Harker Heights, TX — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Texas·Harker Heights

Bell County · Killeen-Temple · population 35,263

First-time buyers
Harker Heights, TX
Image: Wikipedia · Harker Heights, Texas
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
60
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Harker Heights stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $299,517
1-year +1.0%
5-yr CAGR +4.3%
vs 5-yr peak -4.9%
Population +1.6%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-08$300k$171k$223k$275k$328k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
98/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,544/mo$1,161$1,402$1,643202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent123125100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 16.2
Lean buy

At a 16.2 price-to-rent ratio, Harker Heights is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
55 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
61 · w22%
Distance from peak
60 · w18%
Population growth
74 · w16%
Rent YoY
48 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
61 · w10%
Long thesis

Harker Heights has held up across the cycle: home values at $299,517 with +4.3% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Harker Heights's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Harker Heights

Harker Heights is a city in Bell County, Texas, with an estimated population of 35,263. It anchors the Killeen-Temple metro area. The population grew 1.6% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Harker Heights is $299,517 as of 2026-04, up 1.0% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +4.3% annual growth (-4.9% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Harker Heights average $1,544 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.5%). The composite momentum score is 60 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Net positive migration: population up 1.6% per year — demand fundamentals are intact.
○The data is the data: Harker Heights has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Harker Heights (Wikipedia)

Harker Heights is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, 33,097 people resided in the city, up from a population of 17,308 in 2000. This makes Harker Heights the third-largest city in Bell County, after Killeen and Temple. Incorporated in 1960, the city derives its name from one of the two original landowners and founder, Harley Kern. Harker Heights is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan area.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Bell County right now.

NWS active alerts (TX)Texas Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Bell County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Harker Heights

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Run the numbers for Harker Heights

ToolCan I afford Harker Heights?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Harker Heights rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Harker Heights to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolHarker Heights cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
60° / 39°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
95° / 73°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
232
~64% of year
Annual precip
29″ rain
1″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
High
Tornado
Very high
Wildfire
Moderate
Earthquake
Low
Flood
Very high

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Harker Heights listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Killeen-Temple area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
64%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$73,000
Texas state median
Top industries (state-level)
Energy/Oil & GasTech (Austin)Healthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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