Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,525, settled in 1879.
Bells’ best subject grades are an A for safety and schools; its weakest is a D for walkability. On safety, just 13 of Texas’ 576 towns do better. 7.7% of residents are 65 or older in Bells, below both the Texas town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Bells has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Bells beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bells El | PK–5 | 458 |
| Pritchard J H | 6–8 | 231 |
| Bells H S | 9–12 | 318 |
Where Bells’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Bells is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1913.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bells, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bells.
Bells’ property crime rate is 2.6 per 1,000 residents, where Texas’ towns sit at 10.7 and U.S. towns at 9.9.
| Bells | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by Bells ISD. Its three schools are below. The largest public high school is Bells H S, with 318 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bells ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 458 | A− |
| Bells H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 318 | A |
| Pritchard J HTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 231 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Bells for work: only 5% work in town. Bells’ average trip to work is 30 minutes. Jobs based in Bells grew to 378 in 2023, 87 more than in 2013.
| Bells | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.9% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bells has mild winters and hot summers. The July high in Bells is 94°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Bells home is worth about $358,000, down 1.8% in a year, 21% above the Texas typical home.
| Bells | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $981 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 69% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Bells beats the Texas average on 7 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 19% of adults binge drink in Bells.
| Bells | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 39% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Bells | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 10.9% | 19.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.9% | 19.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.8% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bells
About 4 of every 100 Bells residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
City in Texas, United States
Bells is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. Its population was 1,521 at the 2020 census, up from 1,392 at the 2010 census. The city lies north of Dallas and is part of the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5 years of the area's median household income ($72,182 across the Sherman-Denison, TX metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.