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 Tenaha to say.
- A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town1 public school: 1 K-12 and 1 other.
- A hospital close byUT Health East Texas Carthage Hospital in Carthage, about 17 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityDallas is about 158 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 Tenaha 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 16%Shelby County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $600 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $27,813U.S.: $80,734
- Homes built before 1940
- 0%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 8%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 5%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 Tenaha 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
- 1,0052020: 985
- Median age
- 29.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 12%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 30%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 8%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 5%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 9%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
- Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (28%); manufacturing (16%); retail (13%)
- Unemployment rate
- 0%U.S.: 5%
- Work from home
- 0%U.S.: 15%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: UT Health East Texas Carthage Hospital, Carthage, TX, about 17 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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 Tenaha, run by Tenaha 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.
Weather
- January average low
- 36°F
- July average high
- 94°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 97 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 42 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 56.5 inches a year
- Snow
- 1 inches a year
- Elevation
- 353 feet
Weather station: Center (11 miles 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: UT Health East Texas Carthage Hospital, Shreveport, Dallas.
Shelby County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
Read about Tenaha's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Center, TX5,200 people, 11 miles
- Logansport, LA1,300 people, 15 miles
- Carthage, TX6,600 people, 15 miles
- San Augustine, TX1,800 people, 30 miles
- Tatum, TX1,400 people, 30 miles
- Mansfield, LA4,500 people, 33 miles
Smaller places
- Gary City, TX343 people, 9 miles
- Timpson, TX995 people, 9 miles
- Joaquin, TX732 people, 12 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.