Living in Centerville, 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 moneyA typical home costs 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Centerville itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMadison St. Joseph Health Center in Madisonville, about 22 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 108 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 Centerville 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

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $200,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 9.8%Leon County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $987 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $52,697U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $898 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940: 3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
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 9.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Texas outside metro areas, not Centerville 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: 1,0062020: 951
Median age: 37.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 11%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%

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: Schools, health care and social services (24%); construction (14%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 9%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Madison St. Joseph Health Center, Madisonville, 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: Freestone Medical Center, Fairfield, TX, about 34 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

2 public schools in Centerville, run by Centerville 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: 90%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: 35°F
July average high: 94°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 100 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 46 a year
Rain and melted snow: 42.4 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 354 feet

Weather station: Centerville (less than a mile away). 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

Madison St. Joseph Health CenterEmergency room22

Bryan, TXCity of 92,00047

Houston, TXMetro of 7.9 million108

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: Madison St. Joseph Health Center, Bryan, Houston.

Leon County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Centerville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Centerville?

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

Buffalo, TX1,900 people, 15 miles
Madisonville, TX4,600 people, 21 miles
Crockett, TX6,300 people, 31 miles
Teague, TX3,600 people, 31 miles
Fairfield, TX3,000 people, 34 miles
Grapeland, TX1,500 people, 34 miles

Smaller places

Leona, TX173 people, 7 miles
Jewett, TX845 people, 12 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.