Bandera, Texas
The seat of Bandera County, Bandera sits on the Medina River in the western Hill Country about 40 miles northwest of San Antonio, in rugged ranching and dude-ranch country. It is widely known as the "Cowboy Capital of the World," a title tied to its history as a staging point for cattle drives on the Great Western Trail in the late 19th century. The town was settled in the 1850s, with Polish immigrants from Silesia among its early founders, and the surrounding hills remain working ranch land.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 891
- Change from 2020 base
- +8.7%
- Land area
- 1.1 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Bandera County
Place type, county footprint, and land area use the Census Bureau's January 1, 2025 geography. Population uses Vintage 2025 estimates through July 1, 2025; change compares that estimate with the April 1, 2020 estimates base. Geography file | Population file
Property here runs through the appraisal district and tax office for Bandera County. The homestead exemption, appraisal cap, protests, and any MUD, PID, or special districts all sit at the parcel level.
Official routes
Use the office for the parcel address; a mailing city is not always the governing city.
Local character
Start with Bandera itself
A few landmarks, stories, and everyday places that help give Bandera its shape.
River park
Bandera City Park Turns Downtown Toward the Medina River
A downtown Bandera errand can turn into river time fast because City Park has fishing, swimming, picnic spots, and BBQ pits.
Courthouse
Bandera's Courthouse Gives Main Street Its Limestone Anchor
The 1890-91 Bandera County Courthouse at 504 Main Street is a locally quarried limestone building that still anchors the county seat.
Museum
Frontier Times Museum Grew From One Printer's Collection
J. Marvin Hunter's Frontier Times magazine and growing relic collection led to a Bandera museum that opened in 1933.
Then zoom out to Bandera County
History
Bandera County grew from a sawmill settlement into a cattle trail hub
Bandera County was carved from Bexar County in 1856. It was built first on cypress lumber, then on cattle drives. Polish Catholic immigrants were among its earliest settlers.
Property tax
How property taxes and homestead exemptions work in Bandera County
Bandera County has a single appraisal district (Bandera CAD) that values property, and a separate tax office that collects taxes, so you deal with different offices for different issues.
State natural area
Lost Maples Puts Bandera County Into the Sabinal Canyon
Lost Maples is not just a fall-leaf stop; it is Bandera County's high canyon country on the upper Sabinal River.
Nearby
Places near Bandera
Nearby counties
Local notes for nearby counties
Next steps for Bandera
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