Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Center earns a D, 506th among Texas's 640 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country. The median household income is $48K, and 26% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, natural-hazard risk is low. 49% of working residents work locally in Center, above both the Texas town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On safety, just 55 of Texas’ 576 towns do worse. Center's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 91% of U.S. towns.
Where Center beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Center’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 Center is from typical.
Its grades run from A for hazard risk (better than 86% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 3%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 177 in 1880, 5,221 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1958 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Center, 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 Center.
Center carries less natural-hazard risk than most of Texas (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from Nacogdoches and beyond and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of Texas.
44% of Center adults have high blood pressure. Center beats the Texas average on 2 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 19% of Center adults have diabetes.
| Center | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 24% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 30% | 25% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Center | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.4% | 17% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.2% | 74.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 23.6% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Center ISD. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Center H S, with 662 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| F L Moffett PriLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 630 | – |
| Center H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 662 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
5,901 jobs are based in Center, 2.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.2 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
The average trip to work in Center is 16 minutes. Jobs based in Center grew to 5,901 in 2023, 907 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Houston (5%), Nacogdoches (4%) and Lufkin (3%).
| Center | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Center’s violent crime rate is 6.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Center | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.5 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 88% of Texas towns, with expected losses of about $420 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1992, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Center.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $200K, is 17% below its June 2022 peak. At about $200K, home values are down 13% in five years, against a rise of 10% across Texas.
The typical Center home is worth about $200,000, down 6.1% in a year, 33% below the Texas typical home. 57% of households own their home in Center.
| Center | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $823 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons average 93°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 86% of Texas places with climate records; January nights average 37.4°.
Center has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Center | 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
1.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Center | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Center Municipal Park | — | 13 |
| 2. Center Mini Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Center; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Center residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
2 places in Center on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Center.
City in Texas, United States
Center is a city in Shelby County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,221 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Shelby County located in deep East Texas. It was named for its location near the center of Shelby County; the community is near the Louisiana border.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Center grades D overall, better than 9% of U.S. towns and #506 of 640 in Texas. It grades D− for health, D for safety and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($49,776 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
9 notable people were born here, including Jesse Martin Combs and Del Shofner.
