Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,386, settled in 1835. A regional job hub with 4,279 jobs.
Trash day: look up yoursLivingston earns a D−, 607th of 640 graded towns in Texas, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its crime rate is higher than 93% of U.S. towns, with 18 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $49K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 78% of U.S. towns. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in Livingston, where Texas’ towns sit at 12% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 90 of Texas’ 1,000 towns score higher on the outdoors. The biggest park or preserve is Joe Pedigo Park, at 222 acres.
Where Livingston beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Livingston’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 Livingston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1835, comes before those of 96% of the Texas towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 135 in 1880, 5,640 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1958 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Livingston, 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 Livingston.
Livingston draws workers from West Livingston and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Texas rate.
4,279 jobs are based in Livingston, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.9 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
Most working residents leave Livingston for work: only 18% work in town. Livingston’s average trip to work is 17 minutes. The top destinations are Houston (13%), Lufkin (4%) and Huntsville (4%).
| Livingston | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Livingston ISD. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston J HLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 901 | C+ |
| Livingston H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,147 | B |
| Timber Creek ElTop results in townGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 499 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 337 to 178 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Livingston is 29 per 1,000 residents. Livingston reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less. The violent crime rate in Livingston is 3.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Livingston | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 29 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Livingston | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Matthews Street City Park | 0.6 mi | 37 |
| 2. Joe Pedigo Park | — | 222 |
| 3. Anniversary Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 5,331 U.S. towns with household incomes like Livingston’s, it is less healthy than 60%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Livingston beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 33% of Livingston adults get no exercise outside work.
| Livingston | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 20% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Livingston | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 77.8% | 74.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.3% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical value, about $190K, is 7% below its November 2022 peak. The median property tax bill is $2,002, against $4,232 across Texas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Livingston home is worth about $190,000, down 4.1% in a year, 36% below the Texas typical home. 50% of households own their home in Livingston.
| Livingston | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,104 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
51 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1989, 51 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Livingston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Livingston has warm winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 94° and January nights drop to 40°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of Livingston; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Livingston residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
2 places in Livingston on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Livingston.
Town in Texas
Livingston is a town in and the county seat of Polk County, Texas, United States. With a population of 5,640 at the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Polk County. It is located about 46 miles (74 km) south of Lufkin and roughly 74 miles (119 km) northeast of Houston. The city was originally settled in 1835 as Springfield. Its name was changed in 1846 to Livingston, when it was designated as the county seat of Polk County. The Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation is located to the east of Livingston. The tribe traditionally occupied territory in what is now East Texas and Louisiana. The 2000 census reported a resident population of 480 persons within the reservation. The tribe has nearl…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Livingston.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston | #607 | D− | C | D | B− | C− |
| West Livingston | #596 | D− | B | — | B− | D− |
West Livingston reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Livingston with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Livingston grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #607 of 640 in Texas. It grades C− for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.1 years of the area's median household income ($62,259 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 C.
8 notable people were born here, including James E. Gunn and Annette Gordon-Reed.
