Shallowater is on U.S. Route 84 and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line, 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Lubbock.

[1] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.5 sq mi (4.0 km2), all land.

After Santa Fe railroad officials received a bonus from rancher George W. Littlefield of the Yellow House Ranch, negotiations were finally completed.

The originators of the plan, and other interested individuals, formed the Ripley Townsite Company, which was named after a Santa Fe railroad official, and was incorporated on May 22, 1909.

On June 26, 1913, a celebration was held to note the founding of the town and completion of the railroad.

During the 1920s, Shallowater grew rapidly, and the town had a hotel, a lumberyard, and various filling stations, grocery stores, cotton gins, drugstores, barbershops, garages, blacksmith shops, and other businesses.

A county park with a clubhouse was established, a public well was constructed, and a real depot building was built to replace the boxcar the town had been using for years.

In 1955, Shallowater was incorporated with a mayor-council form of city government, and during the 1960s, the town had five churches, a school, a bank, a library, and a newspaper.

[6] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,964 people, 936 households, and 736 families residing in the city.