Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the U.S. census, and is one of the two principal cities in Bell County. Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas and is a principal city in the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan area, which as of 2015 had a population of 450,051. Located off Interstate 35, Temple is 65 miles north of Austin, 34 miles south of Waco and 27 miles east of Killeen.