Living in Horseshoe Bay, TX
Llano County
Horseshoe Bay is a genuinely upscale, gated golf-resort community on Lake LBJ, part of the Texas Hill Country's Highland Lakes chain, spanning both Llano and Burnet Counties. Incorporated only in September 2005 as a Class A general-law city, it functions primarily as a retirement and second-home resort destination -- its median age of 64.6 is among the oldest of any market in this dataset, and Horseshoe Bay Resort itself, a Golf Magazine Top 100 Golf Resort in North America with 99 holes across four championship courses (Slick Rock, Ram Rock, Apple Rock, Summit Rock) plus Escondido and Blue Lake, defines the community's identity and cost structure. Each residential neighborhood carries its own homeowners association, with real, disclosed variation in fees, restrictions, and amenity access by subdivision -- a genuine HOA/country-club cost layer distinct from a typical suburb. Housing runs genuinely expensive: a $535,000 citywide median sale price (down 12.7% YoY), ranging from $488,000 in The Village to $670,000 in Horseshoe Bay West, with waterfront listings at a $812,000 median and new construction at $793,000 -- all well above the $408,776 US national median for June 2026. Because the city spans two counties, its property tax rate genuinely varies by parcel: a 1.32% effective rate on the Llano County side versus a 1.48% average rate on the Burnet County side (above that county's own 1.30% average), both driven by local school-district and Municipal Utility District assessments that vary by neighborhood. Groceries and healthcare both run modestly above the national average, reflecting limited local provider density. Despite its retirement-community character, Horseshoe Bay is not purely residential: Horseshoe Bay Resort itself directly employs an estimated 670 people, one of the three anchor employers of the broader Highland Lakes regional economy alongside Marble Falls ISD and Baylor Scott & White Healthcare. Texas's no state income tax applies fully to income and retirement withdrawals here.
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Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Llano County level this session. Texas carries no income tax statewide. See the Texas hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Horseshoe Bay-specific.
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Pros
A genuinely upscale, amenity-rich golf-resort community (a Golf Magazine Top 100 Golf Resort in North America, 99 holes across multiple championship courses) on Lake LBJ; no state income tax on the retirement income that supports much of the resident population; Horseshoe Bay Resort itself is a real, substantial regional employer (roughly 670 jobs) rather than a purely bedroom community; effective property tax rate on the Llano County side (1.32%) runs below the Texas state median.
Cons
Genuinely expensive housing across every price tier found ($488K-$670K+ by neighborhood, $812K for waterfront listings) well above the US national median; real, neighborhood-by-neighborhood HOA variation in fees, restrictions, and amenity access that buyers must confirm individually rather than assuming uniformity; a genuinely older, retirement/second-home-skewed population (median age 64.6) that will not suit buyers seeking peer-dense young-family or professional communities; property tax rates and effective burden vary meaningfully depending on which county (Llano or Burnet) a specific parcel sits in; groceries and healthcare both run above the national average given limited local provider density; population figures for the current period carry a real, if modest, disclosed spread across sources.
Who this fits
Best for: Retirees and luxury/second-home buyers specifically seeking a gated, amenity-rich golf-and-lake resort community, who are prepared for genuine per-neighborhood HOA due diligence and a real cost premium over neighboring Hill Country towns.
Maybe not for you if: Buyers seeking a working small city with a broader job market, a younger or more economically mixed peer community, or the lowest available Hill Country housing costs should look to neighboring Marble Falls instead -- Horseshoe Bay is deliberately built and priced as a resort community, not a general-purpose relocation market.
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