 percent to the city, of which 1.25 percent supports general operations, 0.25 percent street maintenance and 0.50 percent a reduction in the local property tax rate. The city collects no local hotel occupancy tax, according to its tax page.

Property taxes in Horseshoe Bay

Horseshoe Bay's city limits fall in both counties, so the appraisal district that values a property depends on which county the lot is in. The City of Horseshoe Bay's tax page says that for owners in Llano County the city contracts with the Llano County Tax Assessor-Collector and the Llano Central Appraisal District determines value, and for owners in Burnet County the city contracts with the Burnet County Tax Assessor-Collector and the Burnet Central Appraisal District. Burnet CAD publishes its adopted rates each year.

The city's rate has been stable. The Burnet Central Appraisal District's Truth in Taxation five-year summary lists the City of Horseshoe Bay's adopted rate as $0.26775 per $100 of value for tax years 2026, 2025 and 2024, $0.2678 for 2023 and $0.27000 for 2022. The city's own notice of its 2026 rate hearing, scheduled for September 15, proposes $0.26775, against a no-new-revenue rate of $0.25777 and a voter-approval rate of $0.27106, and compares the average residence homestead: taxable value of $708,449 in 2025 against $736,070 in 2026, and city tax on that homestead of $1,896.87 against $1,970.83, an increase of 3.90 percent driven by value, not the rate. The city's tax page also says a full-time resident may qualify for a 20 percent homestead exemption on the city tax bill.

Other taxing units that overlap a Horseshoe Bay address vary. Burnet CAD's 2026 table lists Burnet County General at 0.3009 and Burnet County Special at 0.0532, Burnet Consolidated ISD at 0.8673 and Marble Falls ISD at 0.8805. Llano County's own notice proposes a total rate of $0.25953 for 2026. Which school district serves a particular lot depends on its location, so ask the appraisal district for the full list of units on the property. Rates change every budget year; confirm the current year's adopted figures before estimating a bill. As an illustration of the arithmetic only, a taxable value of $736,070 at the city's 2026 proposed rate of 0.26775 per $100 produces about $1,970.83 in city tax, which matches the average-homestead figure in the city's notice, and each other unit adds its own amount.

Exemptions reduce taxable value; they are not cash payments. 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 age 65 or older or disabled, and that taxing units may adopt local option exemptions of up to 20 percent of appraised value, with a minimum of $5,000. The school-tax ceiling at 65 is conditional and does not cap every tax on the property; the guide to homestead and age-65 exemptions and the guide to property taxes and appraisal districts explain how it works.

Some lots carry a separate assessment. The city's tax page says that lots in Summit Rock are subject to a capital-improvement assessment in lieu of impact fees, of $42,000 per lot ($30,000 if the lot was sold before January 1, 2013), payable at purchase or in installments of $2,800 for fifteen years that are added to the yearly tax bill, and it lists a separate Escondido assessment with an annual update ordinance. Buyers should ask whether a lot is inside either district and obtain the current assessment schedule from the city.

Insurance and risk in Horseshoe Bay

Lake LBJ is a pass-through lake, not a flood-storage reservoir. LCRA states that Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls and Austin lakes have no capacity to store floodwaters, typically operate within about a foot, and can rise well above normal levels during floods; levels can vary along the length of each lake. Wirtz Dam creates Lake LBJ. Waterfront buyers should check the FEMA flood map and the lot's elevation above the lake, and remember that FEMA and local officials, not LCRA, designate floodplains.

FEMA states that most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage, that flood insurance is a separate policy, and that homes in high-risk flood areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required to carry it. The Texas Department of Insurance advises homeowners with wind and hail coverage to file claims promptly, photograph and list damage, prevent further damage and keep receipts. No premium is quoted because premiums vary with the insurer, roof, claims history and address.

Wildfire and burn bans matter in dry years. The Texas A&M Forest Service is the lead agency for wildfire in Texas and publishes guidance for assessing a home's risk and creating an evacuation plan. The city's home page also lists a Horseshoe Bay Fire Department fundraiser for a fire rescue boat.

Healthcare access in Horseshoe Bay

There is no hospital inside Horseshoe Bay. The closest facility named in this guide is Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Marble Falls at 810 W. Highway 71 in Marble Falls, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists as an acute care hospital with emergency services and an overall rating of 4 as of the dataset date. Baylor Scott & White's page for the hospital says it is open 24 hours and lists cancer care, heart and vascular care, orthopedics, labor and delivery, imaging, surgical services and wound care among its services; the cancer program is described as accredited by the Commission on Cancer.

