Bastrop, Texas
Bastrop sits on the Colorado River in Bastrop County, about 27 miles southeast of Austin, at the edge of the Central Texas prairie where it meets the pine country. The town is best known for the Lost Pines, an isolated stand of loblolly pines that grows far to the west of the main East Texas pine belt and is preserved in Bastrop State Park. Its downtown along the river retains a long stretch of nineteenth-century commercial and residential buildings.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 13,383
- Change from 2020 base
- +38.2%
- Land area
- 9.8 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Bastrop 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 Bastrop 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.
County context
What to know around Bastrop
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Bastrop.
History
The Man Behind the Name: Baron de Bastrop
Bastrop County is named for Felipe Enrique Neri, a Dutch man who called himself Baron de Bastrop and helped Stephen F. Austin secure land grants from Mexico.
Property tax
Homestead Exemption Cuts Your School Tax Bill
If you own and live in your home in Bastrop County, you can apply for a homestead exemption that removes $140,000 from your school district taxable value.
History
CCC Craftsmen Built Bastrop State Park in the 1930s
Bastrop State Park's stone cabins, refectory, and trails were built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers starting in 1933. That work earned the park National Historic Landmark status in 1997.
Nearby
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