Harker Heights

Named after two hog farmers

The origin story here is unusually specific. In 1957 two hog farmers, Pinckney R. Cox and Harley Kern, began subdividing land between Killeen and Nolanville. By 1960 there were six or seven hundred lots and the place incorporated. The name is a portmanteau: Harley Kern. Growth then spread into Forest Hills, Highland Oaks and Comanche Hills, and it has not really stopped — the city has roughly doubled in the last two decades to about 35,000 people.

Harker Heights sits between Killeen to the west and Nolanville to the east, with I-14 and US 190 running through it as a four-lane freeway. Its city limits extend south far enough to overlook Stillhouse Hollow Lake, which no other city in this part of the county can say.

It is also where the region shops and sees a doctor. Retail sales run north of $600 million a year, the big-box corridor along Indian Trail draws from the whole area, and Seton Medical Center Harker Heights and Baylor Scott & White both have a presence.

The family-buying case

If you line the Fort Hood cities up against each other, Harker Heights is the one the numbers point to for families. It has the highest median household income of the three, the largest average household size, an owner-occupancy rate of about 62 percent against Killeen’s 50, and the oldest median age — which is another way of saying more settled households and fewer one-tour rentals.

It also has a proper parks and recreation department: Carl Levin Park with its amphitheatre, Community Park on Knight’s Way, Purser Family Park, Goode-Connell, Kern and Skipcha parks, a recreation centre, an activities centre, a soccer complex, aquatics, a farmers market and a community garden. Dana Peak Park — a Corps of Engineers park on the north side of Stillhouse Hollow with a swim beach, a four-lane boat ramp, trails and equestrian parking — is inside the city.

The city’s own events calendar is the tell: First Fridays music at the amphitheatre through spring and autumn, Haunted Heights at the end of October, a Veterans Ceremony in November, cocoa with the city council and a tree lighting in December, and Frost Fest. That is a town that expects families to turn up.

Housing in Harker Heights

Established neighbourhoods include Briarwood, Country Trails, Evergreen Estates, Highland Oaks, Knights Ridge, Quail Estates, Savannah Heights, Skipcha Mountain Estates, Sun Meadows, Sutton Place, Tanglewood North, The Grove at Whitten Place, Thoroughbred Estates and Tuscany Meadows, plus the original Forest Hills and Comanche Hills.

New construction has moved to the east side, near I-14, Old Nolanville Road and FM 2410 — Village at Nolan Heights is the largest single-family cluster, Cedar Trails is entry-level with four-bedroom plans, Pima Trail is duplex-focused, and The Ridge carries custom lots toward the lake.

One clarification, because listings get it wrong: Dana Peak is a park, not a subdivision. Homes described as being “in Dana Peak” are in a neighbourhood near the park.

Schools

Harker Heights is served by Killeen Independent School District, with Harker Heights High School, Eastern Hills Middle School and several elementary campuses inside the city. Confirm assigned campuses by address with the district.

Worth checking before you buy in Harker Heights

• The tax rate difference. Harker Heights’ city rate is meaningfully lower than Killeen’s, which changes the monthly payment on two otherwise comparable houses.
• HOA and deed restrictions. Newer east-side communities have them; older stock often does not. Read the restrictions before you plan a shop or an RV pad.
• Gate commute at the hour you will drive it. Further from the gates than Killeen, and the morning queue is real.
• Lot slope and drainage. This is rolling ground toward the lake bluffs. Watch where water goes on a heavy-rain day.
• USDA does not apply here. Harker Heights sits inside the ineligible area, alongside Killeen and Temple.