Living in Onalaska, 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 Onalaska to say.
A safer neighborhood10 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 12.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byCHI St. Lukes Health Memorial Livingston in Livingston, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 74 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 Onalaska 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

Home prices since then: Up 3.2%Polk County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,083 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 78%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 19%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 8%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 Onalaska 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: 3,2892020: 3,076
Median age: 43.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 12%U.S.: 36%

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%); professional and business services (11%)
Average commute: 22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 7%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: CHI St. Lukes Health Memorial Livingston, Livingston, TX, about 13 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

2 public schools in Onalaska, run by Onalaska 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 any internet subscription: 92%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: 56.9 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 215 feet

Weather stations: Livingston 2 NNE (12 miles away) and Corrigan 1 ENE (21 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

CHI St. Lukes Health Memorial LivingstonEmergency room13

Conroe, TXCity of 120,00041

Houston, TXMetro of 7.9 million74

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: CHI St. Lukes Health Memorial Livingston, 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Big Thicket National Preserve25 miles

Read about Onalaska's history on Wikipedia.

Know Onalaska?

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

West Livingston, TX8,200 people, 10 miles
Livingston, TX5,400 people, 13 miles
Trinity, TX2,500 people, 18 miles
Corrigan, TX1,400 people, 21 miles
Shepherd, TX1,900 people, 24 miles
Huntsville, TX49,000 people, 28 miles

Smaller places

Cedar Point, TX (unincorporated)328 people, 2 miles
Point Blank, TX734 people, 8 miles
Cape Royale, TX (unincorporated)574 people, 12 miles
Oakhurst, TX (unincorporated)266 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.