Living in Hideaway, Texas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.8% below the U.S. average in the Tyler metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.1 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 Hideaway 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Lindale H S, about 4 miles away.
A hospital close byChristus Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDallas is about 79 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 Hideaway 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: $335,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 9.6%Smith County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,548 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $109,712U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 94%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,745 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 10%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 92.2U.S. average = 100 (the Tyler metro area)

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 9.6% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Tyler metro area, not Hideaway 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: 3,4592020: 3,212
Median age: 57 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 32%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 38%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%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: Professional and business services (13%); other services (11%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 39 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 26%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 3%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Christus Mother Frances Hospital, Tyler, TX, about 14 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

There are no public schools inside Hideaway itself. The nearest public high school is Lindale H S, about 4 miles away.

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.

Weather

January average low: 33°F
July average high: 93°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 99 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 52 a year
Rain and melted snow: 46.5 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 474 feet

Weather station: Mineola (10 miles 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

Christus Mother Frances HospitalEmergency room14

Tyler, TXCity of 114,00015

Dallas, TXMetro of 8.5 million79

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, Tyler, Dallas.

Smith County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Hideaway's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hideaway?

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

Lindale, TX7,400 people, 3 miles
Van, TX3,000 people, 11 miles
Mineola, TX5,500 people, 11 miles
Chandler, TX4,100 people, 13 miles
Hawkins, TX1,900 people, 16 miles
Brownsboro, TX1,300 people, 16 miles

Smaller places

Edom, TX372 people, 12 miles
Ben Wheeler, TX (unincorporated)1,792 people, 15 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.