Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Palestine earns a D, ranked 490th of 640 in Texas, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $45K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. One bright spot: natural-hazard risk is low. 34% of working residents work locally in Palestine, above both Texas’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Sacred Heart Catholic Church and School and Anderson County Courthouse.
Where Palestine beats most towns.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church and School
Adrian Peterson
Census counts: 2,000 in 1850, 18,544 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1885 and 3 maps from 1949 on.
17 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Palestine is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palestine, 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 Palestine.
Palestine carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Texas (mostly tornadoes), is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Texas.
Against the 3,995 U.S. towns with household incomes like Palestine’s, it is less healthy than 62%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
19% of Palestine adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Palestine beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 16% of Palestine adults have diabetes.
| Palestine | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 19% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 36% |
| What stands out | Palestine | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 77.6% | 74.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Palestine ISD. Three of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Story IntLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 670 | C+ |
| Palestine H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,003 | B+ |
| Ut Tyler University Academy at PalestineTop results in townGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 263 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 95% of Texas towns, with expected losses of about $215 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Palestine’s FEMA risk score is 10 of 100. Since 1996, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Palestine.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The violent crime rate in Palestine is 4.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Palestine | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.8 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Values rose 3.3% in the past year while the Texas typical home fell 1.5%. The median property tax bill is $1,977, against $4,232 across Texas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Palestine home is worth about $195,000, 34% below the Texas typical home. 55% of households own their home in Palestine.
| Palestine | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,062 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Palestine 2 Ne weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 234 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 80% of Texas places with climate records. The Palestine 2 Ne weather station records that about 87 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 87% of Texas places with climate records.
Palestine has mild winters and hot summers. July afternoons reach 94°, January nights drop to 37° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 6,789 working residents takes 20.7 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
About one in 3 of Palestine’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Tyler (6%), Dallas (4%) and Houston (3%). Half commute less than 40 miles.
| Palestine | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $45,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 5.4% | 9.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2.8 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is City Lake Park, at 280 acres.
| Palestine | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.2% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Steven Bennett Park | 0.6 mi | 11 |
| 2. Reagan Park | 0.5 mi | 15 |
| 3. City Lake Park | 0.3 mi | 280 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Palestine; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Palestine residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
17 places in Palestine on the National Register of Historic Places.
26 notable people were born in Palestine.
City in Texas
Palestine ( PAL-ist-een) is a city in and the seat of Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named after Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that town. The city had a 2020 U.S. census population of 18,544, making it the sixth-largest incorporated municipality in Northeast Texas by population. Palestine is a relatively small city located in the Piney Woods, equidistant from the major cities of Dallas, Houston, and Shreveport, Louisiana. It is notable for its natural environment, and has a notable dogwood blooming season. It has 23 historical sites on the National Register of Historic Places, and was the western terminus of the historic Texas Stat…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Palestine grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #490 of 640 in Texas. It grades D for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.1 years of the area's median household income ($62,068 across the Palestine, TX area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
26 notable people were born here, including Adrian Peterson and Smith Ballew.
