county

Rusk County, TX

Demographic and economic profile of Rusk County, TX, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Rusk County is a rural East Texas county of 52,613 residents with an economy rooted in oil and gas extraction, reflected in a GDP per capita of $44,862 that noticeably outpaces median worker earnings of $38,069. The labor force is relatively small—participation stands at just 52.9%—and educational attainment is modest, with only 17.9% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though the 3.8% unemployment rate indicates a tight local market. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $166,900 and median gross rent of $997/month supporting an 80.0% homeownership rate, though the county's population has contracted by 1.8% over the past five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

52,613

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$68,658

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.8% since 2018

Rusk County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone34,666 (65.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone6,976 (13.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race5,948 (11.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races3,246 (6.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,695 (3.2%)
  • Asian Alone195 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish6,403
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island98
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic52
  4. 4.Other Indo-European49
  5. 5.Vietnamese35

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

6.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,883

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$44,862

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,420

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,837
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)2,353
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,254
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,847
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,559

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations6,699
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations4,462
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,834
  4. 4.Service Occupations3,506
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,973

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.27×)1,462
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.69×)834
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.26×)1,279
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.18×)1,488
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 1.15×)2,465

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$166,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$997/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,9991,524 (10.7%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,456 (10.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,358 (9.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,280 (9.0%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,182 (8.3%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,018 (7.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

17.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

84.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

52.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,069

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone17,753 (83.9%)
  • Carpooled1,814 (8.6%)
  • Worked At Home1,078 (5.1%)
  • Walked233 (1.1%)
  • Other200 (0.9%)
  • Public Transit38 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.