Census-designated place · Grayson County, Texas

Preston, Texas

Preston is a census-designated place in Grayson County, Texas, part of the Sherman-Denison, TX metro area. It has 1,747 residents. Preston, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 17 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,037 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #576 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), child care cost burden (low) and natural hazard risk (low). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), grocery stores (low) and unemployment rate (high).

17Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,037 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #576 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 1,747 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 347.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 4859420

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety51#7,653/15,637
Economy50#7,739/15,631
Housing27#10,984/14,977
Health31#10,798/15,609
Healthcare11#13,957/15,650
Environment43#8,815/15,453
Education26#11,641/15,649
Infrastructure12#13,824/15,650
Community36#10,061/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,248/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Preston, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Grayson County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Job growth · high3.4%
95/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataGrayson County value
Child care cost burden · low21.1%
91/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGrayson County value
Natural hazard risk · low5.9
91/100Texas 39.62025Federal Emergency Management AgencyGrayson County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low133 min
79/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesGrayson County value
Students per teacher · low13.0×
69/100Texas 15.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsGrayson County value
Comfortable days · high28.0%
68/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGrayson County value

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Texas 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Grocery stores · low0.7 /10k
5/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGrayson County value
Unemployment rate · high11.6%
6/100Texas 4.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Preventable hospital stays · high4,287 /100k
6/100Texas 2,991 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGrayson County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low9.5%
7/100Texas 33.8%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high15.7%
9/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
1,991 (2015-2019) → 1,747 (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
50.2% (2015-2019) → 15.7% (2020-2024)
−35 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
32.5% (2015-2019) → 66.0% (2020-2024)
+34 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.3% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+28 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$39,580 (2015-2019) → $65,069 (2020-2024)
+64%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateWorsening
1.9% (2015-2019) → 11.6% (2020-2024)
+9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Preston, Texas improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Uninsured−35 points50.2% → 15.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Preston, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	31.5 min2015-2019	34.0 min2020-2024	+2.6 min	Within the margin of error	23%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.5%2015-2019	9.5%2020-2024	−8 points	Within the margin of error	3%
Broadband subscriptions	68.0%2015-2019	75.4%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	1.49%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	97%
High school diploma or higher	94.9%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	73%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4392015-2019	0.3972020-2024	−0.042	Within the margin of error	80%
Median household income	$39,5802015-2019	$65,0692020-2024	+64%	Within the margin of error	92%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	50.2%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	−35 points	Improved	100%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Preston, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Preston, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Preston, Texas itself moved +2.8 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,747 residents (±405)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

768 households (±181)

Preston, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k27%†205
$25k–50k16%†121
$50k–75k25%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

768 households (±181)

Preston, Texas
Texas share

Own79%605
Rent21%†163

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

821 workers (±249)

Preston, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone73%†597
Carpool14%†113
Public transit

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Sherman-Denison, TX

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Grayson County, the county holding most of Preston's residents.

Grayson County has 2,899 employer establishments, 197 for every 10,000 residents (0.79× the US rate of 248; 0.90× Texas's), with 42,994 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,910. The Census Bureau also counts 13,749 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,899; 13,749 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 197; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 42,994
Average annual pay: $49,910; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Grayson County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	305	20.7	1.00×About typical	3,352	$73,161	507
Restaurants and other eating places	212	14.4	0.78×Fewer than typical	4,263	$21,733	76
Specialty trade contractors	191	13	0.84×About typical	1,831	$65,607	1,577
Lessors of real estate	124	8.4	0.68×Fewer than typical	276	$41,707	1,180
Offices of physicians	113	7.7	1.19×About typical	1,385	$108,249	98
Religious organizations	111	7.5	1.36×More than typical	687	$23,916	—
Limited-service restaurants	103	7	0.87×About typical	2,296	$19,443	29
Building equipment contractors	97	6.6	1.10×About typical	1,099	$63,652	287
Legal services	75	5.1	0.95×About typical	343	$58,612	98
Construction of buildings	72	4.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	355	$75,282	681
Full-service restaurants	70	4.8	0.62×Fewer than typical	1,647	$24,455	40
Automotive repair and maintenance	69	4.7	0.93×About typical	515	$42,093	252

Rank places for an industry Open Grayson County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 147,072 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1,253 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Preston, Texas: $0.72 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,253; −55% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.72; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$2,784100%

Top recipients

TERESA L KIRKPATRICK$2,784100%
THE JACK POE CO-$1,5320.0%

Spending by fiscal year

11.2KFY2021
0FY2022
1.5KFY2023
0FY2024
2.8KFY2025
1.3KFY2026

What was bought

Facilities & utilities$2,784100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$2,784100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Preston, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Preston, Texas's figures are part of those of Grayson County, TX ($3.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Preston is mostly in Grayson County.

See federal money in Grayson County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Preston, Texas is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Pat FallonR-TX-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Grayson County44100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Sherman-Denison, TX34

Other cities and towns in Grayson County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4859420

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends