Dayton, Texas
Dayton is a city in southwestern Liberty County, on U.S. Highway 90 about 31 miles northeast of Houston and just west of the Trinity River. Originally known as West Liberty, the town lies on the coastal prairie at the edge of the East Texas timber belt, and it became part of the Texas rice-growing region after irrigation systems were built around the turn of the twentieth century. Oil development in the 1920s added to its economy, and today it functions largely as an exurban community on Houston's northeastern edge.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 10,226
- Change from 2020 base
- +21.8%
- Land area
- 30.7 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Liberty 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 Liberty 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 Dayton
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Dayton.
County History
Liberty County traces its roots to a Spanish colonial settlement from the 1750s
The area that became Liberty County was settled by Spanish colonists in the 1750s and set up as a municipality in 1831 under Mexican rule.
Property Tax Basics
Two separate offices handle property taxes in Liberty County
Liberty County splits property tax duties between two offices. The Appraisal District sets values, and the Tax Office collects payments.
Refuge trail
Knobby Knees is the short swamp-forest walk north of Liberty
The Knobby Knees Trail gives Liberty County a one-mile walk through the cypress-and-hardwood side of the Trinity River country.
Nearby
Places near Dayton
Nearby counties
Local notes for nearby counties
Next steps for Dayton
Compare nearby places
Put Census population, land area, county footprints, and official office routes side by side.
Open comparison ->Estimate property tax
Model school and local rates, the homestead exemption, and the appraisal cap.
Open estimator ->Look up another place
Every Texas town and all 254 counties.
Find a place ->