Photo: Patrick Feller from Humble, Texas, USA · CC BY 2.0How is Rusk run?
Rusk’s city government spent $4.9 million on day-to-day services in the year to October 31, 2023, about $893 per resident. Water and other utilities ($544,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Rusk is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $893 per resident a year, or $2.45 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 21%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$867 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Rusk’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($867 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 175 Texas cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $898, and the middle half spent $630–$1,292. Rusk spent less than 52% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($285,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Texas cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Rusk itself left out).
Day-to-day spending has held about steady since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Rusk reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $867 · 2023: $893.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,725 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.10% of the home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Rusk’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Rusk’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Rusk →
Who’s in charge in Rusk
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Rusk’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on rusktx.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 115 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (5,537).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Rusk Independent School District
Rusk’s K–12 school district, shared with Reklaw, Gallatin. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,834 per pupil, $8,136 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Texas districts overall: 51% local, 36% state, 13% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Rusk’s votes are counted by county
Texas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Rusk alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Cherokee County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican80.9%16,593 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat18.3%3,744 votesOthers: 0.8% (170 votes).
Most votes in Cherokee County: Donald J Trump
Texas: Trump 56.1%, Harris 42.5%
100% of Rusk lies in Cherokee County. Every 2024 race in Cherokee County is on the county’s page.
Cherokee County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Rusk.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: rusktx.com ↗
- 2Texas HouseState representatives
- 3Texas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Texas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Rusk’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Rusk’s government
How much does Rusk spend per resident?
About $893 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to October 31, 2023, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $867 was less than 52% of 175 Texas cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Rusk?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,725 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.10% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see rusktx.com.
Who runs Rusk’s government?
See rusktx.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Rusk yet.
How did Rusk vote in 2024?
Texas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Rusk alone. Cherokee County, where 100% of Rusk lies, voted Trump 80.9%, Harris 18.3% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Rusk?
48 full-time and 3 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $220,282 (about $2.6M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Rusk in the state legislature?
State Senate District 3 (Robert Nichols) and State House District 8 (Cody Harris). The House district also covers 38 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Rusk’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →