Cherokee County, Texas Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Cherokee County, TX Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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C
Health Below averageLess healthy than 88% of counties in Texas
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D
Income Well below averageLess wealthy than 75% of counties in Texas
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F
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Cherokee County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 51,885 | 30,160,889 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 48.8 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.16% | 1.41% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 35.9 | 35.9 | 37.3 |
| Households | 18,185 | 10,982,153 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Cherokee County grew by 8.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 51,885 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Cherokee County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 21.7% of residents. That is 1.8 points below Texas as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 11,240 21.7% -1.8 pts
- Millennials 29–44 10,266 19.8% -3.1 pts
- Gen X 45–60 9,593 18.5% -1.0 pts
- Boomers 61–79 9,398 18.1% +4.9 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Texas, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 49.5% of the people living in Cherokee County and men 50.5%.
- Women 49.5% Texas 50.1%
- Men 50.5% Texas 49.9%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Cherokee County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Cherokee County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Cherokee County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $61,269 | $78,939 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 5.20% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.2% | 5.2% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Cherokee County is about 22% lower than in Texas.
Housing
| Metric | Cherokee County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $164,216 | $258,873 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $933 | $1,402 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 74.0% | 62.6% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Cherokee County is about 14.7 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $933 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Cherokee County spend about 40 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 168 hours, about 7.0 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Cherokee County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 20.2 | 22.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 40.4 | 45.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 168 | 190 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,220 | $5,888 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 11.4% | 14.4% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 2,920 | 9,879 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 498 | 1,441 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Texas:
Loving County (3.2 min), King County (5.8 min), Terrell County (6.5 min).
Slowest:
Bandera County (38.6 min), San Jacinto County (35.9 min), Liberty County (33.6 min).
The average commute time in Cherokee County is 20 minutes, shorter than the 23 minutes in Texas.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Cherokee County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Cherokee County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 14.9% | 29.3% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.68 | 2.69 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Texas:
Collin County (0.4), Travis County (0.4), Fort Bend County (0.4).
Lowest:
Kenedy County (0.0), Hudspeth County (0.1), La Salle County (0.1).
Health
Cherokee County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Cherokee County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 76.4 | 78.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 24.4% | 21.1% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 23.4% | 19.9% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Texas:
Collin County (0.8), Travis County (0.8), Denton County (0.8).
Lowest:
Starr County (0.7), Brooks County (0.7), Presidio County (0.7).
Cherokee County, TX Compared With Nearby Counties
Cherokee County, TX is typical in size for this group, 51,885 residents against a local median of 58,439, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Cherokee County, TX's median home price, at $164,216, runs 80% above the $91,167 typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread $203,407 on median home price, so Cherokee County, TX sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Cherokee County, TX has the 3rd highest median home price of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee County, TX | 51,885 | $61,269 #4/6 | $164,216 #3/6 | 20.2 min #4/6 |
| Rusk County, TX | 52,842 | $68,603 | $59,204 | 22.3 min |
| Anderson County, TX | 58,439 | $62,143 | $91,167 | 18.6 min |
| Smith County, TX | 241,737 | $74,135 | $185,885 | 20.8 min |
| Houston County, TX | 22,051 | $56,458 | $50,869 | 18.5 min |
| Nacogdoches County, TX | 65,162 | $53,403 | $254,276 | 15.6 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Cherokee County, Texas.
How many people live in Cherokee County, Texas?
About 51,885 people live in Cherokee County, Texas, in 18,185 households of 2.7 people on average. The median age is 35.9, close to the U.S. median of 37.3.
Is Cherokee County, Texas urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Cherokee County, Texas has 49 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 56% of the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in Cherokee County, Texas?
The median home costs 2.7 times the median household income ($164,216 against $61,269), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $933 a month takes about 18% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How educated are people in Cherokee County, Texas?
14.9% of adults in Cherokee County, Texas hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 7), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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