Matador, Texas
Set on the rolling High Plains of the Texas Panhandle, Matador is a small town in Motley County about 68 miles northeast of Lubbock. The land here breaks toward the caprock canyons and short-grass ranch country of the eastern Panhandle. The town takes its name from the historic Matador Ranch, one of the large cattle operations that shaped this part of Texas.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- Town
- July 2025 population
- 555
- Change from 2020 base
- -1.8%
- Land area
- 1.3 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Motley 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 Motley 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 Matador
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Matador.
Ranch History
The Matador Ranch Shaped This County for Decades
The Matador Land and Cattle Company, once owned by Scottish investors, controlled a vast stretch of Motley County land from the 1880s until 1951.
Property Tax
Who Handles Property Tax in Motley County
Motley County has its own appraisal district and a separate tax assessor-collector office, and knowing which one to call saves time.
Place Identity
Motley County: Below the Caprock, Thin Soil, Big Sky
Motley County sits just below the Caprock escarpment in northwest Texas, and its rolling plains, dry climate, and ranching roots define life here today.
Nearby
Places near Matador
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Local notes for nearby counties
Next steps for Matador
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