Long ago the railroad gave Longview its start in the 1870s, and today it is the small-scale Dallas of East Texas, a city of about 80,000 in the Piney Woods. It still works as the region's shopping, medical and business center. Day to day it feels like a steady, practical Texas city with pine trees, a downtown that is slowly reviving, and chain retail along Loop 281.
Visitors come for the Great Texas Balloon Race in June, walks at the Arboretum and Teague Park, fishing at Lake Lamond, or a day trip to Caddo Lake. Living here is affordable, with housing well below the national average. The tradeoffs are crime above the national average (mostly car break-ins, so lock up), hot humid summers, and spring thunderstorms with some tornado risk. Dallas is about two hours west.
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- Known as
- Hub of East Texas; Home of the Great Texas Balloon Race; Longview Lobos country; Gateway to the Piney Woods
- Founded
- 1870 founded (Longview town platted when the Texas and Pacific Railway arrived, Gregg County); 1871 incorporated
- Languages
- English; Spanish; small communities speaking Vietnamese and Chinese
- Airports
- East Texas Regional Airport (GGG), about 10 miles southeast (limited commercial service to Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston); Shreveport Regional (SHV), about 60 miles east; Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW), about 125 miles west
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20%; bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-5 per bag; food delivery 15-20%; counter service optional
About this data
Population 83,236 (July 1, 2025) and land area 55.83 sq mi are from Census QuickFacts; median value and rent from Census ACS 2020-2024. Metro 297,315 (2025) is a Wikipedia-cited estimate for the four-county Longview MSA (Gregg, Harrison, Rusk, Upshur). Elevation, coordinates, founding, event months, hotel ranges, tipping, cost-of-living index, airport distances, crime figures and 1BR rent are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified in this pass (lower confidence). Official URLs found via search but not load-tested.
