The oldest town in Texas still knows how to feel lived-in

Nacogdoches County is home to approximately 66,900 residents across six communities anchored by the city of Nacogdoches and its twenty-thousand-student university. Median home values sit at $148,325 countywide, with the bulk of housing inventory concentrated in Nacogdoches proper while rural communities offer land and older homes at lower price points. The county's economy runs on manufacturing, healthcare, and university employment, with Stephen F. Austin State University shaping both the job market and the character of the region's largest city. Beyond the university town, the landscape turns to timber country and ranch land where small communities serve families who've worked the piney woods for generations.

Cities Compared

Nacogdoches commands the highest home values and the broadest housing inventory, with everything from student rentals to professional neighborhoods, while Garrison, Cushing, and Chireno offer older housing stock and land at prices that reflect their rural isolation and limited commercial services.

Demographics

The county skews slightly younger than rural Texas averages thanks to the university's student population, with a median age near thirty-nine and a diverse mix that includes established Anglo families, a growing Hispanic population, and African American communities with roots stretching back generations. Educational attainment reflects the split between university-educated professionals and working-class residents in timber and manufacturing sectors.

Economy

Manufacturing leads employment with over three thousand jobs in facilities that produce goods for regional and national markets, followed closely by accommodation, food service, and healthcare sectors that serve both residents and the university's student population. The presence of Stephen F. Austin State University creates a stable employment base unusual for rural East Texas, while construction and finance sectors support ongoing development in Nacogdoches.

Schools

School district data was not provided for this county, but the presence of Stephen F. Austin State University creates an educational infrastructure that extends beyond K-12, with the university serving as both an employer and a draw for families seeking access to higher education.

Cost of Living

Housing costs remain well below state averages, with median home values under $150,000 and rents averaging under $950 monthly, reflecting the county's distance from major metros and its rural character outside Nacogdoches proper. The combination of university employment and manufacturing jobs provides income stability, while property tax data was not available for detailed comparison.

About Nacogdoches County

Nacogdoches County sits in the heart of Deep East Texas, where the piney woods thicken and the land remembers centuries of occupation before statehood. This is the oldest town in Texas, a place where Spanish missions preceded Anglo settlement by more than a century, and where the Camino Real—the King's Highway connecting Mexico City to Louisiana—cut through virgin forest. The county was organized in 1837, named for the Nacogdoche Indians who inhabited the area when Spanish missionaries arrived in 1716. Today it spans a landscape where university energy collides with small-town rhythms and rural timber country stretches toward the Louisiana border.

The city of Nacogdoches dominates the county's identity and economy, home to Stephen F. Austin State University and the bulk of the county's population. This is where healthcare systems, manufacturing plants, and retail districts concentrate, where historic brick storefronts downtown give way to campus neighborhoods and suburban development along the highway corridors. The university brings twenty thousand students and shapes everything from the housing market to the restaurant scene, creating a college-town atmosphere unusual for this part of Texas. Beyond the city limits, the county's character shifts dramatically. Garrison anchors the northern reaches near the Angelina River, a small town that serves ranchers and timber operations. Cushing sits to the west, closer to the Cherokee County line, while Chireno occupies the southern edge near the Angelina National Forest boundary.

The smaller communities—Appleby and Redfield—exist as rural settlements where families have worked the same land for generations, where churches and volunteer fire departments anchor social life, and where the forest industry still dictates economic fortunes. This is not suburban sprawl territory. Growth happens slowly here, concentrated in Nacogdoches proper where the university expands and healthcare facilities add capacity. The county's eastern half remains largely undeveloped, a mix of timberland and pasture where deer leases and hunting camps outnumber residential subdivisions.

What draws people to Nacogdoches County is this combination of accessibility and isolation. You can live in a city with a university, hospitals, and cultural events, then drive fifteen minutes to be surrounded by nothing but pine trees and red dirt roads. The cost of living remains reasonable compared to Texas metros, with housing prices that reflect the county's distance from major employment centers. Manufacturing provides solid middle-class jobs, healthcare offers stability, and the university creates a white-collar employment base unusual for rural East Texas. This suits people seeking affordability without complete rural isolation, retirees drawn to the piney woods and mild college-town amenities, and families with roots in the region who want to stay close to land that's been in their name for generations.

From University Hub to Timber Country Outposts

Nacogdoches functions as the county's urban center and economic engine, a city of roughly thirty-five thousand that feels larger during the academic year when Stephen F. Austin students flood the rental market and downtown coffee shops. The historic downtown district preserves the city's status as the oldest town in Texas, with brick commercial buildings and the Old Stone Fort reconstruction anchoring a square that hosts farmers markets and festivals. North Street and University Drive define the main commercial corridors, lined with chain restaurants, medical offices, and the kind of retail that serves both permanent residents and a transient student population. Neighborhoods range from historic districts with century-old homes near downtown to newer subdivisions spreading south and west, where young faculty and healthcare workers buy three-bedroom houses on quarter-acre lots. The university dominates the employment landscape, but Nacogdoches Medical Center and manufacturing facilities provide jobs independent of the academic calendar.

