Red Oak, Texas
Red Oak is a city in Ellis County on the prairie south of Dallas, about 18 miles south of the city along the Interstate 35E corridor. Once a rural farming community in the Blackland Prairie, it has grown into a commuter suburb within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area while keeping open pasture and cropland at its edges.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 20,394
- Change from 2020 base
- +42.9%
- Land area
- 16.2 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Ellis 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
Property here runs through the appraisal district and tax office for Ellis County. The homestead exemption, appraisal cap, protests, and any MUD, PID, or special districts all sit at the parcel level.
Official routes
Use the office for the parcel address; a mailing city is not always the governing city.
County context
What to know around Red Oak
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Red Oak.
County Origin
Ellis County was carved from Navarro County in 1849
Texas created Ellis County on December 20, 1849, probably naming it for Richard Ellis, who led the 1836 convention that declared Texas independence.
Property Tax Basics
Two different offices handle your property tax in Ellis County
The Ellis County Appraisal District sets your property value, but a separate Tax Assessor-Collector office sends the bill and collects the money.
Agricultural History
Cotton farming once made Ellis County a powerhouse in Texas agriculture
When the Houston and Texas Central Railroad arrived in 1872, Ellis County shifted from cattle range to one of Texas's top cotton-producing counties.
Nearby
Places near Red Oak
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Local notes for nearby counties
Next steps for Red Oak
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