Hays County, Texas
County seat: San Marcos · Population 304,390 (2025) · 677 sq mi
Hays County is the 19th most populous of Texas's 254 counties, with 304,390 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is San Marcos. It is part of the Capital region, one of the 12 Texas Comptroller economic regions. The map shows its 13 cities and towns and the 5 neighboring counties.
Hays County facts
- County seat
- San Marcos
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 304,390 +26.3% since 2020
- Land area
- 677 sq mi 220th largest of 254
- Water area
- 2 sq mi
- Population density
- 450 per sq mi
- Established
- 1848
- Named after
- John Coffee Hays Texas ranger and politician
- Largest city
- San Marcos 77,830 in the county
- Median household income
- $89,097
- Cities and towns
- 13 plus 2 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 14
- Time zone
- Central
- FIPS code
- 48209
Cities and towns in Hays County
Hays County has 13 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Hays County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Marcos (county seat) | City | 77,830 | Caldwell and Guadalupe counties |
| Kyle | City | 69,917 | |
| Buda | City | 16,166 | |
| Dripping Springs | City | 11,167 | |
| Wimberley | City | 2,909 | |
| Woodcreek | City | 1,876 | |
| Uhland | City | 1,273 | Caldwell County |
| Niederwald | City | 912 | Caldwell County |
| Austin | City | 904 | Bastrop, Travis and Williamson counties |
| Mountain City | City | 675 | |
| Bear Creek | Village | 476 | |
| Hays | City | 271 | |
| Creedmoor | City | 4 | Travis County |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Belterra | 6,978 | |
| Driftwood | 28 |
ZIP codes in Hays County
14 ZIP codes reach into Hays County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 78130 also Guadalupe and Comal counties
- 78610 also Travis and Caldwell counties
- 78619
- 78620 also Travis and Blanco counties
- 78623 also Comal County
- 78640 also Caldwell and Travis counties
- 78652 also Travis County
- 78656 also Caldwell County
- 78663 also Blanco, Travis and Burnet counties
- 78666 also Guadalupe, Comal and Caldwell counties
- 78676 also Blanco and Comal counties
- 78736 also Travis County
- 78737 also Travis County
- 78739 also Travis County
Population of Hays County, 2020–2025
Hays County grew by 63,326 people (+26.3%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 8,464 more births than deaths and a net gain of 54,717 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 243,984 |
| 2021 | 256,100 |
| 2022 | 269,554 |
| 2023 | 281,883 |
| 2024 | 294,339 |
| 2025 | 304,390 |
Neighboring counties
- Travis County northeast · 1,389,670 people
- Comal County southwest · 209,166 people
- Blanco County northwest · 13,581 people
- Caldwell County southeast · 55,150 people
- Guadalupe County south · 201,111 people
Printable Hays County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (155 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (99 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
Back to the Texas county map with all 254 counties. Found an error? Tell us.