Research · Depression
Depression across San Antonio, neighborhood by neighborhood
By Jim Denning, MA, LPC, Texas license #73687 · Published 12 November 2026 · Data: CDC PLACES 2025 release (2023 estimates) and City of San Antonio council districts
In CDC's latest estimates, 22.4% of adults in San Antonio have been told they have depression and 17.2% report frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more days of poor mental health in the past month (2023). Depression is similar in all 10 council districts (21.9% to 23.3%); frequent mental distress is not, ranging from 14.7% in District 9 to 19.4% in District 2.
Key numbers
- 22.4%of adults in San Antonio have been told by a health professional that they have depressionCDC PLACES 2025 release, place estimates for 2023
- 17.2%of adults in San Antonio report 14 or more days of poor mental health in the past month (frequent mental distress)CDC PLACES 2025 release, place estimates for 2023
- 14.7% to 19.4%frequent mental distress by council district, lowest in District 9 and highest in District 2Our calculation: CDC PLACES tract estimates (2023) grouped by council district
- 18.6% to 29.0%range of depression estimates across Bexar County's 371 census tractsCDC PLACES 2025 release, census tract estimates for 2023
Council district by council district
The CDC publishes these estimates for every census tract. We grouped the 290 tracts inside San Antonio’s city limits by council district and averaged them, weighting each tract by its number of adults.
Depression barely changes from one district to the next: every district averages between 21.9% and 23.3%, a gap of 1.4 percentage points. Frequent mental distress varies more, by 4.7 points, from 14.7% in District 9 to 19.4% in District 2.
Darker = higher. Adult-weighted averages of CDC PLACES census tract estimates (2025 release, data for 2023). District boundaries: City of San Antonio, 2022 redistricting. Shapes simplified.
| Area | Census tracts | Adults (18+) | Depression | Frequent mental distress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 35 | 114,441 | 22.1% | 16.7% |
| District 2 | 30 | 103,228 | 23.3% | 19.4% |
| District 3 | 33 | 112,201 | 21.9% | 17.9% |
| District 4 | 23 | 92,360 | 22.2% | 18.3% |
| District 5 | 33 | 99,674 | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| District 6 | 27 | 119,511 | 22.2% | 17.2% |
| District 7 | 30 | 115,541 | 21.9% | 16.3% |
| District 8 | 27 | 122,898 | 22.9% | 16.7% |
| District 9 | 26 | 104,999 | 22.2% | 14.7% |
| District 10 | 26 | 111,011 | 23.0% | 16.1% |
| Rest of Bexar County | 81 | 416,478 | 22.3% | 16.0% |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
How San Antonio compares with other Texas cities
Among the six largest cities in Texas, San Antonio’s depression estimate (22.4%) is third highest: below Fort Worth (23.2%) and Austin (23.0%), and above Dallas (20.1%), El Paso (20.0%) and Houston (19.9%).
Treat those gaps with care. Each figure is an estimate with a range around it: CDC’s 95% interval for San Antonio runs from 19.7 to 25.3%, and Houston’s from 17.5 to 22.4%. The ranges overlap, so the true difference between the two cities may be smaller than the headline numbers suggest.
| City | Depression | 95% interval | Depression, age-adjusted | Frequent mental distress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Worth | 23.2% | 20.5 to 26.0 | 22.8% | 18.5% |
| Austin | 23.0% | 20.7 to 25.4 | 21.9% | 16.9% |
| San Antonio | 22.4% | 19.7 to 25.3 | 22.3% | 17.2% |
| Dallas | 20.1% | 17.9 to 22.7 | 19.6% | 17.8% |
| El Paso | 20.0% | 17.4 to 22.8 | 20.2% | 17.2% |
| Houston | 19.9% | 17.5 to 22.4 | 19.5% | 17.1% |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Tract by tract
Across all 371 census tracts in Bexar County, depression estimates run from 18.6% to 29.0%, and frequent mental distress from 10.4% to 24.9%. 15 tracts have a depression estimate of 25% or more; together they are home to 4.0% of the county’s adults. Every tract is in the CSV download below.
What this means if you live in San Antonio
- Depression is common here. 22.4% of adults in the city have been told at some point that they have it. If that includes you, you are in very large company.
- It is not confined to one part of town. The estimate is at least 21.9% in every council district, from the center of the city to its edges.
- Many people are struggling right now, not just in the past. 17.2% of adults report 14 or more days of poor mental health in the past month. If that sounds like your month, it is worth talking to someone about.
- Cost does not have to be the end of the conversation. Our guide to free mental health resources in San Antonio lists low-cost options, and rates and insurance lists the plans this practice is in network with. You can read more about depression therapy here too.
Method and limits
PLACES is the CDC’s small-area health data project. Its 2025 release estimates, for 2023, the share of adults who have ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional that they have a depressive disorder, and the share who report 14 or more days of poor mental health in the past 30 days. The figures come from a statistical model that combines answers to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey with the population make-up of each area. They are estimates, not counts, and tract figures in particular show where the model expects higher or lower rates given who lives there.
District figures are our own: averages of the tract estimates, weighted by the number of adults in each tract, using the City of San Antonio’s council district boundaries. A tract that crosses a district line is counted in the district that contains its center point. These numbers describe how common depression is; they do not explain why, and they say nothing about any one person.
Sources
- CDC, PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, Census Tract Data, 2025 release (depression and frequent mental distress among adults). model-based estimates for 2023 from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. data.cdc.gov/d/cwsq-ngmh
- CDC, PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, Place Data, 2025 release. model-based estimates for 2023. data.cdc.gov/d/eav7-hnsx
- City of San Antonio, Redistricted Council Districts 2022 (official open-data layer). downloaded 12 November 2026. services.arcgis.com/g1fRTDLeMgspWrYp/arcgis/rest/services/RedistrictedCouncilDistricts2022/FeatureServer
Cite this study
Jim Denning, The Denning Center, “Depression across San Antonio, neighborhood by neighborhood,” 12 November 2026, https://jimdenninglpc.com/research/san-antonio-depression-map. Data: CDC PLACES 2025 release; City of San Antonio GIS.
Download the data (CSV). Free to use with credit to The Denning Center and a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). The underlying public data belongs to the agencies and organizations named under Sources.
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