Hico, Texas
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Hico census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76457. It stands on Jacks Hollow Branch. The Survey maps it on the Hico quadrangle. 1,335 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,027 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresHico fell from 1,379 to 1,335 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,379 | |
| 2020 | 1,335 | -44 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 15 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1888 USGS Hamilton quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Hamilton quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1954 USGS Brownwood quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Hico quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Hico quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Comanche quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
157 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 157 fires within 5 miles of Hico between 2005 and 2020, burning about 1,265 acres in total. 1 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 74 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 42 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 28 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | 105 |
| 25 September 2009 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 115 |
| 2 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | HICO HAY FIRE |
| 19 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 19 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 17 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | CR218/PR1649 |
| 13 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SMITH FIRE |
| 10 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | ROBINSON FIRE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
37 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hico in 37 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 22 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | 1 hurt, $30,000 | Numerous trees down across the county; two trailers were damaged with one person trapped inside. |
| June 2007 | Flash Flood | Hico | $2,000,000 | High water was reported on FM 219 west of Highway 281, at FM 1602 three miles east of Highway 281, and on 5th Street in Hico. The water was several feet deep. County Commissioners estimated road damage at $2 million. |
| March 2002 | Tornado (F0) | Hico | $75,000 | Most of the damage was to trees. One tree fell on a house. Approximately five metal roofs were partially peeled back. A few house roofs lost shingles. Minor damage was done to the high school, and minor damage was done to outbuildings, sheds, and trees for one half mile northeast of the high school beforethe tornado dissipated. |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | $30,000 | A camping trailer was damaged on Highway 220 north of Hico. A mobile home and a home under construction were also heavily damaged. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Hico | $11,000 | Amateur radio operator reported 2 inch sized hail in Hico. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | $5,000 | Trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds. |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | $5,000 | Trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | $3,000 | Power lines were blown down by high winds. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Hico | - | Public report of 1.25 inch hail in Hico. |
| May 2017 | Hail | Hico | - | Hico Police Department reported quarter sized hail 4 miles south of the city of Hico, TX. |
| May 2017 | Hail | Hico | - | Broadcast media reported golf-ball sized hail in the city of Hico, TX. |
| September 2003 | Flash Flood | Hico | - | Sheriffs office reported four to five inches of rain with flooding in Hico, and on FM 1602 near Highway 281. |
| June 2000 | Flash Flood | Hico | - | Heavy thunderstorm rain brought water, two to three inches deep, inside several houses. State highway 281 south of Hico was closed due to high water. |
| January 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Hico | - | A brief tornado touchdown was reported. |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | - | Numerous trees were blown down by high winds. |
| April 1994 | Hail | Hico | - | Trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds. |
| April 1994 | Hail | Hico | - | Trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds. |
| April 1994 | Hail | Hico | - | Trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds. |
| January 2020 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| March 2017 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| March 2014 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| March 2014 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| March 2014 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| March 2002 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| October 2001 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| January 1998 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| January 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | - | no account filed |
| September 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| April 1995 | Hail | Hico | - | no account filed |
| November 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hico | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olin | 8.3 miles | 15 | |
| Carlton | 8.6 miles | 16 | |
| Fairy | 9.8 miles | 12 | |
| Sunshine | 10.1 miles | 15 | |
| Spurlin | 11.1 miles | 15 | |
| Springtown | 15.0 miles | 15 | |
| Lanham | 16.5 miles | 12 | |
| Gentrys Mill | 16.6 miles | 15 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Hico | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q981451 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1374058. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





