Palacios, Texas
Palacios sits on the shore of Tres Palacios Bay, an arm of Matagorda Bay, on the Gulf Coast of Matagorda County about 88 miles southwest of Houston. It is a working fishing town long tied to the shrimping industry, with a harbor that once held one of the larger commercial shrimp fleets on the Texas coast and a Vietnamese community that grew up around the trade. The bayfront town looks out over shallow coastal waters known for fishing, birding, and windswept flats along the central Texas shore.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 4,370
- Change from 2020 base
- -0.5%
- Land area
- 5.5 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 Palacios
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Palacios.
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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