Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Marshall grades D overall, 521st among Texas's 640 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $55K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: natural-hazard risk is low. 32% of working residents work locally in Marshall, where Texas’ towns sit at 8.3% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include First Methodist Church and Ginocchio Historic District.
Where Marshall beats most towns.
Old Pierce House| College | Students |
|---|---|
| East Texas Baptist University | 1,615 |
| Wiley University | 541 |
Census counts: 1,189 in 1850, a low of 1,189 in 1850, 23,392 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 3 maps from 1962 on.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Marshall is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marshall, 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 Marshall.
Marshall trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Texas; it also is a long drive from an emergency room.
The nearest emergency room, Longview Regional Medical Center, is 21.9 miles away in a straight line.
20% of adults report frequent mental distress in Marshall. Marshall beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 28% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Marshall.
| Marshall | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 20% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Marshall | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 77% | 74.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.3% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Marshall ISD. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall J HLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,035 | C |
| Marshall H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,467 | C− |
| Sam Houston ElTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 536 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Homes are within reach (about $159K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 22 miles. At 2.4 years of the Longview metro’s $67K median household income, the typical home (about $159K) costs less against local pay than in 84% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The typical Marshall home is worth about $159,000, up 3.8% in a year, 46% below the Texas typical home. 60% of Marshall households own their home.
| Marshall | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $949 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Marshall’s violent crime rate is 5.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Marshall | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.4 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1991, 27 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marshall.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Marshall weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 233 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 81% of Texas places with climate records. The Marshall weather station records that about 83 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 89% of Texas places with climate records.
Marshall has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Marshall is 93°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 8,762 working residents takes 17.2 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
About one in 3 of Marshall’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Marshall has lost 1,372 jobs, to 9,071 in 2023. The top destinations are Longview (12%), Tyler (4%) and Dallas (3%).
| Marshall | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 5.4% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.7 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Airport Park, at 49 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Marshall City Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
| 2. Airport Park | — | 49 |
| 3. Oak Trail Park | — | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Marshall
About 10 of every 100 Marshall residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
2 colleges in town.
14 places in Marshall on the National Register of Historic Places.
36 notable people were born in Marshall.
City In Texas, United States
Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. As of the 2020 census, Marshall had a population of 23,392. The population of the Greater Marshall area, comprising all of Harrison County, was 66,726 in 2018. Marshall and Harrison County were important political and production areas of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. This area of Texas was developed for cotton plantations. Planters brought slaves with them from other regions or bought them in the domestic slave trade. The county had the highest number of slaves in the state, and East Texas had a higher prop…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Marshall grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #521 of 640 in Texas. It grades D for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. That is 2.4 years of the area's median household income ($66,647 across the Longview, TX metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
36 notable people were born here, including George Foreman and Brea Grant.
