Living in Southmayd, Texas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.2% below the U.S. average in the Sherman-Denison metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Sherman H S, about 4 miles away.
A hospital close byWilson N Jones Regional Medical Center in Sherman, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDallas is about 57 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 Southmayd 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

Boom town. The population is up 12% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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: $164,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 11%Grayson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,715 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $86,250U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $2,152 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 93.8U.S. average = 100 (the Sherman-Denison 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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Sherman-Denison metro area, not Southmayd 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: 1,1102020: 993
Median age: 31.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 9%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 6%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%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 (15%); manufacturing (14%)
Unemployment rate: 0%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 2%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: Wilson N Jones Regional Medical Center, Sherman, TX, about 5 miles away. 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

1 public school in Southmayd, run by S and S Cisd. The nearest public high school is Sherman 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: 34°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 73 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 43 a year
Rain and melted snow: 42.8 inches a year
Snow: 3 inches a year
Elevation: 805 feet

Weather stations: Sherman (7 miles away) and Gainesville 5 ENE (20 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

Wilson N Jones Regional Medical CenterEmergency room5

Sherman, TXCity of 52,0005

Dallas, TXMetro of 8.5 million57

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: Wilson N Jones Regional Medical Center, Sherman, Dallas.

Grayson 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Chickasaw National Recreation Area56 miles

Read about Southmayd's history on Wikipedia.

Know Southmayd?

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

Sherman, TX52,000 people, 5 miles
Howe, TX3,700 people, 10 miles
Pottsboro, TX2,800 people, 10 miles
Whitesboro, TX4,200 people, 12 miles
Collinsville, TX2,100 people, 12 miles
Denison, TX27,000 people, 12 miles

Smaller places

Knollwood, TX809 people, 7 miles
Sadler, TX365 people, 9 miles
Tom Bean, TX975 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.