Brownwood is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,862 as of the 2020 census. Brownwood is located in the Northern Texas Hill Country and is home to Howard Payne University, which was founded in 1889.

Brown County is a county in west-central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,095. Its county seat is Brownwood. The county was founded in 1856 and organized in 1858. It is named for Henry Stevenson Brown, a commander at the Battle of Velasco, an early conflict between Texians and Mexicans.