249,091 people (2024 Census estimate, +6.4% since 2020)
921 square miles of land · 270 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.
37 active community water systems list Smith County in the area they serve, reporting 275,098 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CITY OF TYLER surface water · local government · TX2120004 | 107,000 served |
| SOUTHERN UTILITIES buys surface water · private · TX2120063 | 69,735 served |
| LINDALE RURAL WSC groundwater · local government · TX2120017 | 14,781 served |
| CITY OF WHITEHOUSE buys surface water · local government · TX2120025 | 9,571 served |
| WALNUT GROVE WSC buys surface water · local government · TX2120024 | 8,775 served |
| CITY OF LINDALE groundwater · local government · TX2120002 | 6,313 served |
| DEAN WSC groundwater · local government · TX2120009 | 5,907 served |
| JACKSON WSC groundwater · local government · TX2120016 | 5,862 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 878 people were held in Smith County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 999.
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 Smith County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $276.9 million — $205 million to run schools, about $11,184 per student, plus $53.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $151 million local (mostly property tax), $66.4 million state, $46.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $440.7 million.
Spent $59.7 million — $52.8 million to run schools, about $10,741 per student, plus $1.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $34.6 million local (mostly property tax), $21.9 million state, $8.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $101.7 million.
Spent $53.2 million — $46.1 million to run schools, about $10,322 per student, plus $4.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $28.2 million local (mostly property tax), $24.7 million state, $7 million federal. Long-term debt: $63.7 million.
Spent $44 million — $41.2 million to run schools, about $12,442 per student, plus $2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $18.6 million local (mostly property tax), $21.2 million state, $9.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $12.6 million.
Spent $19.4 million — $14.1 million to run schools, about $12,792 per student, plus $4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.8 million local (mostly property tax), $6.7 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $24.4 million.
Spent $14.7 million — $13.6 million to run schools, about $12,503 per student, plus $974,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.1 million local (mostly property tax), $8.4 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.1 million.
Spent $13.8 million — $12.6 million to run schools, about $12,787 per student, plus $654,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.6 million local (mostly property tax), $7.1 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $16.3 million.
Spent $9.6 million — $9.5 million to run schools, about $10,883 per student. Money in: $157,000 local (mostly property tax), $8.4 million state, $502,000 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 Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Smith County about $43.1 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
428 bridges in Smith County: 207 in good condition, 218 fair, and 3 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.
| SH 64 over LAKE TYLER - E MUD CREEK · built 1937 | 7,260 vehicles a day |
| CR 452 over MILL CREEK · built 1985 | 380 vehicles a day |
| CR 363 over SIMPSON CREEK · built 2001 | 280 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $59.3 million of work in Smith County in fiscal 2025, about $254 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 Smith 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 Smith County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Texas: the state government and every county in Texas.
Nearby counties: Gregg County (27 mi) · Wood County (29 mi) · Upshur County (31 mi) · Rusk County (35 mi) · Van Zandt County (35 mi) · Henderson County (36 mi).