Counties / Texas / Cooke County

Cooke County, TX

FIPS 48097 · population 43,046 · part of Gainesville, TX

$323k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$323k
▼ 0.8% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
Median asking rent
$1,741
▲ 5.1% year over year
Zillow ZORI · direct
Gross yield
6.5%
annual rent ÷ price, before costs
derived: rent × 12 ÷ price ✓
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,261
market rent is 1.38x the standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

The annual signals disagree
FHFA five-year cumulative+62.3%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06−0.8%FHFA HPI2025+5.2%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$240k
Surveyed gross rent$1,047
Rent burden 30%+43.1%
Median year built1983
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
7.9%vacant
17,944estimated housing units
Occupied tenure28.2% renter
owner 71.8%renter 28.2%
Structure mix76.5% single-family
Single-family 76.5%20+ units 2.0%Mobile home 11.5%Other 10.0%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs16,661▲ 0.8% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments1,123annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,245▲ 3.0% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorManufacturing24.0% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.8%WEEKLY WAGE+3.0%Manufacturing24.0%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Cooke County presents an income-versus-value tension: buyers able to diligence flood exposure and operating costs should investigate, while appreciation-led underwriting should be cautious. In Zillow’s county observation for 2026-06, the median home value was $322,998, down 0.81%, while median asking market rent was $1,741 per month, up 5.13%. FHFA’s repeat-transaction HPI for annual 2025 rose 5.24%. That index is not a home value, and its different vintage and method cannot be combined with Zillow into a single growth conclusion.

02Housing economics

The reported gross yield is 6.47%, based on market rent before costs; it is not net cash yield. The effective property-tax rate is 1.19%, and the published median annual tax is $2,864, so carrying-cost review matters against the current value and rent relationship. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent, and should not replace the measured market rent in the yield calculation. Insurance, repairs, vacancy, financing terms, and property-level assessments are not published, preventing a net-yield conclusion.

03Demand & competition

Annual 2025 QCEW evidence shows covered employment at workplaces in the county increased from its prior annual average; it is neither resident employment nor an unemployment measure. Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector, which signals concentration but does not describe the whole economy. Tax-return migration was positive by 108 households, and inbound movers’ average AGI exceeded outbound movers’ by $1,084. Investors represented 8.43% of 522 purchase mortgages. Together these are county-level demand and competition context, not proof that a specific neighborhood has tenant or buyer depth.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard. Modeled climate loss equals 0.12% of building value per year, a model-based expected-loss ratio rather than a property loss estimate; paired with the hazard, it raises the need for parcel-level flood zone, elevation, insurance, and claims review. Missing MLS listing evidence—asking-price movement, active supply, marketing time and reductions—prevents a read on current visible resale-market balance. Also verify lease comps, taxes and insurance for the target property.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Cooke County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Gainesville city17.9KSanger city*9.6KPilot Point city*5.3KLake Kiowa CDP2.5KMuenster city1.3KLindsay city1.1KRoad Runner town1KValley View city702
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

11 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Gainesville cityIncorporated place
    17,883
  2. 02
    Sanger cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    9,641
  3. 03
    Pilot Point cityIncorporated place · spans 3 counties
    5,332
  4. 04
    Lake Kiowa CDPCensus-designated place
    2,476
  5. 05
    Muenster cityIncorporated place
    1,329
  6. 06
    Lindsay cityIncorporated place
    1,142
  7. 07
    Road Runner townIncorporated place
    1,021
  8. 08
    Valley View cityIncorporated place
    702
  9. 09
    Callisburg cityIncorporated place
    459
  10. 10
    Oak Ridge town (Cooke County)Census place
    353
  11. 11
    Myra CDPCensus-designated place
    263

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.121% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.19%

$2,864 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+108

1,340 in · 1,232 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$1,084

$68,716 arriving · $67,632 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors8.4%

44 of 522 mortgages

investorother financed
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Property-level flood exposure, insurance availability, or claims history could materially exceed the county-level modeled loss ratio.
  2. Operating costs, vacancy, financing, and assessed value are unpublished, so the reported gross yield may not translate into net cash yield.
  3. County migration and investor activity may not carry into the target neighborhood, while missing MLS data leaves visible resale supply untested.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can HUD Fair Market Rent substitute for measured market rent in underwriting?

No. The supplied FMR is a HUD two-bedroom payment standard, while the reported rent is median asking market rent.

What does the employment evidence measure?

QCEW measures annual average covered jobs located at workplaces in the county, not resident employment or unemployment.

Does the record establish current MLS resale-market balance?

No. It does not publish Realtor.com listing-price movement, active listings, days on market, price reductions, or pending activity.