Cottonwood Shores, Texas
Cottonwood Shores is a small city in Burnet County, in the Highland Lakes country of the Central Texas Hill Country about 40 miles northwest of Austin. It lies near the chain of reservoirs formed along the Colorado River, in terrain marked by cedar-covered hills and lakeshore. The setting places it within one of the more popular recreation and lake areas of the Hill Country.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 1,701
- Change from 2020 base
- +21.2%
- Land area
- 1.1 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Burnet 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 Burnet 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 Cottonwood Shores
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Cottonwood Shores.
County History
Burnet County began with a namesake, a new government, and a short-lived colony
Created in 1852 and named for Texas's first president, the county organized the same year a Mormon settlement was building mills nearby.
Property Tax
Burnet CAD handles both appraisal and tax collection
BCAD appraises taxable property and collects local property taxes; unresolved value protests go to an independent review board.
Local Industry & History
Granite Mountain's owners gave Texas the stone for its Capitol
After Austin limestone discolored, donated Sunset Red Granite and a special railroad tied a Burnet County hill to the Capitol walls.
Nearby
Places near Cottonwood Shores
Nearby counties
Local notes for nearby counties
Next steps for Cottonwood Shores
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