Van Vleck is a census-designated place in Matagorda County, Texas, located just south of Bay City, the county seat, along the Gulf Coast's coastal plain. It is an unincorporated community rather than an incorporated city, and it had a population of 1,923 in the 2020 census — notable as one of the few areas of Matagorda County recording growth. The community takes its name from the Van Vleck family, early ranchers and landowners in the area, and it grew as a small agricultural and rail-side settlement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By 1914 it counted about 450 residents and a cluster of general stores and businesses. For decades Van Vleck remained a modest rural outpost, but its fortunes became tied to the larger industrial economy of Bay City and nearby Sweeny, where petrochemical and manufacturing plants employ many residents. Today Van Vleck functions as a bedroom community for Bay City and the surrounding plants, while retaining a distinctly rural character of ranchland, open fields, and scattered homes. Its identity is closely bound to the Van Vleck Independent School District, a small district whose schools serve as a community hub and attract families from across the area. The community sits on the Highway 35 corridor connecting Houston to the Coastal Bend, placing it within a short drive of Matagorda Bay's beaches and fishing waters. Van Vleck appeals to families tied to local industry, to those seeking acreage and a slower pace than the Houston area, and to buyers drawn by the small, well-regarded local school district. Its combination of rural space, coastal proximity, and access to Bay City's services defines life in this corner of Matagorda County.