Preston Texas, 1856
Preston’s story
174 years in pictures
The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1856.
- 1852Preston is settled
PrestonTX
A town of 1,747, settled in 1852.
Population
1,747
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$184K
Census ACS
Household income
$65K
median
Median age
55.2
years
Jobs based here
79
A commuter town
Is Preston a good place to live?
The best of Preston’s subject grades are a B+ for the outdoors and cost of living; the weakest is a C− for walkability. Preston’s median age is 55.2 years, above both the Texas town median (35.9 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). 29% of the land in Preston is conserved, against 1.9% in Texas’ towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Island View Park, at 50 acres. Preston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Preston stand out
Where Preston beats most towns.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Preston for work
Where Preston’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
79jobs based in Preston
2%of working residents work in town
44 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Preston grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Preston is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.6 of 20; 0% of households have no car; 0% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 25% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listA−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $184K, 2.5 years of the Sherman metro’s $72K median household incomeB+Open →HealthLess healthy than 63% of U.S. towns; Texoma Medical Center 7.3 miles awayC+Open →SchoolsBeat 59% of Texas districts on tests and graduationBOpen →Jobs & income$65K median household incomeC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Preston: who provides what
Preston is unincorporated, so Grayson County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerOncorEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterRidgecrest Water System10 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet9 providers98% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesGrayson CountyGrayson County provides services here
Register to voteIn personTexas has no online registration; you can register in person until 30 days before Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereGrayson County Early Voting ClerkGrayson County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code7507675076 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Preston.
29%conserved
29%
conserved · 1,500 of 5,182 acres
2.6 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Island View Park | — | 50 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Preston has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Preston for work: only 2% work in town. Preston’s average trip to work is 34 minutes. Since 2013, Preston has lost 45 jobs, to 79 in 2023.
2%work in town
| Preston | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.7% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.6% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Preston2%
Denison14%
Sherman12%
Dallas7%
Plano5%
44 mi
median commute distance
79
jobs based in Preston
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A−
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Preston
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Preston since 2015.
25risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
1
paid flood claims since 2015
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
In Preston, expect mild winters and hot summers
Preston has mild winters and hot summers. The July high in Preston is 94°F.
2″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter35–55°
Spring52–74°
Summer71–92°
Fall54–76°
Nov 19
typical first frost
Mar 14
typical last frost
+0.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthC+
Preston stands out in Texas and nationally: a larger share of its adults have high blood pressure
44% of Preston adults have high blood pressure. Preston beats the Texas average on 11 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 16% of Preston adults have diabetes.
37%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
| Preston | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 79% | 74% | 79% |
31 measures vs. Texas
11 better11 too close to call9 worse
| What stands out | Preston | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 10.2% | 19.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11% | 19.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.9% | 6.1% |
Texoma Medical Center
7.3 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
HousingCost of living grade B+
A home in Preston sells for about $550K at the median
79% of households own their home in Preston.
$550Kmedian sale price
Market temperature
105
days on market
93.5%
sale-to-list price
5
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Preston
18pages on Preston
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Preston
About 0 of every 100 Preston residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
About Preston
Census-designated place in Texas, United States
Preston, also known as Preston Bend, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located on the Red River in Grayson County, Texas, United States. It grew in the 19th century at the intersection of several military and trade roads and was an important crossing on the Shawnee cattle trail. Preston lost prominence after the MK&T railroad bypassed the town to the east, leading to a decline in traveler and cattle drive traffic. Much of its former town site is submerged beneath the waters of Lake Texoma. As of the 2020 census, Preston had a population of 2,101.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 709 ft
Questions about Preston
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Preston, TX expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $184,000, 38% below the Texas typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.