Housing in Centerville reflects its small-town, rural character. The stock is a mix of modest single-family homes near the courthouse square, older established residences, and larger acreage properties and rural homesites across the surrounding countryside. Development has remained low in scale, consistent with a town of under a thousand residents, and buyers are often drawn by the combination of a central I-45 location and room to spread out. Country acreage, wooded tracts, and hunting land are significant parts of the local property landscape.

Life in Centerville combines the rhythm of a small county-seat town with the convenience of its position on Interstate 45. The community centers on the Leon County courthouse square, local schools, and churches, while through-travelers and residents alike use the town as a waypoint between Dallas and Houston. Deer hunting is woven into the local culture, reflected in the county's "Deerest Place in Texas" nickname, and the surrounding rural landscape offers quiet, open space. For day-to-day shopping and services beyond the basics, residents reach nearby larger towns or the metro areas at either end of the interstate.

Centerville is served by the Centerville Independent School District, a small district with two campuses and roughly 668 students. The district's schools, whose teams compete as the Tigers, provide education from the early grades through high school and serve the town along with the surrounding rural areas of Leon County. As with many small Texas county seats, the school district is a focal point of community life, hosting the athletics and events that bring residents together throughout the year.

Centerville's defining transportation feature is Interstate 45, which places the town roughly halfway between Dallas and Houston and makes it a convenient stop along one of Texas's major corridors. Texas Highways 7 and 75 and Farm Road 1119 also intersect in town, providing local and regional connections across Leon County. The interstate location gives residents direct highway access to the employment, airports, and amenities of the two large metros at either end, while the town itself remains small and unhurried.

Centerville's recreation is defined by the outdoors. Lake Limestone, a reservoir of more than 12,000 acres on the Navasota River spanning Leon, Robertson, and Limestone counties, lies nearby and offers fishing, boating, and shoreline access. The surrounding Leon County woodlands are known for deer hunting, giving the county its reputation as the "Deerest Place in Texas." In town, the restored 1887 courthouse and the small downtown square offer a glimpse of the area's history, while the town's position on Interstate 45 makes weekend trips to Dallas or Houston straightforward.