Roses are the story in Tyler, East Texas's regional hub, a city of about 114,000. The Municipal Rose Garden is the largest of its kind in the country, and every October the Texas Rose Festival brings a parade and a lot of pageantry. In spring the azalea trails put on a colorful show of their own. The pace is slower than Dallas, which is about 100 miles west. Downtown Tyler centers on a square with shops and restaurants, the Azalea District has historic homes, and Hollytree is where the upscale suburban living is. Families like Caldwell Zoo and Tyler State Park, and Lake Tyler offers boating and trails.
It is affordable compared with most Texas metros, and demand has been steady as East Texas grows. Crime is a bit above the state average, mostly theft and car break-ins, with higher rates in some older north and south neighborhoods. Weather is the other catch: spring brings hail and tornado threats and heavy pollen, summers reach the upper 90s with humidity, and ice storms happen in winter.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
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- Known as
- Rose Capital of America; Rose City; Hub of East Texas; Texas Rose Festival home
- Founded
- 1846 founded as Smith County seat (named for President John Tyler); 1850 incorporated
- Languages
- English; Spanish; smaller communities speaking Vietnamese, Chinese and Arabic
- Airports
- Tyler Pounds Regional (TYR), about 8 miles northeast (commercial flights to Dallas/Fort Worth); Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW), about 100 miles west; Longview East Texas Regional (GGG), about 40 miles northeast
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20%; bars $1-2 per drink or 15-20% of tab; 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 is Census Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025) via QuickFacts (113,723); land area 57.45 sq mi from Census; median value and rent from Census ACS via QuickFacts. Metro figure 252,549 is the Tyler MSA July 1, 2025 estimate from FRED (Census-based); the MSA is Smith County. Elevation, coordinates, founding, event names and months (not verified as current), hotel ranges, tipping, cost-of-living index, airport distances, 1BR rent and crime figures are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified in this pass. Web fetch was limited, so lower confidence on those items. Event calendar link is the Visit Tyler annual events page, whose listing appeared sparsely populated when fetched; official URLs not load-tested.
