CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

32.28° N · 96.17° W · GEOID 4873352

Tool

Henderson County, Texas · part of the Athens, TX metro

Limited data population under 5,000

TexasTool, TXToolTool

The short answer

Tool is home to 2,367 people. Median household income is $71,333 a year and median rent is $1,386 a month, 23.3% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $213,300, about 3.0x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,386
2% above the median place
Median household income
$71,333
11% below the median place
Median home value
$213,300
33% below the median place
Unemployment
4.9%
0% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Tool

  • Public schools here have 9.4 students per teacher, fewer than in 96% of the 1,648 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 335 Texas places.
  • 32% of homes stand vacant, more than in 95% of places its size. It is the 2nd-highest of 339 Texas places.
  • The median resident is 49.6 years old, older than in 91% of places its size.
  • The population has grown 11.8% since 2020, faster than in 87% of places its size.
  • Household income has grown 8.6% a year across the last five survey releases, faster than in 85% of places its size.
01

Moving to Tool

Henderson County gains about 23.1 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in6,029
Moved out4,520
Net+1,509

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Van Zandt County, TX319346−27

Within Texas, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within TexasOther states

Income per tax return

Arrivals$78K
Leavers$55K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Henderson County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
7.4% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 1.9% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Henderson County report $78,100 a year in income on average; those leaving, $55,000, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$55,400 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,386 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,660 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $213,300.
Getting to work
47 minutes each way on average; 8.9% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Crestwood, IL matches it on character. Compare the two
Net movers per 1,000 people6
23.1
above the median place (median -0.6)
Income of households moving out6
$54,971
22% below the median place
Moved here in the past year1
7.4%
29% above the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureToolAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure7.4%29% above
Moved from another state1County figure1.9%5% below
Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure23.1above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in6County figure$78,09011% above
Income of households moving out6County figure$54,97122% below
02

What it costs to live here

Vacant homes is 31.9%, 352% above the median place.

Tool23.3%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$55,440
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
23.3%
14% above the median place
Home price to income
3.0x
21% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
23%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$54,400
a year, prices not adjusted
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Tool, $1,386 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Tool, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Temperance, MI19.4% vs 23.3%n/aCompare
Waterford, WI20.0% vs 23.3%n/aCompare
Crete, IL16.2% vs 23.3%n/aCompare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Tool.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Tool? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Vacant homes1
31.9%
352% above the median place
Homeownership1
81.1%
22% above the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$1,952
40% below the median place
All 14 cost and housing measures
MeasureToolAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,3862% above
Rent to income123.3%14% above
Property tax rate10.9%1% above
Home price to income13.0x21% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure$1,11431% below
Property tax paid (median)1$1,95240% below
Median home value1$213,30033% below
Home prices, 1-year change3County figure1.9%42% below
Home prices, 5-year change3County figure58.0%13% above
Homeownership181.1%22% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure54.0%7% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,66011% below
Vacant homes131.9%352% above
Median year built119830% above
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Mean commute1
47 min
90% above the median place
Poverty rate1
17.3%
60% above the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureToolAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$71,33311% below
Income per person1$43,1818% above
Unemployment1County figure4.9%0% above
Average annual pay4County figure$52,25721% below
Pay growth, 1 year4County figure7.2%95% above
Jobs4County figure20,06587% below
Poverty rate117.3%60% above
Mean commute147 min90% above
Works from home1County figure8.9%28% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

No health insurance is 19.3%, 202% above the median place.

No health insurance1
19.3%
202% above the median place
Median age1
49.6
27% above the median place
Population change since 20205
11.8%
above the median place (median 1.1%)

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Household size2.2 −12%
Homes with broadband89.8% −3%
High school or higher89.6% −3%
Bachelor's or higher26.8% −17%
All 9 people measures
MeasureToolAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population12,3676646th largest
Population change since 2020511.8%above (median 1.1%)
Median age149.627% above
Bachelor's or higher126.8%17% below
High school or higher189.6%3% below
Household size12.212% below
Born abroad1County figure5.5%38% below
No health insurance119.3%202% above
Homes with broadband189.8%3% below
05

Life in Tool

1 site is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars18.9 −9%
Shops31.7 +5%
Arts, recreation and fitness2.7 −34%
Doctors' offices and clinics9.7 −52%
Child care centers1.4 −39%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public schools11
1
89% below the median place
Public school students11
197
96% below the median place
Students per teacher11
9.4
39% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureToolAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11189% below
Public school students1119796% below
Students per teacher119.439% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure18.99% below
Shops per 10k7County figure31.75% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure2.734% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure9.752% below
Child care centers per 10k7County figure1.439% below
Parks per 10k80.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k80.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k80.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k80.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k80.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails80.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi80.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings9County figure192% below
06

Safety, weather and risk

Violent crime per 100k is 123, 36% below the median place.

Violent crime per 100k
123
36% below the median place
Property crime per 100k
41
97% below the median place
Months reported
12 of 12
by the city police department to the FBI

Counts only offenses reported by the city police department. Sheriff, state and campus police are not included, and some departments do not report to the FBI at all, so compare with care.

July average high12
94°F
9% above the median place
Average temperature12
66°F
20% above the median place
January average low12
36°F
42% above the median place
All 9 weather and risk measures
MeasureToolAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure94°F9% above
January average low12County figure36°F42% above
Average temperature12County figure66°F20% above
Annual precipitation12County figure44.1 in1% above
Natural hazard risk13County figure84.59% below
Hurricane risk13County figure66.26% below
Tornado risk13County figure93.515% above
Wildfire risk13County figure75.523% above
Heat wave risk13County figure87.33% below
08

Tool in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 23% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 23% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,386/mo (2024)$1,770/mo$1,450 to $2,160/mo+4.2%
Median household income$71,333 (2024)$92,500$78,000 to $109,000+4.4%
Median home value$213,300 (2024)$322,000$234,000 to $443,000+7.1%
Population2,427 (2025)2,5802,480 to 2,690+1.2%

The median home would be worth 3.5 years of the median income in 2030, against 3.0 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Tool

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Crestwood, IL$1,334$75,752Compare
Temperance, MI$1,321$81,503Compare
Palmetto, FL$1,366$62,621Compare
South Daytona, FL$1,379$56,579Compare
South Daytona, FLPalmetto, FLTemperance, MICrestwood, ILTool, TXToolCrestwoodTemperancePalmettoSouth DaytonaToolCrestwoodTemperancePalmettoSouth Daytona

Common questions

Is Tool a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Public schools here have 9.4 students per teacher, fewer than in 96% of the 1,648 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 335 Texas places. 32% of homes stand vacant, more than in 95% of places its size. It is the 2nd-highest of 339 Texas places. On cost, space and class size it scores 60 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Tool expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 23.3% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $213,300.

What salary do you need to live in Tool?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $55,440 a year. Work it out from your current city.

Is Tool safe?

There were 123 reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents, against 192 in the typical place.

What places are similar to Tool?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Crestwood, IL, Temperance, MI, Palmetto, FL and South Daytona, FL.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  3. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  4. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  5. Population Estimates · US Census Bureau · Vintage 2025
  6. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  7. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  8. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  9. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  10. Crime Data Explorer · Federal Bureau of Investigation · 2025 data
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Tool with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Tool itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/tool-texas

Citytistics. “Tool, Texas.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/tool-texas/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.