Retiring in Temple, Texas

Retiring in Temple: overview

Temple is in Bell County, Texas, within the Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley region.

Temple is a Bell County city of 86,358 residents, according to the American Community Survey 2019-2023 five-year profile, and is part of the Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley region. It is best understood as a healthcare-anchored city rather than a retirement enclave. The survey estimates a median age of 33.8 and 13,059 residents aged 65 or older, or 15.1 percent of the population. What sets Temple apart for older households is the concentration of medical services: the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple campuses and the main location of VA Central Texas health care are both in the city.

The case for Temple is healthcare access, housing that costs less than in the suburban markets north and south of it, and a city that maintains a recreation center, an indoor pool, a golf course and a trail system. The case against is that it has no age-restricted ownership community profiled here, that its city tax rate is higher than that of a smaller village such as Salado, and that summers are hot and storm season requires planning. The sections below give the figures that public agencies publish and the year of each.

Cost of living in Temple

The 2019-2023 survey puts Temple's median household income at $64,945. It estimates a median value of $220,300 for owner-occupied homes, a median monthly owner cost of $1,593 for homes with a mortgage, and a median gross rent of $1,174. The city has 35,228 housing units, and the survey estimates that 52.9 percent of occupied units are owner-occupied. These are five-year estimates with margins of error and lag current prices. For comparison, the same survey gives a median home value of $395,400 for Salado, a small village in the same county.

Texas has no state personal income tax; see Texas retirement taxes. Property taxes, insurance and utilities are recurring costs that depend on the address, and property tax is described in the next section.

Property taxes in Temple

Property in Temple is appraised by the Tax Appraisal District of Bell County, which lists the City of Temple, Temple ISD, Bell County, Temple College and the Temple Health and Bioscience district among the entities it appraises for. Its offices include one at 205 E. Central Ave. in Temple (phone 254-771-1108), one at 411 E. Central Ave. in Belton and one at 301 Priest Dr. in Killeen.

For tax year 2025, the Texas Comptroller's published rate tables (versions dated January 28, 2026) show the City of Temple at 0.6999 per $100 of taxable value, made up of 0.3754 for maintenance and operations and 0.3245 for debt service, and Temple ISD at 1.1372 (0.8022 maintenance and operations and 0.335 debt service). The tables show Bell County at 0.3317, Temple Junior College District at 0.2017 and the Temple Health & Bioscience Economic Development District at 0.013947. As an illustration of the arithmetic only, the city, school district, county and college rates add to 2.3705 per $100, so a home with a taxable value of $200,000 would have a bill of about $4,741 before other districts and before exemptions. Debt service is nearly half of the city's rate, which is worth noting because debt service is committed to repay bonds. Confirm current rates with the appraisal district, since rates change each year.

Exemptions reduce taxable value; they are not cash payments. The Comptroller states that Tax Code Section 11.13(b) requires school districts to provide a $140,000 residence homestead exemption and that Section 11.13(c) requires an additional $60,000 exemption for homeowners age 65 or older or disabled. Taxing units may adopt local option exemptions. The Bell appraisal district publishes a table of the exemptions each entity grants, and the amounts for Temple's units should be confirmed with the district. Its exemption information says a homeowner may qualify for the age-65 exemption on the date they turn 65 and that the exemption comes with a ceiling that limits school taxes to the amount paid in the year of qualification; a county, city or college district may also limit taxes. It says the ceiling can increase if improvements are added, that a ceiling can be transferred to another home in some circumstances, that the exemption can extend to a surviving spouse who was 55 or older when the spouse died, and that eligible homeowners can defer paying taxes, with 5 percent annual interest accruing. It also explains that the assessed value of a homestead can rise by no more than 10 percent per year under Tax Code Section 23.23 until it reaches market value. See the guide to homestead and age-65 exemptions for the conditions, and property taxes and appraisal districts for how the pieces fit.

Insurance and risk in Temple

Severe weather is the main insurance question. The National Weather Service describes tornadoes as capable of destroying well-made structures and says they can occur at any time of day or night and at any time of the year. The Texas Department of Insurance advises homeowners to file hail claims promptly, to document damage with pictures and video, to get more than one repair estimate and to avoid contractors who offer to waive a deductible, which is illegal under state law. It also says some policies pay replacement cost on a roof while others pay actual cash value, and that homeowners should ask whether the wind and hail deductible differs. Premiums depend on the insurer, roof, claims history and address and are not quoted here.

