Olney's housing stock is predominantly single-family and owner-occupied, reflecting its long history and rural setting. The city offers a mix of older homes in the established town grid and more recent construction, with larger lots and acreage available in the surrounding Young County countryside. The market is notable for its affordability and its appeal to retirees, and the low-density, small-town character means homes are closely tied to the community's parks, schools, and main highway. Olney's housing landscape is stable and traditional rather than fast-developing, consistent with its agricultural economy.

Olney is a compact city organized around its main highway corridors and the intersection of State Highways 114 and 79, with shops and restaurants lining the primary route through town. Residential streets of single-family homes extend from the center, transitioning into farmland and rural acreage at the city's edges. Local parks, including Tommy Perkins Memorial Park and Griffin Park, are woven into the community, and the city's proprietary lake adds a recreational feature. This simple, walkable, small-town layout gives Olney a cohesive identity with its rural surroundings close at hand.

Olney's lifestyle is quiet, rural, and community-centered. The city's identity is shaped by its agricultural and oil heritage and by the warmth of its civic life, including the internationally known One-Arm Dove Hunt, which brings visitors and a spirit of camaraderie to town each year. Churches, school athletics, and local events anchor the social calendar, and most residents own their homes, with a notable retiree population drawn to the easy pace and low cost of living. The result is a classic north-central Texas small town where neighbors know one another and the pace remains unhurried.

Olney is served by the Olney Independent School District, a community school system with three campuses covering pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district serves the city and the surrounding areas of Young County, and it is a central institution in local life, with its athletics and events drawing broad community participation. For higher education and specialized training, residents are within reach of institutions in Wichita Falls, the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, and the broader north-central Texas region.

Olney sits at the junction of State Highways 114 and 79, with State Highways 132 and 251 and several farm-to-market roads also converging on the city. This network connects Olney to Wichita Falls to the northwest, Graham to the south, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area to the east. The city's main highway corridors carry its commercial traffic, while the surrounding farm roads serve the agricultural countryside. Travel is by personal vehicle, and the city's position in north-central Texas places it within reasonable driving distance of the region's larger metros and their airports.

Recreation in Olney centers on its parks, its lake, and the outdoors of north-central Texas. The city maintains several parks, including Tommy Perkins Memorial Park and Griffin Park, and a proprietary lake used for drinking water and recreation. Hunting, and dove hunting in particular, is woven into local tradition through the annual One-Arm Dove Hunt each September. The surrounding Young County countryside supports fishing, hunting, and rural outdoor pursuits, while the city's civic events and school athletics provide year-round community activity. Larger recreational amenities are available in Wichita Falls and the Dallas-Fort Worth area within driving distance.