Bartlett lies in two counties as well as two metropolitan areas. The Bell County portion of the city is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Williamson County portion is part of the Austin–Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area.
At the 2000 census, there were 1,675 people, 571 households and 404 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,373.3 per square mile (530.1/km²). There were 638 housing units at an average density of 523.1/sq mi (201.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.61% White, 17.97% African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 16.84% from other races, and 2.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 33.07% of the population.
There were 571 households of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.40.
Age distribution was 29.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.
The median household income was $26,094, and the median family income was $35,595. Males had a median income of $22,273 versus $21,016 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,649. About 21.1% of families and 25.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 30.3% of those age 65 or over.