Living in Alto, Texas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.2% below the U.S. average in the parts of Texas outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Alto to say.
A safer neighborhood5 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 10.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byChristus Mother Frances Hospital- Jacksonville in Jacksonville, about 22 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDallas is about 127 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Alto meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Home prices since then: Up 15%Cherokee County, 2022 to 2025
Typical property tax bill: $993 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940: 19%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87.8U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Texas outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Texas outside metro areas, not Alto alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,0632020: 1,026
Median age: 28.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 17%U.S.: 36%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Manufacturing (28%)
Work from home: 12%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Christus Mother Frances Hospital- Jacksonville, Jacksonville, TX, about 22 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: UT Health East Texas Jacksonville Hospital, Jacksonville, TX, about 24 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Alto, run by Alto Isd.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Texas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 95%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 37°F
July average high: 91°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 69 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 27 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.1 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 434 feet

Weather stations: Rusk (12 miles away) and Alto 5 SW (5 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Christus Mother Frances Hospital- JacksonvilleEmergency room22

Tyler, TXCity of 114,00048

Dallas, TXMetro of 8.5 million127

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Christus Mother Frances Hospital- Jacksonville, Tyler, Dallas.

Cherokee County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Alto's history on Wikipedia.

Know Alto?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Rusk, TX5,600 people, 11 miles
Jacksonville, TX14,700 people, 24 miles
Nacogdoches, TX33,000 people, 25 miles
Grapeland, TX1,500 people, 26 miles
Hudson, TX5,300 people, 28 miles
Elkhart, TX1,300 people, 30 miles

Smaller places

Wells, TX893 people, 13 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.