FEMA says any place with a 1 percent or higher chance of flooding each year is considered high risk, that floods do not follow city limits or property lines, and that most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. Flood insurance is a separate policy and is required for homes in high-risk areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders. Check the flood map for any property near creeks or the Belton Lake area. Wildfire and drought conditions change with the season; Bell County's website posts burn-ban status.

Healthcare access in Temple

Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple is at 2401 S 31st St. Its website describes award-winning health and wellness services on a main hospital campus, a pediatric campus and a long-term care campus, together with a network of pharmacies and specialty clinics, and lists the hospital as open 24 hours. Its services list includes cancer care, emergency care, heart and vascular care, neuroscience, orthopedics, home care and hospice care, among others. Baylor Scott & White describes more than 120 years of care for patients across the region.

VA Central Texas health care lists its main location at 1901 Veterans Memorial Drive in Temple and a clinic at 4501 South General Bruce Drive, Suite 75 in Temple, and also lists locations in Waco and elsewhere. Hospital and physician choice depends on Medicare or private plan networks that change each year, so confirm network participation before choosing a home. See the guide to Texas healthcare geography and Medicare for the framework.

Climate in Temple

Temple has a hot, humid-subtropical climate. No normals station in Temple was available, so these figures use the National Centers for Environmental Information's 1991-2020 monthly normals for Waco Regional Airport as a regional reference for Central Texas, not as a Temple measurement. At that station the normal daily high averages 59.1 degrees Fahrenheit in January, 96.7 in July and 97.1 in August. The monthly counts of days at or above 90 degrees are 23.1 in June, 29.1 in July and 28.5 in August, and about 114.8 across a typical year by our arithmetic from the monthly values. Normal precipitation ranges from 1.82 inches in July to 4.44 inches in May. Drought and flash flooding both occur in this part of Texas, and the guide to Texas summer heat, humidity and climate by region compares it with other areas.

Lifestyle and recreation in Temple

The City of Temple's parks and recreation department operates a parks directory that includes the Lions Junction Family Water Park, Sammons Park Indoor Pool, a skate park, the Central Texas Bark Park, community gardens, the Bend of the River, Miller Springs and the Temple Trees program, along with the Sammons Golf Course. The city's Sammons Community Center page says that center is permanently closed and that its programs continue at the Wilson Park Recreation Center. That is a proposal, not an approved project.

The city's outdoor recreation page points to Belton Lake, the Miller Springs Nature Center and Mother Neff State Park, and its arts and culture menu lists the Cultural Activities Center, the Temple Children's Museum, the Temple Civic Theatre, the Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum and the Temple Symphony Orchestra. The Frank W. Mayborn Civic & Convention Center is a city venue for events and conventions.

Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport is operated by the city. Its page says it covers 922 acres, has two paved runways, 7,000 by 150 feet and 4,740 by 100 feet, and meets the business transportation needs of the region. Current airline options, if any, should be checked with the airport and airlines.

Housing in Temple

The housing stock is split between owners and renters: 52.9 percent of occupied units are owner-occupied by the 2019-2023 estimate, and 47.1 percent are renter-occupied. The median home value of $220,300 is well below Salado's but above Waco's $199,600. The city's own Sammons Community Center and recreation facilities are part of the daily-life picture for older residents, but no age-restricted ownership community in Temple is profiled here, and households seeking managed senior living should verify licensing, contract terms and fees with each provider.

For buyers the key decisions are neighborhood, school district, roof age, flood-map status and which taxing units apply. Bell County also has municipal utility districts, water control districts and emergency services districts that apply only inside their boundaries, so confirm a property's tax statement and seller's disclosures. See Salado for a smaller village in the same county with a higher older-resident share.

Comparisons with Temple

• Waco vs Temple: retirement compared

Places near Temple

• SaladoA small Bell County village on the I-35 corridor with one of the highest older-resident shares in the region, higher home values than nearby Temple, its own school district and cultural arts district, and hospital care in Temple.
• BeltonA Bell County city with a university, a county museum and expo center, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake, relatively high school-district tax rates, a surface-water supply drawn from the Brazos River Authority system and no hospital listed on the city's own pages.

Guides relevant to Temple

• Texas healthcare geography and Medicare network considerations
• Texas summer heat, humidity and climate by region