Living in Clarksville, 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 Clarksville to say.
A safer neighborhood5 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMcCurtain Memorial Hospital in Idabel, about 23 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDallas is about 114 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 Clarksville 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 rent, with utilities: $1,087 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $33,014U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 43%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $722 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940: 16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 0%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. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Texas outside metro areas, not Clarksville 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: 2,9082020: 2,844
Median age: 47.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 30%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 10%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%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 (22%)
Below the poverty line: 16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: McCurtain Memorial Hospital, Idabel, OK, about 23 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Paris Regional Medical Center, Paris, TX, about 29 miles away. Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.

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 Clarksville, run by Clarksville 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 cable, fiber or DSL internet: 47%U.S.: 76%

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: 32°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 72 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 57 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.6 inches a year
Snow: 2 inches a year
Elevation: 438 feet

Weather stations: Clarksville 2NE (1 mile away) and Boxelder 3 NNE (13 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

McCurtain Memorial HospitalEmergency room23

Longview, TXCity of 83,00077

Dallas, TXMetro of 8.5 million114

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: McCurtain Memorial Hospital, Longview, Dallas.

Red River 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Clarksville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Clarksville?

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

Bogata, TX1,100 people, 13 miles
Blossom, TX1,500 people, 19 miles
Idabel, OK6,900 people, 25 miles
Reno, TX3,600 people, 25 miles
De Kalb, TX1,500 people, 26 miles
Paris, TX25,000 people, 28 miles

Smaller places

Annona, TX185 people, 8 miles
Detroit, TX713 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.