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Huntsville, Texas

Huntsville is a college town of about 49,000 people in Walker County, Texas. It's the county seat. It has grown about 7% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Houston, is about 64 miles away as the crow flies.

College townCounty seat

Population
49,088
up 7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$236,600
Walker County prices up 16% since 2022
Household income
$47,529
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Texas
87.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Huntsville Memorial Hospital
To Houston
64 mi
straight line

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 5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood262 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 5.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 13.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town9 public schools: 5 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byHuntsville Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 64 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 Huntsville 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.

What kind of town

College town. About 1 in 5 residents is a college student, with Sam Houston State University in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$236,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 16%Walker County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,035 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$47,529U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
41%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,064 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
18%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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Texas outside metro areas, not Huntsville 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
49,0882020: 45,857
Median age
31.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
13%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
20%U.S.: 6%
College students
21%share of all residents

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 (27%); government (14%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (14%)
Unemployment rate
11%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
24%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Huntsville Memorial Hospital, Huntsville, TX, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

9 public schools in Huntsville, run by Huntsville Isd and Texas College Preparatory Academies.

Colleges in or next to town: Sam Houston State University (20,000 or more students).

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
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%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
39°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
96 a year
Nights at or below freezing
17 a year
Rain and melted snow
51.3 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
439 feet

Weather station: Huntsville (1 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

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: Conroe, Houston.

Walker County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Sam Houston House. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Big Thicket National Preserve44 miles

Campus life. Check Sam Houston State University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Huntsville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Huntsville?

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

Smaller places

  • Riverside, TX612 people, 14 miles
  • Oakhurst, TX (unincorporated)266 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.