City · Henderson County, Texas

Tool, Texas

Tool is a city in Henderson County, Texas, part of the Athens, TX metro area. It has 2,367 residents. Tool, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 13 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,646 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #666 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), new homes permitted (high) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on uninsured residents (under 65) (high), firearm deaths (high) and homicide rate (high).

13Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,646 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #666 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 2,367 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 659.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4873352

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety20#12,543/15,637
Economy29#11,145/15,631
Housing45#8,226/14,977
Health16#13,083/15,609
Healthcare4#14,956/15,650
Environment55#6,941/15,453
Education53#7,294/15,649
Infrastructure14#13,429/15,650
Community15#13,352/15,651
Leisure & amenities14#13,513/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Tool, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Henderson 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

Natural hazard risk · low5.4
91/100Texas 39.62025Federal Emergency Management AgencyHenderson County value
New homes permitted · high12.3 /1k
91/100Texas 6.3 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Child care cost burden · low22.5%
86/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHenderson County value
Math scores · high3.26
80/100Texas 3.15United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHenderson County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Texas 7 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHenderson County value
Drug overdose deaths · low11.1 /100k
74/100Texas 13.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataHenderson County value

Weaknesses

Uninsured residents (under 65) · high25.0%
3/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Firearm deaths · high25.5 /100k
6/100Texas 13.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHenderson County value
Homicide rate · high11.6 /100k
6/100Texas 5.1 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHenderson County value
Life expectancy · low72.1 yrs
7/100Texas 77.2 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHenderson County value
Premature death · high13,271 /100k
8/100Texas 7,960 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHenderson County value
Distance to an emergency room · high14.1 mi
8/100Texas 5.5 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHenderson County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,214 (2015-2019) → 2,367 (2020-2024)
+6.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
31.1% (2015-2019) → 8.8% (2020-2024)
−22 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
31.3% (2015-2019) → 48.0% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,273 (2015-2019) → $71,333 (2020-2024)
+51%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedImproving
8.3 /1k (2021) → 12.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+48%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
53.8% (2015-2019) → 62.9% (2020-2024)
+9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Tool, Texas improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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

Household income+51%$47,273 → $71,333

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Tool, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	37.0 min2015-2019	47.2 min2020-2024	+10.1 min	Within the margin of error	2%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.4%2015-2019	26.8%2020-2024	+8.3 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Broadband subscriptions	88.3%2015-2019	89.8%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Effective property tax rate	1.39%2015-2019	0.93%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	89%
High school diploma or higher	84.6%2015-2019	89.6%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.8×	Within the margin of error	32%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4662015-2019	0.5142020-2024	+0.048	Within the margin of error	17%
Median household income	$47,2732015-2019	$71,3332020-2024	+51%	Improved	85%
Poverty rate	17.3%2015-2019	17.3%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	31.3%2015-2019	48.0%2020-2024	+17 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.4%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	12%

“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 Tool, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Tool, 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, Tool, Texas itself moved −4.2 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

2,367 residents (±431)

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

1,070 households (±192)

Tool, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k22%†233
$25k–50k16%†168
$50k–75k14%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,070 households (±192)

Tool, Texas
Texas share

Own81%868
Rent19%†202

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

1,031 workers (±278)

Tool, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone74%765
Carpool9.3%†96
Public transit0.0%0

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 Athens, 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 Henderson County, the county holding most of Tool's residents.

Henderson County has 1,521 employer establishments, 176 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.81× Texas's), with 15,622 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,189. The Census Bureau also counts 8,105 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,521; 8,105 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 176; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 15,622
Average annual pay: $42,189; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	152	17.6	0.96×About typical	2,292	$19,282	62
Specialty trade contractors	124	14.4	0.93×About typical	769	$54,250	1,063
Ambulatory health care services	82	9.5	0.46×Fewer than typical	832	$56,331	213
Religious organizations	73	8.5	1.52×More than typical	516	$20,731	—
Limited-service restaurants	68	7.9	0.98×About typical	1,332	$17,522	21
Full-service restaurants	66	7.6	0.99×About typical	884	$22,000	23
Lessors of real estate	58	6.7	0.55×Fewer than typical	146	$39,164	555
Construction of buildings	55	6.4	0.84×About typical	215	$60,558	535
Building equipment contractors	54	6.3	1.04×About typical	376	$57,356	210
Automotive repair and maintenance	37	4.3	0.85×About typical	192	$43,089	176
Gasoline stations	36	4.2	1.29×More than typical	299	$20,000	7
General merchandise stores	36	4.2	2.36×More than typical	837	$31,413	68

Rank places for an industry Open Henderson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 86,371 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Tool, Texas: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

10.4KFY2017
2.5KFY2018
28.8FY2019
1.8KFY2020
295.7FY2021

What was bought

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 Tool, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Henderson 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.

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

House

Lance GoodenR-TX-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.9%

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.

Henderson County18100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Athens, TX5

Other cities and towns in Henderson 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/4873352

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends