Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,928, established in 1872.
Commerce gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $210K, 2.3 years of the Dallas metro’s $90K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 269th among Texas's 640 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $44K, and 23% of residents live below the poverty line, and its schools rank behind 75% of the state's. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Commerce, against 12% in Texas’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Commerce is home to East Texas A&M University. Commerce's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 93% of U.S. towns.
Where Commerce beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Commerce is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for jobs and income (better than 14%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 810 in 1890, 9,090 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 2 maps from 1985 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Commerce, 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 Commerce.
Commerce trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, is shaped by its college students and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
35.6% of residents are enrolled in college, against 6.2% statewide, which pulls the median age down. The median household earns $44,386, against $78,476 across Texas, one input to its D for jobs and income.
Here, 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 34% in Texas as a whole. 9,928 people lived in Commerce by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, 9.3% more than in 2020. For residents in the town, the share who are under 18 is 15%. Adults 18 to 34 are 52% of residents (24% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 26% of residents (38% statewide).
| Commerce | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 26.1 years | 35.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 26% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 6.9% | 14% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 23% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.7 points). Across Texas, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Commerce | TX | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.7% | 13.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.5% | 11.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 33.3% | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.7% | 14.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.9% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.1% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 6% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.6% | 8.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 2.3% | 5.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15.8% | 14% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.5% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.7% | 20.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9% | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.1% | 21.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.9% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Of its 4 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The largest public high school is Commerce H S, with 456 students. Its public schools are run by Commerce ISD.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 430 | – |
| Commerce H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 456 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Commerce’s natural-hazard score from FEMA is 19 of 100. Paid flood insurance claims here since 1997: 2. FEMA puts 39% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to tornadoes, and 21% to inland flooding. Also worth knowing: households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2021.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 228 to 138 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Commerce’s rate of reported violence comes in at 3.8 per 1,000 residents. Its level of property crime is 10 per 1,000 residents.
| Commerce | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $210K for the typical one, A+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 42 miles. At 2.3 years of the Dallas metro’s $90K median household income, the typical home (about $210K) costs less against local pay than in 87% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
In Commerce, the rent at the middle of the market is $909 a month. A typical home here is worth about $210,000, down 4.5% in a year, 29% below the Texas typical home. Among households in the town, 42% are owner-occupiers.
| Commerce | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 42% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $909 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 33.9°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 76% of Texas places with climate records; July afternoons average 93.8°.
Commerce’s midsummer high stands at 94°F. About 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Commerce | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 94°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 34°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 3,790 U.S. towns with household incomes like Commerce’s, it is healthier than 82%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
In Commerce, 29% of adults get no exercise outside work. Only 6 of the 641 Texas towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Commerce. Among adults in the town, 28% worry about having enough food and 72% had a checkup this year. This Texas town does better than the Texas average on 5 of 31 CDC measures and worse on 13.
| Commerce | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 17% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 20% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 74% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Commerce | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.5% | 6.1% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 10.3% | 12.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Commerce has about as many jobs (4,261) as working residents, but only 860 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 19.9 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
The top destinations are Greenville (10%), Dallas (9%) and Sulphur Springs (3%). About one worker in four stays in Commerce for work. In Commerce, the average trip to work is 20 minutes.
| Commerce | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $44,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.7% | 9.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Count the trails in 3 parks and preserves and they come to 0.7 miles. The biggest park or preserve is Centennial Park, at 26 acres. For Commerce, the trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Commerce | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Centennial Park | — | 26 |
| 2. City Park | — | 12 |
| 3. Ivory Moore Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Commerce. Close and well known come first.
13 mi MuseumAudie Murphy American Cotton Museum
18 mi MuseumSouthwest Dairy Museum24 mi MuseumAviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum
35 mi MuseumLamar County Historical Museum
19 mi MuseumHopkins County Museum and Heritage ParkAudie Murphy American Cotton Museum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Southwest Dairy Museum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lamar County Historical Museum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hopkins County Museum and Heritage Park: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Commerce
College town 36 of every 100 Commerce residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
8,078 counted in 2010 and 9,090 in 2020; an estimated 9,928 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.3% since 2020, after 12.5% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
9 notable people were born in Commerce.
City in Texas, United States
Commerce is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, situated on the eastern edge of North Texas and the western edge of East Texas, within the Texas Blackland Prairies. Located 45 miles (72 km) south of the Texas/Oklahoma border, Commerce is the second-largest city in Hunt County, Part of the greater dallas metro area, with a population of 9,090 at the 2020 census. East Texas A&M University, a four-year university of more than 12,000 students, has been in Commerce since 1894. Commerce is one of the smallest college towns in Texas.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Commerce grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #269 of 640 in Texas. It grades C for health, C for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.
Commerce was established in 1872 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 9 notable people were born here, including Claire Lee Chennault and Gene Edwards.
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