Smith County, Texas Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Smith 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 average
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C
Income Below average
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D
Education Well below averageBetter educated than 86% of counties in Texas
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Smith County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 241,737 | 30,160,889 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 254.4 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 1.20% | 1.41% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 35.4 | 35.9 | 37.3 |
| Households | 83,133 | 10,982,153 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Smith County grew by 22.3% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 241,737 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Smith County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 22.3% of residents. That is 1.2 points below Texas as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 53,906 22.3% -1.2 pts
- Millennials 29–44 49,540 20.5% -2.4 pts
- Gen X 45–60 44,940 18.6% -0.9 pts
- Boomers 61–79 40,099 16.6% +3.3 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 51.7% of the people living in Smith County and men 48.3%.
- Women 51.7% Texas 50.1%
- Men 48.3% Texas 49.9%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Smith County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Smith County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.
| Metric | Smith County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $74,135 | $78,939 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 5.36% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% | 5.2% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Smith County is about 6% lower than in Texas.
Housing
| Metric | Smith County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $185,885 | $258,873 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,238 | $1,402 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 68.8% | 62.6% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Smith County is about 12.5 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,238 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Smith County spend about 42 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 173 hours, about 7.2 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Smith County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 20.8 | 22.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 41.6 | 45.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 173 | 190 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,374 | $5,888 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 9.2% | 14.4% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 6,954 | 9,879 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,144 | 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 Smith County is 21 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
Smith County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Smith County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 24.8% | 29.3% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.83 | 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
Smith County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Smith County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 77.3 | 78.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 19.3% | 21.1% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 18.5% | 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).
Smith County, TX Compared With Nearby Counties
Smith County, TX is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 241,737 residents against a local median of 51,885. Smith County, TX sits close to the middle of its own neighbourhood. No measure below is more than 15% off the local median, so the choice between these counties turns on things this data does not capture.
The largest of those small differences is median household income, 14% above the local median at $74,135 against $64,889. Smith County, TX has the highest median household income of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith County, TX | 241,737 | $74,135 #1/6 | $185,885 #3/6 | 20.8 min #3/6 |
| Wood County, TX | 46,961 | $60,416 | $282,777 | 23.6 min |
| Gregg County, TX | 125,481 | $67,149 | $219,385 | 17.1 min |
| Upshur County, TX | 42,567 | $64,889 | $157,502 | 28.2 min |
| Cherokee County, TX | 51,885 | $61,269 | $164,216 | 20.2 min |
| Rusk County, TX | 52,842 | $68,603 | $59,204 | 22.3 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Smith County, Texas.
How many people live in Smith County, Texas?
About 241,737 people live in Smith County, Texas, in 83,133 households of 2.8 people on average. The median age is 35.4, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 2 years.
How densely populated is Smith County, Texas?
Averaged over its land area, Smith County, Texas has 254 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 2.9 times the U.S. average of 86.
Is Smith County, Texas an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 2.5 times the median household income ($185,885 against $74,135), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $1,238 a month takes about 20% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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