Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Olney gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $118K, 1.7 years of the county’s $68K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 69th among Texas's 640 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $36K, and 26% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns. Olney’s average trip to work is 13 minutes, below both the Texas town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). On walkability, just 28 of Texas’ 999 towns do better.
Where Olney beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Olney is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,095 in 1910, a peak of 4,138 in 1930, 3,007 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Olney, 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 Olney.
Olney trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, fares better on crime within Texas than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Homes are within reach (about $118K for the typical one, A+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 20 miles. At 1.7 years of the county’s $68K median household income, the typical home (about $118K) costs less against local pay than in 96% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living.
Typical home values fell 5.1% in the year to September 2026. 63% of households own their home in Olney.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Olney ISD. Its three schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olney ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 369 | B |
| Olney H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 183 | A |
| Olney J HTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 139 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
At 9.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 90% of Texas’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 1.3 per 1,000 residents.
Olney’s property crime rate is 4 per 1,000 residents.
| Olney | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 1,470 U.S. towns with household incomes like Olney’s, it is healthier than 87%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Olney beats the Texas average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 16% of Olney adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Olney | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 8.1% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Olney | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.4% | 12.5% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 15.5% | 19.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.2% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 96.7°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 31.4°.
Olney has mild winters and hot summers. The July high in Olney is 97°F. About 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Olney | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 97°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 31°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Olney.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 1,456 working residents takes 12.9 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
About one in 3 of Olney’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Olney fell to 1,259 in 2023, 278 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Graham (5%), Wichita Falls (4%) and Fort Worth (4%).
| Olney | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $36,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Olney | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Griffin Park | 0.3 mi | 12 |
| 2. Tommy Perkins Memorial Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Olney; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Olney residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
8 notable people were born in Olney.
City in Texas, United States
Olney is a city in Young County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,007 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Olney grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #69 of 640 in Texas. It grades C for health, A− for safety and B− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
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+.
8 notable people were born here, including Bob Lilly and Bill W. Clayton.