Market Overview for Lee County
There are 68 active listings in Lee County with a median list price of $459K and a median sold price of $370K.
Homes average 75 days on market.
Over the past 30 days, 8 homes have sold, with 89 sales in the past 12 months.
The average price per square foot is $309.
About Lee County
Lee County sits in south-central Texas between the Austin metro and the Brazos Valley, covering roughly 630 square miles of gently rolling farm and ranch country along the U.S. 290 and U.S. 77 corridors. The county seat is Giddings, at the crossroads of those two U.S. highways about 55 miles east of downtown Austin and roughly 100 miles west of Houston. Lee County had a population of 17,478 at the 2020 Census, estimated at about 18,451 in 2024, spread across Giddings and the smaller communities of Lexington, Dime Box, Lincoln, and Serbin.
The county was organized in 1874 and named for Robert E. Lee, with Giddings — founded in 1871 along the Houston and Texas Central Railway — established as the county seat. Nineteenth-century Lee County drew a distinctive mix of German, Wendish (Sorbian), and Czech settlers. The Wendish community centered on Serbin, southwest of Giddings, is home to the Texas Wendish Heritage Museum, which preserves the history of the Wends who settled the area in the 1850s, and hosts an annual Wendish Fest each September.
The county's economy has long been anchored by agriculture — beef cattle, hay, peanuts, and corn — alongside oil and gas production that expanded after 1960 with the development of the Austin Chalk field beneath the county. Public institutions add to the employment base, including Giddings Independent School District, Lee County government, and the state's Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department facility near Giddings.
Lee County's landscape is drained by the Yegua Creek system — the East, Middle, and West Yegua creeks — flowing east toward the Brazos River. The terrain of post-oak woodlands, prairies, and creek bottoms gives the county a rural, agricultural character, and its position on U.S. 290 places it within about an hour's drive of both the Austin metro to the west and the Bryan-College Station area to the northeast.
Housing across Lee County ranges from historic homes and established neighborhoods in Giddings to farmsteads, ranches, and rural acreage across the countryside, reflecting the county's long agricultural heritage. State Highway 21 crosses the northern part of the county near Dime Box, and the historic 1899 Lee County Courthouse anchors the Giddings town square. With Lake Somerville State Park a short drive to the southeast, the renowned Snow's BBQ in Lexington, and the Wendish and German heritage sites around Giddings and Serbin, Lee County pairs a working rural landscape with a distinctive Central Texas cultural history.
Living in Lee County
Life in Lee County centers on Giddings, the county seat, at the junction of U.S. 290 and U.S. 77. U.S. 290 is the main east-west route, connecting the county to the Austin metro about 55 miles west and to Brenham and the Houston area to the east, while U.S. 77 runs north-south and State Highway 21 crosses the northern part of the county near Dime Box.
Everyday shopping, dining, county services, and healthcare are concentrated in Giddings, anchored by the historic downtown square around the 1899 Lee County Courthouse and by the highway retail along U.S. 290 and U.S. 77. For a broader range of retail and major medical care, residents travel west toward the Austin metro or northeast toward Brenham and the Bryan-College Station area.
Public education is provided by several districts, including Giddings ISD — the largest, based in the county seat — Lexington ISD, and the small single-campus Dime Box ISD in the northeastern part of the county. The economy remains rooted in agriculture and ranching, supplemented by oil and gas, public-sector employment, and local manufacturing such as the Giddings-based salon-furnishings maker Kaemark.
Recreation reflects the rural setting. Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway, a short drive southeast of Giddings, offers lakeside camping, fishing, hiking, and equestrian trails; Fireman's Park in Giddings is home to an early-1900s antique carousel; and the Texas Wendish Heritage Museum in Serbin preserves the area's Sorbian roots. Country roads, open ranchland, and small historic towns give Lee County a distinctly rural Central Texas character within reach of the Austin metro.
Things to Do in Lee County
- Historic Downtown Giddings & Lee County Courthouse: The 1899 Lee County Courthouse anchors the Giddings town square, laid out with unusually wide 100-foot main streets and surrounded by early commercial buildings, shops, and cafes.
- Texas Wendish Heritage Museum (Serbin): In Serbin, southwest of Giddings, the museum preserves the history of the Wends (Sorbs) who settled Lee County in the 1850s; the community hosts an annual Wendish Fest each September.
- Snow's BBQ (Lexington): A nationally acclaimed barbecue joint in Lexington, in northern Lee County, widely regarded among the best in Texas and open on Saturday mornings.
- Fireman's Park & Antique Carousel (Giddings): Giddings's Fireman's Park is home to an early-1900s antique carousel, run during the Lee County Fair in May and the Firemen's July 4th Celebration each year.
- Lee County Museum (Schubert-Fletcher House): The Lee County Museum occupies the Schubert-Fletcher House, an 1879 home in Giddings, with exhibits on the county's settlement and early railroad history.
- Lake Somerville State Park & Trailway: A short drive southeast of Giddings, Lake Somerville's Nails Creek and Birch Creek units offer lakeside camping, swimming, fishing, hiking, and equestrian trails.
Major Employers in Lee County
- Giddings Independent School District (Education): The largest school district in Lee County, based in the county seat of Giddings and serving roughly 1,800 students.
- Lee County (Local Government): County government offices and the courthouse in Giddings, a significant public-sector employer for the area.
- Giddings State School (State Government): A Texas Juvenile Justice Department secure residential facility near Giddings and one of the county's larger public employers.
- Agriculture & Ranching (Agriculture): Beef cattle, hay, peanuts, and corn operations across Lee County anchor the rural economy, as they have since the county's settlement.
- Kaemark, Inc. (Manufacturing): A salon-furnishings manufacturer headquartered in Giddings and founded in 1972, among the county's established private employers.
- City of Giddings (Local Government): The municipal government for Giddings, the Lee County seat, providing local services and utilities.
Lee County Schools
Lee County is served by several public school districts: Giddings ISD, the largest, based in the county seat; Lexington ISD in the north; and the small single-campus Dime Box ISD in the northeastern part of the county. Giddings ISD earned an 'A' rating in the TEA A-F Accountability Ratings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Lee County, Texas?
Lee County is in south-central Texas along the U.S. 290 corridor, with its seat at Giddings about 55 miles east of Austin and roughly 100 miles west of Houston.
What is the county seat of Lee County?
Giddings is the county seat and largest city of Lee County, at the crossroads of U.S. Highways 290 and 77.
What towns are in Lee County?
Lee County includes Giddings (the seat), Lexington, and Dime Box, along with smaller communities such as Lincoln and Serbin, a center of Texas Wendish heritage.
What school districts serve Lee County?
Public education is provided mainly by Giddings ISD (the largest), Lexington ISD, and the small single-campus Dime Box ISD in the county's northeast.
What is Lee County known for?
Lee County is known for the county seat of Giddings and its 1899 courthouse, its German and Wendish settlement heritage centered on Serbin, an agricultural and Austin Chalk oil economy, and the acclaimed Snow's BBQ in Lexington.
How far is Lee County from Austin and Houston?
Giddings, the county seat, sits on U.S. 290 about 55 miles east of downtown Austin and roughly 100 miles west of Houston, within about an hour of the Austin metro.
