Kilgore, Texas
Kilgore is a city in Gregg County in the East Texas Piney Woods, about 10 miles from Longview. The town sits at the heart of the East Texas Oil Field, and its 1930s boom left downtown crowded with oil derricks, an era commemorated today by a cluster of steel derricks marking the tract once known as the World's Richest Acre. It is also home to Kilgore College and the East Texas Oil Museum, which tell the story of that oil history.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 13,531
- Change from 2020 base
- +1.4%
- Land area
- 18.6 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Gregg County and Rusk County
Place type, county footprint, and land area use the Census Bureau's January 1, 2025 geography. Population uses Vintage 2025 estimates through July 1, 2025; change compares that estimate with the April 1, 2020 estimates base. Geography file | Population file
Kilgore crosses county lines, so the appraisal district and tax office depend on the parcel address. School, city-limit, MUD, PID, and other special-district lines can be different too. Start with the full county list below instead of treating one county as the answer.
Official routes
Use the office for the parcel address; a mailing city is not always the governing city.
Local character
Start with Kilgore itself
A few landmarks, stories, and everyday places that help give Kilgore its shape.
Trail system
Creekside Trail follows Bighead Creek through Kilgore
Creekside Trail gives Kilgore more than 3.5 miles of paths beside Bighead Creek, with trailheads from Stone Road to Leach Street.
Downtown walk
Walk Kilgore's World's Richest Acre under the derricks
On North Commerce Street in Kilgore, the World's Richest Acre turns the East Texas oil boom into a street-level landmark.
Cultural district
Kilgore's Cultural District Links Downtown and the College
Kilgore's Cultural District pulls historic downtown, Kilgore College, museums, landmarks, food, shopping, and performance spaces into one close cluster.
Then zoom out to the surrounding counties
County History
How Gregg County got its name
Gregg County was created in 1873 and named after John B. Gregg, a Confederate general killed during the Civil War.
Property Tax Basics
Who values your property for taxes in Gregg County
The Gregg County Appraisal District (GCAD) sets the value of every taxable property in the county each year.
Oil Boom History
The East Texas Oilfield Changed This County Forever
The discovery of oil in Rusk County in 1930 opened the East Texas Oilfield and transformed the region from a quiet farming area into a boomtown almost overnight.
Nearby
Places near Kilgore
Nearby counties
Local notes for nearby counties
Next steps for Kilgore
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