Godley is a city in northwestern Johnson County, Texas, United States, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is on Texas State Highway 171, Farm Roads 2331 and 917, and the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway northwest of Cleburne. As of 2025, the estimated population was 5,410, up from 1,450 in 2020.
History
Godley was established in 1886 and named for R. B. Godley, a Cleburne lumber merchant who donated an tract for a townsite and of land as a right-of-way to the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway. A station was constructed in 1886. By 1888, when the post office opened, Godley had a gristmill, three cotton gins, and two dairy-processing plants. Four years later, it had two general stores. By the mid-1920s, its population was 613. In 1930, it was 378, and 22 rated businesses operated locally. In the 1940s, the town had a population of 317 and 20 businesses. By 1956, it had a population of 424 and 16 businesses, and by 1990, it had 569 people and 12 businesses.
Geography
Via Highway 171, it is northwest of Cleburne, the Johnson county seat, and southeast of Cresson. It is southwest of downtown Fort Worth.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Godley has a total area of , of which , or 0.39%, is covered by water. It lies near the headwaters of the Nolan River watershed, a tributary of the Brazos River.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Godley had a population of 1,450. The median age was 30.6 years. 30.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 8.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.4 males age 18 and over.
There were 505 households in Godley, of which 49.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.8% were married-couple households, 15.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 17.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 1,205 || 83.1%
|-
| Black or African American || 38 || 2.6%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 13 || 0.9%
|-
| Asian || 3 || 0.2%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 1 || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 36 || 2.5%
|-
| Two or more races || 154 || 10.6%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 171 || 11.8%
|}
2000 census
As of the 2000 census,