Archer City is notable as a filming location for the motion picture The Last Picture Show (1971) and its sequel Texasville (1990), both based upon novels written by Archer City native Larry McMurtry.

[4] The city is named for Branch Tanner Archer, a commissioner for the Republic of Texas.

The climate in this area is characterized as very hot, with humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

[9] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,601 people, 717 households, and 340 families residing in the city.

[12] Eight miles (12.8 km) west-southwest of the city lies a 2-mile (3.2 km) antenna, the Lake Kickapoo Field Station, operated by the 20th Space Control Squadron, and part of the Air Force Space Surveillance System, used for observing objects passing over the United States.