53,391 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.2% since 2020)
924 square miles of land · 58 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.
33 active community water systems list Rusk County in the area they serve, reporting 54,900 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CITY OF HENDERSON surface water · local government · TX2010001 | 14,666 served |
| CHALK HILL SUD groundwater · local government · TX2010050 | 4,830 served |
| CROSS ROADS SUD groundwater · local government · TX2010011 | 4,062 served |
| GOODSPRINGS WSC groundwater · local government · TX2010016 | 2,541 served |
| CITY OF NEW LONDON groundwater · local government · TX2010024 | 2,484 served |
| MINDEN-BRACHFIELD WSC groundwater · local government · TX2010005 | 2,346 served |
| CITY OF OVERTON groundwater · local government · TX2010002 | 2,275 served |
| MT ENTERPRISE WSC groundwater · local government · TX2010023 | 2,205 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 117 people were held in Rusk County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 123.
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 Rusk County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $49.7 million — $46.9 million to run schools, about $13,785 per student, plus $1.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $24.4 million local (mostly property tax), $17.8 million state, $9.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $33.5 million.
Spent $21.6 million — $19.2 million to run schools, about $12,975 per student, plus $1.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $11.7 million local (mostly property tax), $6.9 million state, $2.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $12.3 million.
Spent $15 million — $13.9 million to run schools, about $13,259 per student, plus $486,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.6 million local (mostly property tax), $8.4 million state, $2.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $14.5 million.
Spent $12.6 million — $10.1 million to run schools, about $16,236 per student, plus $2.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.1 million local (mostly property tax), $7.6 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $9.3 million.
Spent $12.1 million — $6.1 million to run schools, about $12,274 per student, plus $5.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.6 million local (mostly property tax), $5.9 million state, $776,000 federal. Long-term debt: $11.7 million.
Spent $9.8 million — $7.8 million to run schools, about $15,854 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.6 million local (mostly property tax), $6.4 million state, $795,000 federal. Long-term debt: $7.2 million.
Spent $3.9 million — $3.7 million to run schools, about $15,624 per student, plus $183,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $585,000 local (mostly property tax), $3.1 million state, $573,000 federal.
Spent $3 million — $2.9 million to run schools, about $19,540 per student, plus $13,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.3 million local (mostly property tax), $1.5 million state, $436,000 federal. Long-term debt: $184,000.
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 Rusk County about $14.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
287 bridges in Rusk County: 75 in good condition, 210 fair, and 2 poor (0.7%). “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.
| CR 138 over RABBIT CR · built 1999 | 170 vehicles a day |
| CR 4238 over E FORK ANGELINA RL (N#2) · built 1995 | 60 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $11.4 million of work in Rusk County in fiscal 2025, about $218 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 Rusk 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 Rusk County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Texas: the state government and every county in Texas.
Nearby counties: Gregg County (26 mi) · Panola County (27 mi) · Cherokee County (30 mi) · Nacogdoches County (35 mi) · Smith County (35 mi) · Harrison County (38 mi).