Bay City, Texas
Bay City is a city in Matagorda County on the coastal plain of the Gulf Coast, about 64 miles southwest of Houston, set on Bay Prairie between the bottomlands of the Colorado River and Caney Creek. It stands at the center of a long-established rice-growing region, and the South Texas Project nuclear generating station, one of the largest power plants in the state, lies southwest of town near the Colorado River.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 17,488
- Change from 2020 base
- -3.2%
- Land area
- 9.3 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Matagorda 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 Matagorda 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 Bay City
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Bay City.
Local History
Bay City replaced an older town as the county seat in 1894
Bay City was founded in 1894 on the Bay Prairie between the Colorado River and Caney Creek, then quickly grew into a railroad and rice-farming hub.
Property Tax Basics
Two separate offices handle property taxes here
Matagorda County splits property taxes between two Bay City offices: the appraisal district sets values, and the tax assessor-collector takes the money.
County History
Matagorda County was one of Texas's first counties
Organized in 1836, Matagorda County is among the original 23 counties created when Texas became a republic.
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Local notes for nearby counties
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