Rains County is a county in Texas, United States, on the eastern edge of the Dallas–Fort Worth region between Lake Fork Reservoir and Lake Tawakoni. It had a population of 12,164 at the 2020 census and covers 259 square miles (670 km2), of which 29 square miles are water, centred near 32°52′N 95°48′W.
Emory is the county seat, and its postal code is 75440. The county has three incorporated cities and roughly two dozen recognised unincorporated communities, sits in the Central time zone, and is Texas’s fourth-smallest county by land area.
Towns & Villages in Rains County
Rains County has three incorporated cities — Emory (the seat), East Tawakoni, and Point — alongside about twenty unincorporated communities scattered through its farm and ranch land. The table below marks incorporated places as City and everything else as Unincorp.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emory | City · seat | 1,251 | 75440 |
| East Tawakoni | City | 824 | 75472 |
| Point | City | 745 | 75472 |
| Bellview | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Bois d’Arc | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Bright Star | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Colony | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| County Line | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Dougherty | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Dunbar | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Flats | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Ginger | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Hermits Cove | Unincorp. | — | 75472 |
| Hogansville | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Hooker Ridge | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Poole | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Prospect | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Richland | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Rocky Point Center | Unincorp. | — | 75472 |
| Shady Grove | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Shotgun Crossing | Unincorp. | — | 75472 |
| Smyrna | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Willow Springs | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
| Woosley | Unincorp. | — | 75440 |
The old list repeated “Richland” twice and misspelled “Bois dArc” without its apostrophe; both are fixed above. Alba, sometimes linked to Rains County, is a Wood County town and is not listed here. Most of the unincorporated names above are rural crossroads and lake-area subdivisions rather than platted towns, and the Census Bureau does not track separate population figures for them.
ZIP Codes
- 75440 — Emory (also serves most of the county’s western and central unincorporated communities)
- 75472 — Point (also serves East Tawakoni and communities near Lake Tawakoni)
Rains County is unusually compact and is covered by just these two ZIP codes.
Geography
Rains County sits in the Piney Woods–Blackland Prairie transition zone of northeast Texas, with rolling, timbered terrain drained by the South Sulphur River and Lake Fork Creek. Roughly 11% of the county is water, split between Lake Fork Reservoir in the west and Lake Tawakoni on the eastern border. It borders Hopkins County to the north, Wood County to the east, Van Zandt County to the southwest, and Hunt County to the northwest.
Demographics
Rains County had 12,164 residents at the 2020 census, making it one of the smaller Texas counties by population as well as by land area. Emory and East Tawakoni are its two largest communities. Texas’s median household income was $75,780 in the 2023 American Community Survey; Rains County, a mostly rural and retiree-heavy lake community, runs below that figure. With 229 square miles of land, the county has a density of about 53 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
The local economy centres on agriculture, ranching, and lake-recreation tourism tied to Lake Fork Reservoir, a nationally known bass-fishing destination, and Lake Tawakoni. Emory serves as the county’s retail and government hub, with Rains County ISD and the county government among the largest local employers. Many residents commute toward the Dallas–Fort Worth metro along U.S. Highway 69 and State Highway 19, and cattle ranching and hay production remain common on the county’s rural land outside the lake subdivisions.
History
Rains County was organized on June 9, 1870, and named for Emory Rains, a Texas state legislator who also gave his name to the county seat. The Rains County Courthouse in Emory received Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Number 10860 in 1970, and the courthouse square remains the civic center of the county.
Getting There
U.S. Highway 69 and State Highway 19 cross the county, connecting Emory to the wider region.
- Greenville — 20 miles northwest
- Sulphur Springs — 20 miles north
- Mineola — 20 miles east
- Terrell — 35 miles southwest
The nearest commercial airport is Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, about 75 miles to the southwest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Rains County?
It is in northeast Texas, between Lake Fork Reservoir and Lake Tawakoni, about an hour east of Dallas.
What is the population of Rains County?
12,164 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Rains County?
259 square miles (670 km2), of which about 29 square miles is water — the fourth-smallest Texas county by land area.
What is the county seat of Rains County?
Emory is the county seat and largest city.
How many towns are in Rains County?
Three incorporated cities — Emory, East Tawakoni, and Point — plus about twenty unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Rains County?
75440 (Emory) and 75472 (Point and East Tawakoni).
What is Rains County known for?
Lake Fork Reservoir, one of the top bass-fishing lakes in the country, and its share of Lake Tawakoni.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.