Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Carthage gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $199K for a typical one, or 3.1 years of the county’s $65K median household income. It grades C overall, 335th among Texas's 640 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. It reports more crime per resident than 83% of U.S. towns, including 25 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, and residents are less healthy than 78% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 30% of working residents work locally in Carthage, against 8.3% in Texas’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Carthage is home to Panola College.
Where Carthage beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Panola College | 1,569 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Carthage is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 290 in 1880, 6,569 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1903 and 2 maps from 1958 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carthage, 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 Carthage.
Carthage trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, draws workers from Marshall and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
4,673 jobs are based in Carthage, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19.3 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
About one in 3 of Carthage’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Carthage is 19 minutes. Jobs based in Carthage fell to 4,673 in 2023, 746 fewer than in 2013.
| Carthage | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 12% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Carthage ISD. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Carthage H S, with 785 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baker-Koonce IntLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 566 | B− |
| Carthage H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 785 | A |
| Panola Early College H STop results in townGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 55 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 213 to 112 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Carthage’s violent crime rate is 3.7 per 1,000 residents. Carthage reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 83% report less.
| Carthage | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 6,213 U.S. towns with household incomes like Carthage’s, it is less healthy than 51%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
41% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Carthage. Carthage beats the Texas average on 2 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 39% of adults have high blood pressure in Carthage.
| Carthage | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 39% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Carthage | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 15.6% | 19.1% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.1% | 74.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.7% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $199K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 29 miles. Values rose 4.3% in the past year while the Texas typical home fell 1.5%.
The typical Carthage home is worth about $199,000, 33% below the Texas typical home. 42% of Carthage renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
| Carthage | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $797 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 42% | 51% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1987, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Carthage.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Carthage weather station records that about 89 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 83% of Texas places with climate records. July afternoons average 93.4°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 81% of Texas places with climate records; January nights average 37.3°.
Carthage has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Carthage | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 93°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 37°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Just 5 of its 6,851 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Carthage itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Davis Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Carthage
About 5 of every 100 Carthage residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
Where Carthage’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
13 notable people were born in Carthage.
City in and county seat of Panola County, Texas, United States
Carthage is a city in and the county seat of Panola County, Texas, United States. The city is situated in deep East Texas, 20 miles (32 km) west of the Louisiana state line. Its population was 6,569 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Carthage grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #335 of 640 in Texas. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
13 notable people were born here, including Derek Wayne Johnson and Kip Harkrider.