Lockhart, Texas
Lockhart is the seat of Caldwell County, situated on the blackland prairie of Central Texas about 27 miles south of Austin and 15 miles east of San Marcos. The town is best known for its smoked-meat tradition and has been recognized by the Texas Legislature as the Barbecue Capital of Texas, drawing visitors to its long-established meat-market barbecue joints around the courthouse square. Its historic downtown and surviving 19th-century architecture have also made it a frequent filming location.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 18,159
- Change from 2020 base
- +26.2%
- Land area
- 16.3 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Caldwell 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 Caldwell 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 Lockhart
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Lockhart.
Oil History
Luling still wears its 1922 oil story in plain sight
Edgar B. Davis's 1922 discovery turned Luling into an oil boomtown, and decorated working pump jacks still carry that history through town.
Property Tax Basics
Two different offices handle your property taxes
Caldwell CAD appraises taxable property and collects local property taxes; the county Tax Assessor-Collector handles vehicles instead.
County Origins
Caldwell County carries Mathew Caldwell's name
Caldwell County was organized in 1848 and named for Mathew Caldwell, a Texas Ranger and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
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