Best PlacesUpshur County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Upshur County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Upshur County ranks 1,896th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Upshur County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Upshur County
The parts of Upshur County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Diana
Fewer homes sit empty, more households have young kids, and more adults hold degrees.
Gladewater
It is noisier and tree cover is thinner.
Ore City
Prices have run up less, though crime runs higher.
Gilmer
Local pay stretches less far and incomes run lower.
Big Sandy
Scores across Upshur County run from about the 6th to the 74th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Upshur County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Upshur County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 94% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of counties
- Cheap childcare$574 a month, better than 76% of counties
Where Upshur County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of counties
- Short commute30.2 minutes each way, better than only 15% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 15% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Upshur County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Upshur County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,187, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Upshur County's effective rate of 1.10%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Upshur County
Upshur County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Upshur County.
Who works in Upshur County, and how
Work in Upshur County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Upshur County
Upshur County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Upshur County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Upshur County growing, and who is moving in?
Upshur County has grown about 9% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Longview, TX metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Upshur County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Upshur County, month by month
Upshur County sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 46° | 38° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 55° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 78° | 66° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Upshur County
The nearest airport, East Texas Regional, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around Upshur County
Schools across Upshur County average a B−, better than 63% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Robert F Hunt ElA− · 58% proficient
- Harmony ElB · 48% proficient
- Union Grove ElB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pittsburg IntA− · 58% proficient
- Union Grove J HA− · 57% proficient
- New Diana MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Union Grove H SA− · 67% proficient
- Gilmer H SA− · 60% proficient
- Pittsburg H SB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Upshur County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Upshur County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Upshur County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Upshur County suits
Common questions about living in Upshur County
Is Upshur County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Upshur County ranks 1,896th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, low taxes, and a stable housing market, and lowest on walkability and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Upshur County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $165,249. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $65,187 median income, cost of living beats 33% of counties.
Is Upshur County safe?
Yes, Upshur County is safer than 59% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $380 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Upshur County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 38. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Upshur County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Diana, Gladewater, and Ore City. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Upshur County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Upshur County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Upshur County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Upshur County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Upshur County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Upshur County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Upshur County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Upshur County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Upshur County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.