Garrison sits twenty miles north, a town of less than a thousand that serves as a supply point for the surrounding ranch and timber country. This is where the county's rural character becomes undeniable. Main Street runs just a few blocks, anchored by a gas station, a Dollar General, and local businesses that have operated for decades. The town exists primarily as a school district hub and a place where families with land come for feed supplies and hardware. Housing stock skews older, with modest frame houses on large lots and mobile homes scattered along county roads. The pace here is agricultural, tied to cattle prices and timber markets rather than university semesters.

Cushing occupies the western edge of the county, closer to Jacksonville than to Nacogdoches proper, a community of fewer than seven hundred where the forest industry and commuter patterns define daily life. Chireno, even smaller, sits in the southern reaches where the county borders the national forest, a settlement that exists more as a school district identity than a commercial center. These towns represent the county's working rural character, places where families maintain acreage, where high school football matters deeply, and where the nearest Walmart requires a twenty-minute drive. They attract people seeking land and privacy at prices that reflect their distance from urban services, where a few acres and an older house cost what a small lot would command in Nacogdoches.

Identifiers

GEOID

48347

State FIPS

48

County FIPS

347

Statistics

Neighborhoods

0

Population

35,265

Geography

Type

polygon

Area

2,541 km²

Data Source

Primary Source

tiger

Census Reference

QuickFacts

Frequently Asked Questions About Nacogdoches County

What is Nacogdoches known for?

Nacogdoches County defines itself through the oldest town in Texas and the presence of Stephen F. Austin State University, creating an unusual combination of Deep East Texas rural character and college-town infrastructure. The city of Nacogdoches provides healthcare systems, retail services, and cultural events tied to the university calendar, while the surrounding county remains timber country and ranch land where small communities serve families who've worked the piney woods for generations. This is where the Camino Real once carried Spanish missionaries and traders, where historical markers outnumber chain restaurants, and where the forest industry still shapes economic fortunes outside the city limits.

What cities are in Nacogdoches County?

Nacogdoches dominates with roughly thirty-five thousand residents, a historic downtown, and neighborhoods that range from student rentals near campus to suburban subdivisions spreading south and west. The university brings twenty thousand students and shapes everything from housing demand to the restaurant scene, creating energy unusual for this part of Texas. Garrison serves the northern ranch and timber country as a supply point town of less than a thousand, while Cushing and Chireno anchor the western and southern edges as small communities where school districts define identity more than commercial centers. Appleby and Redfield exist as rural settlements, places on the map more than towns with services, where families maintain acreage and the nearest grocery store requires a drive to Nacogdoches or neighboring counties.

What is the cost of living in Nacogdoches?

Housing costs reflect the county's rural character and distance from major metros, with median home values under $150,000 and monthly rents averaging well under $1,000. Nacogdoches proper commands the highest prices, where university employment and healthcare jobs support a housing market that includes everything from older homes near downtown to newer subdivisions with three-bedroom houses on quarter-acre lots. The smaller communities offer land and older housing stock at prices that make acreage ownership accessible, though buyers trade urban services and commute times for space and privacy. Manufacturing jobs averaging $55,000 annually and healthcare positions with similar pay provide middle-class stability, while the university creates white-collar employment unusual for rural East Texas.

How are the schools in Nacogdoches?

School district performance data was not provided, but the presence of Stephen F. Austin State University creates an educational infrastructure that extends beyond K-12 systems. The university serves as both an employer and a community asset, offering access to cultural events, athletic facilities, and continuing education programs that benefit residents beyond traditional students. Smaller communities like Garrison and Cushing maintain their own school districts that function as social anchors, where high school football games and school events define community identity in ways that matter deeply to families who've lived here for generations.

Is Nacogdoches good for families?

Nacogdoches County suits families seeking affordability and a slower pace without complete isolation from urban services, particularly those with connections to the university or healthcare sectors. The city of Nacogdoches provides parks, youth sports leagues, and the kind of infrastructure that comes with a university town, while housing costs remain accessible compared to Texas metros. Families drawn to rural life find opportunities in the smaller communities and unincorporated areas, where land ownership and outdoor recreation define childhood rather than subdivisions and organized activities. The county's safety and small-town character appeal to those raising children away from urban pressures, though teenagers may find limited social opportunities outside Nacogdoches proper.

How does Nacogdoches compare to nearby areas?

Nacogdoches County offers university-town infrastructure and employment stability that neighboring counties lack, with Stephen F. Austin State University creating jobs and cultural amenities unusual for Deep East Texas. Angelina County to the south includes Lufkin, a larger city with broader retail and healthcare options but less of the college-town character. Cherokee County to the west remains more purely agricultural and timber-focused, with smaller towns and fewer employment centers. San Augustine and Shelby counties to the east turn even more rural, closer to the Louisiana border where timber operations and hunting leases dominate the landscape. Nacogdoches County occupies a middle ground—more developed than the counties surrounding it but still deeply rooted in piney woods character and rural traditions.

Find Your Place in Nacogdoches County's Piney Woods

Whether you're drawn to the university town energy of Nacogdoches or seeking land and quiet in the timber country beyond, Nacogdoches County offers affordability and character that's increasingly rare in Texas. Connect with a Texas Ally advisor who understands how this region's history, landscape, and economy create opportunities for buyers seeking something beyond suburban sprawl.