ToolTX
A town of 2,427, settled in 1901. Public schools that outperform most of Texas.
Is Tool a good place to live?
Tool’s best subject grade is an A− for schools; its weakest is a D for walkability. Only 57 of Texas’ 1,000 towns score lower on history. Tool's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 88% of U.S. towns. Tool has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Tool stand out
Where Tool beats most towns.
96% of working residents leave Tool for work
Where Tool’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Tool grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Tool is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Tool: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tool, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Tool.
On state tests, Tool’s schools beat 82% of Texas districts
Its one school is below. Enrollment at Tool’s public school: 197 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tool ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 197 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Residents of Tool are less healthy than 78% of U.S. towns
The share of adults in Tool who get no exercise outside work: 31%. Against the Texas average, Tool comes out ahead on 9 CDC measures out of 31, and behind on 10. Two figures for adults in the town: 16% have diabetes, 17% report frequent physical distress.
| Tool | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Tool | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.4% | 16.4% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 12.7% | 19.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.5% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average trip to work in Tool is longer than in the typical Texas or U.S. town
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Tool dropped by 70, to 160. The share of residents in Tool who live below the poverty line is 17%, against 12% in Texas’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Most people who work leave Tool to do it: just 4% work in town. The top destinations are Mabank (7%), Gun Barrel City (6%) and Athens (6%).
| Tool | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 47 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Compared with most of Texas and the rest of the country, property crime in Tool is lower
Tool reports less crime per resident than 73% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade. Its level of violent crime stands at 1.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Tool | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
A older population than Texas as a whole
Among adults 25 and older, 27% have a four-year degree or more, against 34% across Texas. People 65 and older are 23% of residents (13% statewide); children under 18 are 17% of residents (25% statewide). Tool’s age of the median resident stands at 49.6 years. The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate puts Tool at 2,427 residents, up 12% since 2020.
| Tool | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.6 years | 35.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 17% | 26% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 14% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 23% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.8 points. Across Texas, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Tool | TX | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 13.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.7% | 11.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.2% | 14.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.9% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 18.1% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.7% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16% | 8.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.9% | 5.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.4% | 14% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.9% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.5% | 20.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.4% | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.6% | 21.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.2% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,400, single groups can be off by several points
In Tool, expect mild winters and hot summers
July afternoons reach 95°, January nights drop to 36° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest natural risk in Tool is cold waves, at a low overall level
On expected storm and flood damage, Tool sits below 63% of U.S. communities. Federal aid has come to Tool households in 3 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024. 37% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 31%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homes in Tool sell for about $272K
On the market in Tool: a median 39 days to sell. Just over four fifths of Tool households are owner-occupiers. In Tool, the median rent is $1,386 a month.
| Tool | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 81% | 69% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,386 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Tool
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Tool; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Tool residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
About Tool
City in Texas, United States
Tool is a city in Henderson County, Texas, United States. Its population was 2,175 at the 2020 census. Located on the west side of Cedar Creek Lake, it is a popular second home and retiree destination.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 341 ft
Tool’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Tool.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tool | — | — | C | B+ | A− | C− |
| Seven Points | — | — | A | C+ | B− | C |
Tool and Seven Points have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Tool with a neighbor →
Questions about Tool
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Tool, TX a good place to live?
Public schools that outperform most of Texas.
Is Tool, TX expensive?
The typical home is worth about $213,000, 28% 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 C.