Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Decatur is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 223rd of 640 graded towns in Texas, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $73K. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: its crime rate is higher than 69% of U.S. towns, with 14 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. A typical home there costs about $435K, 4.8 years of the Dallas metro’s $90K median household income. Only 82 of Texas’ 1,000 towns score higher on hazard risk. 21% of working residents work locally in Decatur, where Texas’ towns sit at 8.3% and U.S. towns at 8%. Decatur has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Waggoner Mansion and Wise County Courthouse.
Where Decatur beats most towns.
Administration Building, Decatur Baptist CollegeWhere Decatur’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 Decatur is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 579 in 1880, 6,538 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 3 maps from 1930 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Decatur, 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 Decatur.
Decatur carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Texas (mostly inland flooding) and draws workers from Fort Worth and beyond, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
6,944 jobs are based in Decatur, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Decatur’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Decatur has added 716 jobs, to 6,944 in 2023. The top destinations are Fort Worth (11%), Denton (5%) and Dallas (3%).
| Decatur | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 8.9% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Decatur ISD. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Decatur H S, with 1,163 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCarroll MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 838 | B− |
| Decatur H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,163 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
The typical Decatur home is worth about $435,000, up 1.4% in a year, 47% above the Texas typical home. The median rent in Decatur is $1,024 a month.
| Decatur | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,024 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 94% of Texas towns, with expected losses of about $191 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Decatur’s FEMA risk score is 11 of 100. Since 1994, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Decatur.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 275 to 128 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Decatur reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 69% report less.
| Decatur | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.1 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
People 65 and older are 22% of residents (13% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 20% of residents (24% statewide). Decatur has grown 38% since 2020, to 9,029 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 34% across Texas.
| Decatur | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 14% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 26% | 22% |
| Median age | 40.5 years | 35.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 23% | 29% |
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±4.2 points). Across Texas, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Decatur | TX | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 13.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.8% | 11.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.1% | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 14.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.1% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.2% | 8.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.6% | 5.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.3% | 14% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.3% | 20.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.3% | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17% | 21.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.1% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
July afternoons average 95.3°, hotter than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 33°. The Decatur weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 237 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 77% of Texas places with climate records.
Decatur has mild winters and hot summers. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Decatur | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 95°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 33°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.2 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Hollis & Sue Jones Park, at 25 acres.
| Decatur | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kenny Renshaw Park | 0.3 mi | 13 |
| 2. Hollis & Sue Jones Park | 0.1 mi | 25 |
| 3. Harmon Park | 0.2 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The nearest emergency room, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Azle, is 24 miles away in a straight line.
Decatur beats the Texas average on 4 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 42% of Decatur adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Decatur | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 36% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 74% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Decatur | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.7% | 10.7% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 16% | 19.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.3% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Decatur; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Decatur residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
4 places in Decatur on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Texas, United States
Decatur is the county seat of Wise County, Texas, United States and is part of the Dallas metropolitan area. Its population was 6,538 in 2020.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Decatur grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #223 of 640 in Texas. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and B− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
