44,258 people (2024 Census estimate, +6.0% since 2020)
875 square miles of land · 51 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
19 active community water systems list Cooke County in the area they serve, reporting 42,925 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CITY OF GAINESVILLE surface water · local government · TX0490001 | 18,107 served |
| WOODBINE SPECIAL UTILITY DISTRICT groundwater · local government · TX0490018 | 8,151 served |
| MOUNTAIN SPRINGS WSC groundwater · local government · TX0490027 | 3,756 served |
| LAKE KIOWA SUD groundwater · local government · TX0490016 | 2,848 served |
| CITY OF CALLISBURG groundwater · local government · TX0490013 | 2,277 served |
| CITY OF MUENSTER groundwater · local government · TX0490002 | 1,771 served |
| CITY OF VALLEY VIEW groundwater · local government · TX0490049 | 1,188 served |
| CITY OF LINDSAY groundwater · local government · TX0490003 | 1,050 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 126 people were held in Cooke County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 153.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
8 school districts have their office in Cooke County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $40.4 million — $35.5 million to run schools, about $11,478 per student, plus $3.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $18.7 million local (mostly property tax), $15.2 million state, $11.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $22.4 million.
Spent $14.8 million — $13.6 million to run schools, about $11,647 per student, plus $718,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $12.7 million local (mostly property tax), $2.6 million state, $1.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $14.8 million.
Spent $16.6 million — $15 million to run schools, about $16,262 per student, plus $969,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.7 million local (mostly property tax), $7.4 million state, $1.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $12.5 million.
Spent $7.2 million — $6.5 million to run schools, about $11,510 per student, plus $152,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.4 million local (mostly property tax), $1.9 million state, $386,000 federal. Long-term debt: $13.1 million.
Spent $7.2 million — $6.5 million to run schools, about $11,948 per student, plus $577,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5 million local (mostly property tax), $3.4 million state, $422,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.6 million.
Spent $6.4 million — $6.1 million to run schools, about $12,521 per student, plus $275,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.1 million local (mostly property tax), $2.1 million state, $197,000 federal.
Spent $2.3 million — $1.2 million to run schools, about $16,643 per student, plus $24,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.2 million local (mostly property tax), $273,000 state, $206,000 federal.
Spent $1.2 million — $1 million to run schools, about $19,389 per student, plus $142,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $267,000 local (mostly property tax), $791,000 state, $158,000 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Cooke County about $28.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
281 bridges in Cooke County: 138 in good condition, 133 fair, and 10 poor (3.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| FM 3002 over IH 35 · built 1963 | 2,616 vehicles a day |
| CR 165/BONNER RD over DRAW · built 1967 | 400 vehicles a day |
| CR 258/SIGN CR 341 over DRAW · built 1984 | 120 vehicles a day |
| CR 302/SIGN 207 over SPRING CREEK · built 1997 | 103 vehicles a day |
| CR 258/SIGN CR 341 over ELM FORK TRINITY RIVER · built 1976 | 59 vehicles a day |
| CR 365/SIGN CR 215 over INDIAN CREEK · built 1985 | 50 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $124.3 million of work in Cooke County in fiscal 2025, about $2,982 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-19 to 2026-10-30. Mail ballot application must be received: 2026-10-23. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Texas Secretary of State, Sept. 28, 2026 · VoteTexas.gov — early voting · VoteTexas.gov
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Cooke County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Cooke County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Texas: the state government and every county in Texas.
Nearby counties: Love County, OK (22 mi) · Montague County (30 mi) · Denton County (30 mi) · Grayson County (31 mi) · Marshall County, OK (37 mi) · Wise County (39 mi).