How much debt sits on Leander property, counting every government?

In short

• About $1.28 billion of government debt is tied to property in Leander as of Sept. 30, 2025. This counts the city and every other government that taxes land in the city.¹
• The city’s own share is about $295 million, or about 23% (our math).¹²
• The school district’s share is the largest, about $625 million, or about 49% (our math).¹²

Numbers marked “our math” are our estimates, not official figures. The notes show the inputs and the steps.

How it works

• Many governments tax the same land. A home in Leander can pay the city, Leander ISD, a county, a college district and sometimes a water district. Each one can borrow.
• Each government’s debt is split by value. If 41% of a school district’s taxable value is inside the city, the report counts 41% of its debt here. The city’s report calls this “overlapping debt.”¹
• The figures come from an outside service. The city’s report takes them from Texas Municipal Reports.¹

What the numbers show

Government	Share counted for Leander	Debt counted for Leander
Leander ISD	41.3%	$625.2M
City of Leander	100%	$294.8M
Five water and utility districts (MUDs)	100% each	$184.4M
Williamson County	9.6%	$134.5M
Austin Community College district	4.2%	$27.6M
Travis County and its health district	0.9%	$11.4M
Upper Brushy Creek water district	11.6%	$5.6M
Total		$1,283.6M

Source: City of Leander, 2025 annual financial report, Table 12. Rounding and grouping are ours.¹²

• Spread over every resident, that is about $13,800 per person (our math). The city’s part alone is about $3,200 per person.²

The other side

• Not every owner pays every one of these debts. A water-district (MUD) debt is paid only by owners inside that district. The city’s report says the same thing.¹
• The shares are estimates. They are based on taxable value, not on who uses the buildings or roads.¹
• Debt also buys things people use. These loans paid for schools, roads, water lines and other buildings. This page does not judge whether any loan was a good choice.
• Per-person numbers are rough. Businesses also pay property tax, so the debt is not carried by residents alone.

Questions to ask

• Where can the public see how this debt total changed over time?
• Where are new debts posted after the report date?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: We added links to key debt terms.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.

What you can do or watch next

• See city debt explained for the city’s own loans. Key terms: certificate of obligation, general obligation bond and refunding bond.
• Your tax bill lists each government that taxes your property. That tells you which of these debts you help pay.

What we still don’t know

• How these totals changed over time. The report shows only Sept. 30, 2025.
• Debt any of these governments took on after Sept. 30, 2025.

Footnotes

1. City of Leander, Texas, Annual Financial Report for fiscal 2025, statistical section, Table 12, “Direct and Overlapping Governmental Activities Debt as of September 30, 2025” (p.117), citing Texas Municipal Reports; population from the same report. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

2. Our math. MUDs: 33,485,000 + 26,715,000 + 28,115,000 + 37,135,000 + 58,935,000 = 184,385,000. Travis: 10,060,710 + 1,355,962 = 11,416,672. Total 1,283,584,027. Shares: LISD 625,248,849 ÷ 1,283,584,027 = 48.7%; city 294,840,000 ÷ 1,283,584,027 = 23.0%. Per person: 1,283,584,027 ÷ 92,872 = 13,821; 294,840,000 ÷ 92,872 = 3,175. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