Athens, Texas

Area Profile

13,200 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Athens, in Henderson County.

60out of 100
Area Score
Top 46% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity2,221st of 4,199 cities measured55
Schools3,273rd of 4,162 cities measured27
GrowthTop 30% of 4,224 cities measured59
Housing affordabilityTop 43% of 4,218 cities measured69
Climate2,226th of 4,225 cities measured70
Physical resilienceTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured74
Access2,686th of 4,226 cities measured89
Economic stability3,543rd of 4,226 cities measured36
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.1% and median household income $67,984, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Henderson County, TX, which contains Athens, rather than for Athens alone.

In the public schools here, 43% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.4 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 32% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.5 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
13,200
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$67,984
Top 48% nationally
Density
740/sq mi
17.8 sq mi of land
Median age
34.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Texas
Micro area
Nearest major airport
TYR
27 mi · Tyler Pounds Rgnl
Median home value
$210,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Henderson County, TX, which contains Athens, is 5.1% — higher than in all but 22% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Henderson County, TX, which contains Athens, grew 0.9% over the past year, to 35,955 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHenderson County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$78,09060th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHenderson County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,97115th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$17,2492024 ACS 5-Year$67,984Top 48%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,1972024 ACS 5-Year$30,150Bottom 37%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year13.3%Bottom 40%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.3 minTop 23%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year21.3%Top 48%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year80.5%61st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentHenderson County, TX’s figureJuly 202635,955Bottom 39%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Henderson County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+4.9%Top 5%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Henderson County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+0.9%Top 20%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceHenderson County, TX’s figureJuly 202637,88939th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%Bottom 38%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Henderson County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+0.2%Bottom 33%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateHenderson County, TX’s figureJuly 20265.1%Bottom 22%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%27th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202471k46k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $67,984 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Henderson County, TX, which contains this city.

43% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.4 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
42.6%
Bottom 22% in Texas
Reading proficiency
38.1%
Bottom 18% in Texas
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Athens H SATHENS ISD87912.934%42%
Athens MiddleATHENS ISD66016.145%38%
Central AthensATHENS ISD56816.737%27%
Bel Air ElATHENS ISD46516.643%36%
South Athens ElATHENS ISD45717.662%47%

76.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Texas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Texas is up 44% over five years, and up 2.9% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,690 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.28% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,009, below the $1,112 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,009 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $40,400 a year, about 59% of the median household income here of $67,984.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,112 a month.

A median home at $210,800 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,639, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
31.9%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,009
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,112
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$210,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Athens’s median household income of $67,984, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Texas’s figure2026 Q2+2.9%47th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Texas’s figure2026 Q2+43.8%53rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Texas’s figure2026 Q2+97.6%57th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 49%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year57.7%17th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3392024 ACS 5-Year5,40889th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$830Top 10%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,328Top 9%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,009Top 8%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1202024 ACS 5-Year$1,112Bottom 38%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,6672024 ACS 5-Year$210,80056th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4102024 ACS 5-Year$2,69069th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,7802024 ACS 5-Year$85,639Top 41%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.21%2024 ACS 5-Year1.28%67th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year31.9%Bottom 32%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±262024 ACS 5-Year1669th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%54th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.8%73rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2172024 ACS 5-Year71093rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

59/ 100
Top 30% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 5% since 2020, reaching 13,575 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 13,575 residents in 2024, up 0.3% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 31 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Henderson County, which contains Athens, gained about 2.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $78,090, above the $54,971 of households that moved out.

At 2.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
31
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.3
Bottom 47% nationally
Year over year
+35%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202414k13k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+2.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
18%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$78,090
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$54,971
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Kaufman County, TX 985 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. Dallas County, TX 790 people · 13% of arrivals
  3. Smith County, TX 663 people · 11% of arrivals
  4. Van Zandt County, TX 319 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  5. Tarrant County, TX 285 people · 4.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Smith County, TX 663 people · 15% of departures
  2. Kaufman County, TX 644 people · 14% of departures
  3. Dallas County, TX 350 people · 7.7% of departures
  4. Van Zandt County, TX 346 people · 7.7% of departures
  5. Anderson County, TX 193 people · 4.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Henderson County, TX. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202524711
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−91%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 42.1 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station TYLER POUNDS FLD, 27.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals42.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

74 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, inland flooding and tornado, with cold wave alone responsible for 32% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

Strong windModerate
LightningModerate
Ice stormModerate
HailModerate
HurricaneModerate
Winter weatherModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, tornado, heat wave, wildfire, inland flooding, drought, earthquake, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
327
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,040
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Athens's police department reported 327 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,040.

Henderson County records 11.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 25.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 11.1 per 100,000 residents in Henderson County.

Homicide
11.6
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
25.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
22.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Athens’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Athens (Henderson County) rather than Athens itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Tyler Pounds Rgnl at 27 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year81.9%Bottom 23%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle27 miBottom 32%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year14.8%Bottom 22%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tyler Pounds RgnlTYR27 mi8,334 ft
MajorsGVT61 mi8,030 ft
East Texas RgnlGGG67 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
60
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Athens

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Athens with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Athens closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
7575118,644$70,620$209,400—
757527,536$70,223$232,90060