Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Denison is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 286th of 640 graded towns in Texas, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools rank ahead of 58% of Texas towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 77% of the country. A typical home there costs about $218K, 3 years of the Sherman metro’s $72K median household income. On hazard risk, just 70 of Texas’ 1,000 towns do better. 22% of working residents work locally in Denison, above both Texas’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). On history, just 85 of Texas’ 1,000 towns do better.
Where Denison beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Denison is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,975 in 1880, 24,479 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 2 maps from 1957 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Denison, 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 Denison.
Denison carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Texas (mostly inland flooding), fares better on crime within Texas than nationally and trades workers with Sherman and other neighbors.
14 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Waterloo Lake Regional Park, 146 acres with 1.7 miles of trail.
| Denison | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.2% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Texoma Health Foundation Park | 2.1 mi | 72 |
| 2. Waterloo Lake Regional Park | 1.7 mi | 146 |
| 3. Forest Park | 0.5 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Denison ISD. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Scott MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 733 | B |
| Denison H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,351 | A− |
| Hyde Park ElTop results in townGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 502 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 94% of Texas towns, with expected losses of about $161 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Denison is 11 of 100. Since 1981, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Denison.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
42% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Denison. Denison beats the Texas average on 2 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 39% of adults have high blood pressure in Denison.
| Denison | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Denison | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 14.8% | 19.1% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 77.5% | 74.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical value, about $218K, is 12% below its June 2024 peak.
59% of Denison households own their home. Typical home values fell 6.3% in the year to September 2026.
| Denison | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,309 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Durant weather station, 20 miles away, records that about 82 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 96% of Texas places with climate records. January nights average 33.2°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 80% of Texas places with climate records; July afternoons average 93.8°.
Denison has mild winters and hot summers. Denison’s July high is 94°F. About 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Denison | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 94°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 33°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Denison has about as many jobs (10,723) as working residents, but only 2,664 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 19.4 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
About one in 5 of Denison’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Denison has added 3,096 jobs, to 10,723 in 2023. The top destinations are Sherman (18%), Dallas (6%) and Plano (4%).
| Denison | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 16.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 68% of Texas’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Denison
About 3 of every 100 Denison residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
4 places in Denison on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Denison.
City in Texas, United States
Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. Its population was 24,479 at the 2020 census, up from 22,682 at the 2010 census. Denison is part of the Texoma region and is one of two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area and is also part of the Dallas-Fort Worth combined statistical area. It is the birthplace of 34th U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Denison.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Denison grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #286 of 640 in Texas. It grades C− for health, B for safety and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
21 notable people were born here, including Chesley Sullenberger and John Hillerman.
