Shaped by the railroad since 1881, Temple is now one of the main medical hubs in Central Texas, anchored by Baylor Scott and White Medical Center and a large veterans hospital. It is a working, practical city of about 100,000 rather than a tourist stop, and it has been growing fast, with about 20 percent more people than in 2020.
For a visit, downtown around the old Santa Fe Plaza is the main draw, with breweries, restaurants and a summer music series. The railroad museum fits the town's story, and Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Lake are close for a day outside. Oktoberfest and the Christmas events on the plaza are popular. Living costs are a bit under the national average, and homes are reasonably priced with new construction all over the southwest side. Austin is about 65 miles south, and Waco is 35 miles north. The tradeoffs are summer heat above 100 degrees, spring tornado and hail risk, and elevated property crime along the I-35 frontage roads.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
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- Known as
- Wheel of Bell County; Railroad and medical hub of Central Texas; Home of Baylor Scott and White Medical Center
- Founded
- 1881 founded (railroad town created by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, named for engineer Bernard Moore Temple); 1882 incorporated
- Languages
- English; Spanish; Czech heritage communities nearby; small Vietnamese and Korean communities
- Airports
- Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport (TPL), about 3 miles from downtown (general aviation only, no scheduled airline service); Killeen-Fort Hood Regional (GRK), about 25 miles west; Waco Regional (ACT), about 35 miles north; Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS), about 65 miles south
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20%; bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-5 per bag; food delivery 15-20%; counter service optional
About this data
Population 98,412 (July 1, 2025) and land area 71.17 sq mi are from Census QuickFacts; median value and rent from Census ACS 2020-2024. Metro 511,497 (2025) is the FRED Census estimate for the Killeen-Temple MSA, shared with Killeen. Nicknames are lower confidence. Elevation, coordinates, founding, event months, hotel ranges, tipping, cost-of-living index, airport distances, crime figures and 1BR rent are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified in this pass (lower confidence). Official URLs found via search but not load-tested.
