Bell County and neighbours
Areas We Serve
Twelve communities, each with its own housing stock and its own selling quirks. Pick yours — the pages are genuinely different because the places are.
Requesting an offer does not create a brokerage relationship or obligate you to sell. Any offer is subject to property evaluation, title review and a written agreement.
Where we work
Bell County, Texas, plus adjacent communities in the Fort Hood area. Bell County has a population of 402,248 and around 155,018 housing units, with a median year built of 1996.
The county is split by the Balcones Escarpment: Blackland Prairie to the east, Grand Prairie uplands to the west. That geological line has a practical consequence for sellers, and we cover it below.
Choose your city
- TemplePop. 98,412 · median year built 1991
- BeltonPop. 25,964 · county seat
- KilleenPop. 161,883 · largest in the county
- Harker HeightsPop. 35,195 · median year built 2001
- SaladoVillage · Salado ISD
- TroyFast-growing small town
- NolanvilleBetween Belton and Harker Heights
- Morgan’s Point ResortOn Belton Lake
- Little River-AcademyAcademy ISD
- RogersRural eastern Bell County
- BartlettBell and Williamson counties
- Copperas CoveCoryell County · Fort Hood area
Two geographic corrections worth stating plainly, because plenty of local websites get them wrong:
Copperas Cove is not in Bell County. Census county-split estimates put its population entirely in Coryell County (39,035) and Lampasas County (1,083), with zero in Bell. The city limits touch Bell County but contain no population there. We serve it as an adjacent Fort Hood–area city.
Bartlett straddles two counties, and most of it is in Williamson County (982) rather than Bell County (696).
What the whole county has in common
Expansive clay, and what it does to foundations
East Bell County sits on the Blackland Prairie, where Houston black clay is the most common soil. It is a high shrink-swell clay: it expands when wet and contracts when dry, and seasonal moisture cycling moves whatever is built on it.
This is the mechanism behind the foundation issues that are genuinely endemic to Central Texas. It is worth knowing because it is the single most common condition problem that turns up in inspections here, and because it is the sort of thing an automated valuation cannot see at all.
Fort Hood
The post reverted to the name Fort Hood in 2025, after being redesignated Fort Cavazos in 2023 — now honouring Col. Robert B. Hood, a First World War officer. It drives housing demand across Killeen, Harker Heights, Nolanville and Copperas Cove. Texas Comptroller figures put direct employment at 53,767 and total employment including indirect effects at 159,692.
For sellers, the practical consequence is PCS cycles: military families receive orders on timelines that do not accommodate a 72-day median market time.
Property taxes
The Tax Appraisal District of Bell County appraises 191,744 parcels and serves 42 taxing entities. The dates that matter to a seller:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| January 1 | Valuation and exemption eligibility date |
| January 31 | Deadline to pay taxes |
| February 1 | Penalties and interest begin |
| April 1 | Notices of appraised value mailed |
| May 15 | ARB protest deadline for most property |
| October | Tax bills mailed |
The 2025 Bell County rate was 0.3128 per $100 of valuation, with school district rates ranging from 0.7575 (Copperas Cove ISD) to 1.1669 (Salado ISD). The state school homestead exemption is $140,000.
Rural systems
Outside the city limits — much of Rogers, Little River-Academy, Troy and the Salado outskirts — properties are more likely to be on septic (regulated by TCEQ, with the Bell County Public Health District as local authorised agent) and on wells within the Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District. Both affect what a buyer’s lender and inspector will want to see.
Sources and last updated
- US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates (SUB-EST2025) Accessed 2026-09-11
- Tax Appraisal District of Bell County, 2025 Annual Report Accessed 2026-09-11
- Texas State Historical Association — Bell County Accessed 2026-09-11
- Texas Comptroller, 2025 Texas Military Snapshot Accessed 2026-09-11
- US Army — Hood renamed to honor an original Phantom Warrior Accessed 2026-09-11
- TCEQ — On-site sewage facilities guidance for homeowners Accessed 2026-09-11
This page was last reviewed for accuracy on .
Common questions
What areas of Texas do you serve?
Bell County and the surrounding Central Texas area, including Temple, Belton, Killeen, Harker Heights, Salado, Troy, Nolanville, Morgan's Point Resort, Little River-Academy, Rogers and Bartlett, plus Copperas Cove in adjacent Coryell County.
Is Copperas Cove in Bell County?
No. Census county-split estimates place Copperas Cove's population in Coryell County (39,035) and Lampasas County (1,083), with none in Bell County. Its city limits touch Bell County but contain no population there.
Why do foundation problems come up so often in Bell County?
Eastern Bell County lies on the Blackland Prairie, where Houston black clay is the dominant soil. It is a high shrink-swell expansive clay that expands when wet and contracts when dry, and that seasonal movement affects foundations built on it.