Smith County, Texas

Smith County is a county in Texas, United States, anchored by the city of Tyler in the east-central part of the state. It had a population of 233,479 at the 2020 census and covers 950 square miles (2,500 km2), of which 921 square miles are land and 28 square miles are water, centred near 32°23′N 95°16′W.

Tyler is the county seat, and its postal code is 75702. The county contains eight incorporated cities, two incorporated towns, one census-designated place and roughly two dozen unincorporated communities. Smith County sits in the Central time zone and forms the core of the Tyler metropolitan statistical area.

Towns & Villages in Smith County

Smith County has 11 incorporated places and a long list of unincorporated communities and rural crossroads scattered through its pine-and-pasture landscape. Tyler is the seat and by far the largest city; Bullard and Winona are incorporated as towns rather than cities. Emerald Bay is the county’s one census-designated place. The table below marks each entry’s status: City · seat, City, Town, CDP or Unincorp.

Troup and Overton both straddle county lines — Troup extends into Cherokee County and Overton into Rusk County — so their totals above cover residents on the Smith County side only. Hide-A-Way Lake is a private gated community adjoining the incorporated city of Hideaway; the two are separate entities despite the similar name.

ZIP Codes

• 75701, 75702, 75703, 75704, 75705, 75706, 75707, 75708, 75709 — Tyler
• 75791 — Whitehouse
• 75771 — Lindale (also serves Hideaway and Hide-A-Way Lake)
• 75757 — Bullard
• 75789 — Troup
• 75792 — Winona
• 75750 — Arp
• 75762 — Flint (also serves Emerald Bay)

Smaller communities such as Noonday, New Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, Garden Valley and Swan use a neighboring town’s ZIP code rather than one of their own.

Geography

Smith County lies in the East Texas Piney Woods, rolling terrain cut by Black Fork Creek, Prairie Creek and the headwaters of the Sabine and Neches river systems. Lake Palestine and Lake Tyler provide the county’s largest bodies of water; pine and hardwood forest cover much of the rural south and east. Smith County borders Wood County to the north, Upshur County to the northeast, Gregg County to the east, Rusk County to the southeast, Cherokee County to the south, Henderson County to the southwest, and Van Zandt County to the northwest.

Demographics

Smith County had 233,479 residents at the 2020 census, the great majority in and around Tyler (105,995) and its second-largest city, Whitehouse (9,538). The county’s median household income runs below the Texas median of $75,780, reflecting a mix of Tyler’s service and medical economy with lower-income rural areas outside it. Overall density works out to roughly 253 people per square mile, though most of the county outside Tyler, Whitehouse and Lindale remains sparsely settled.

Economy & Local Life

Health care anchors the county’s economy: UT Health East Texas (formerly Trinity Mother Frances) and CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances/CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital both operate major campuses in Tyler, and Tyler has long marketed itself as a regional medical hub for East Texas. Higher education adds Tyler Junior College, Texas College and the University of Texas at Tyler. Rose growing gave Tyler its “Rose Capital of America” identity, celebrated each October at the Texas Rose Festival, and the surrounding county still has working nurseries and rose fields alongside timber, poultry and cattle operations.

History

Smith County was organized in July 1846 from portions of Nacogdoches County and named for James Smith, a general in the Texas Revolution. During the Civil War, Camp Ford near Tyler operated as the largest Confederate prisoner-of-war camp west of the Mississippi River. The discovery of the East Texas Oil Field in the early 1930s, centered mostly in neighboring counties, still reshaped Smith County’s economy and brought rapid growth to Tyler through the mid-20th century.

Getting There

Interstate 20 crosses the northern part of the county; US Highways 69, 80 and 271 and State Highways 31, 57, 64, 110, 135 and 155 provide the rest of the road network, along with Loops 49 and 323 around Tyler.

• Longview — 30 miles east
• Dallas — 95 miles west
• Shreveport, Louisiana — 100 miles east
• Nacogdoches — 55 miles south

Tyler Pounds Regional Airport, inside the county, offers commercial service; Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is the nearest major hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Smith County, Texas?
It lies in the East Texas Piney Woods, about 95 miles east of Dallas, centred near the city of Tyler.

What is the population of Smith County?
233,479 people at the 2020 census.

How big is Smith County?
950 square miles (2,500 km2), of which 921 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Smith County?
Tyler is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Smith County?
Eight incorporated cities, two incorporated towns and one census-designated place, plus roughly two dozen unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Smith County?
Mainly 75701–75709 (Tyler), 75791 (Whitehouse), 75771 (Lindale/Hideaway), 75757 (Bullard), 75789 (Troup), 75792 (Winona), 75750 (Arp) and 75762 (Flint/Emerald Bay).

Why is Tyler called the Rose Capital?
Commercial rose growing took off around Tyler in the early 1900s, and the city still hosts the annual Texas Rose Festival each October.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.