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Towns / Texas

Livingston, Texas

Livingston is a small town of about 5,400 people in Polk County, Texas. It's the county seat. It has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.1 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 69 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
5,386
down 6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$200,100
Polk County prices up 3.2% since 2022
Household income
$48,841
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Texas
87.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
CHI St. Lukes Health Memorial Livingston
To Houston
69 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 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood18 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 29 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byCHI St. Lukes Health Memorial Livingston is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 69 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 Livingston 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

Worth a closer look

Livingston has lost about 6% of its people since 2020, and about 9% of homes stand empty (not counting vacation homes or homes for sale or rent). A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

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
$200,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 3.2%Polk County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,104 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$48,841U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
50%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,002 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%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 3.2% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Texas outside metro areas, not Livingston 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
5,3862020: 5,728
Median age
35.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
14%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 (34%); construction (13%); manufacturing (13%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
28%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: CHI St. Lukes Health Memorial Livingston, Livingston, TX, in town. 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 Livingston, run by Livingston 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
60%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
40°F
July average high
95°F
Days 90°F or hotter
103 a year
Nights at or below freezing
36 a year
Rain and melted snow
52.1 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
183 feet

Weather stations: Livingston 2 NNE (2 miles away) and Coldspring 5 SSW (18 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

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.

Polk County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, 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.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Big Thicket National Preserve14 miles

Read about Livingston's history on Wikipedia.

Know Livingston?

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

  • Goodrich, TX273 people, 7 miles
  • Cedar Point, TX (unincorporated)328 people, 10 miles
  • Indian Springs, TX (unincorporated)938 people, 11 miles
  • Cape Royale, TX (unincorporated)574 people, 12 miles
  • Coldspring, TX886 people, 14 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.