Living in Kilgore, Texas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.5% below the U.S. average in the Longview metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood36 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 17 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byChristus Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview, about 10 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 Kilgore 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: $171,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 14%Gregg County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,010 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $66,295U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 71%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,458 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940: 7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 89.5U.S. average = 100 (the Longview 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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Longview metro area, not Kilgore 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: 13,5312020: 13,344
Median age: 35.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%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 (20%); retail (13%); manufacturing (12%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 17%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center, Longview, TX, about 10 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

6 public schools in Kilgore, run by Kilgore Isd and Sabine Isd.

Colleges in or next to town: Kilgore College (5,000 to 9,999 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: 66%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 83%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: 94°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 100 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 35 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.2 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 340 feet

Weather stations: Longview E Tx Rgnl Ap (9 miles away) and Longview (10 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 Good Shepherd Medical CenterEmergency room10

Longview, TXCity of 83,00010

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: Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center, Longview, Dallas.

Gregg County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Kilgore's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kilgore?

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

Liberty City, TX2,600 people, 6 miles
White Oak, TX6,200 people, 9 miles
Overton, TX2,300 people, 11 miles
Gladewater, TX6,300 people, 11 miles
Lake Cherokee, TX3,100 people, 13 miles
Arp, TX1,000 people, 16 miles

Smaller places

Lakeport, TX993 people, 9 miles
New London, TX993 people, 10 miles
Clarksville City, TX779 people, 10 miles
Warren City, TX321 people, 11 miles
Union Grove, TX477 people, 13 miles
East Mountain, TX972 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.