The CMS file for Burnet County also lists Ascension Seton Highland Lakes, a critical access hospital in Burnet with emergency services and an overall rating of 5. Distances and drive times from a Horseshoe Bay address to either hospital depend on the route and traffic, so test the trip. Anyone with a chronic condition should check local clinic and pharmacy options and confirm that their Medicare plan network includes the specific doctors they use.

Climate in Horseshoe Bay

Drought is the recurring concern. The City of Horseshoe Bay's page records that effective July 16, 2025 the city council implemented the LCRA Stage 1 watering schedule for all residents and businesses, limiting automated irrigation to two days a week and prohibiting watering on Mondays; hand-held hose watering with a positive shut-off is allowed anytime.

The city's home page lists Horseshoe Bay as a Dark Sky Community and reports that the city's utilities department won the best-tasting water in Texas for 2026.

Lifestyle and recreation in Horseshoe Bay

The City of Horseshoe Bay's Things to Do page describes a community-run calendar with arts and education groups, a nature park and a hiking trail along Horseshoe Creek, and club activities built around the Horseshoe Bay Resort. It lists a Hill Country Golfers group of 150 or more members, a women's 18-hole golf association, lessons for new golfers and pickleball, and notes that participation in the golf and some other clubs requires a Horseshoe Bay Resort Club membership, with the Slick Rock Golf Course pro shop as the contact. Golf in this market is therefore tied to resort membership, not just a public tee time; ask for current membership terms and dues before buying.

The city's calendar lists council meetings, a ribbon cutting for a memorial park mausoleum and gardens, and a transportation plan and a comprehensive plan to 2047 on which the city invites resident comment. It also publishes a short-term rental hotline, so those considering a home as a rental should check the city's short-term rental application rules.

Housing in Horseshoe Bay

The ACS profile counts 3,801 housing units and a median owner-occupied value of $489,100. The city's tax page identifies at least two planned districts with assessments, Summit Rock and Escondido. The city also publishes a map of Horseshoe Bay communities and a research document on the origins of its ranch subdivisions.

Developer communities such as Tuscan Village are not profiled here; if a community is marketed as age-restricted, ask for the recorded declaration, not marketing material, and for the club, association and district charges in writing. See the guide on property taxes and appraisal districts for how to check a property's tax units.

Lake LBJ, water supply and watering rules

Wirtz Dam creates Lake LBJ, and LCRA states that the lake was named in 1965 for President Lyndon B. Johnson. LCRA states that rain in the Llano River watershed can send floodwaters into Lake LBJ, that water from Lake Buchanan also flows through it, and that it passes downstream to Lake Marble Falls and then Lake Travis. LCRA also states that releases from Lake Buchanan are made when needed to supply water to customers along lakes Inks, LBJ and Marble Falls, and that the four pass-through lakes typically operate within about a foot while Buchanan and Travis are designed to fluctuate.

On October 8, 2026, LCRA reported that lakes Buchanan and Travis together held about 1,908,161 acre-feet, or 96 percent. On July 1, 2026, the combined storage was 1,834,024 acre-feet, about 92 percent, and the water-supply condition under LCRA's 2020 Water Management Plan was Normal. In a prolonged drought, LCRA's plan sets lower conditions, and a city with its own water system, like Horseshoe Bay, adopts watering stages on its own schedule. The city's utility, not LCRA, decides local restrictions for city customers, so confirm the current stage before assuming a lawn or pool can be maintained.

Retirement communities in and near Horseshoe Bay

• Tuscan Village Horseshoe BayA 68-acre community in Horseshoe Bay at Summit Rock, marketed as 55+ active living, with villas, townhomes and golf estates, the private Club Salus and resort memberships at Horseshoe Bay Resort.

Comparisons with Horseshoe Bay

• Horseshoe Bay vs Lakeway: retirement compared

Places near Horseshoe Bay

• LlanoA small Llano County seat on the Llano River, upstream of Lake LBJ, with a locally governed critical access hospital in town, a high older-adult share, and home values far below the lake-front markets downstream.
• 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 Horseshoe Bay

• Golf and Texas retirement markets: what is included, what costs extra and who can play
• Texas healthcare geography and Medicare network considerations
• Texas lake retirement markets: water levels, flood and drought exposure, and private versus public lakes