Austin County, Texas

Austin County, Texas
The Austin County Courthouse in Bellville.
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1837
Named for	Stephen F. Austin
Seat	Bellville
Largest city	Sealy
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	656.37 sq mi (1,700 km²) 652.59 sq mi (1,690 km²) 3.78 sq mi (10 km²),
Population  - (2010)  - Density	28,417 43.5/sq mi (16.8/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Austin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas adjacent to the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 28,417 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Bellville. Austin County is named for Stephen F. Austin, who facilitated the Anglo American colonization of Texas and is known as the "Father of Texas." Austin County is not to be confused with the city of Austin, the state capital city that lies in Travis County approximately 110 miles to the northwest.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 656 square miles (1,699.0 km²), of which 653 square miles (1,691.3 km²) is land and 4 square miles (10.4 km²) (0.58%) is water.

Major Highways

• Interstate 10
• U.S. Highway 90
• State Highway 36
• State Highway 159

Adjacent Counties

• Washington County (north)
• Waller County (east)
• Fort Bend County (southeast)
• Wharton County (south)
• Colorado County (west)
• Fayette County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	3,841		—
1860	10,139		164.0%
1870	15,087		48.8%
1880	14,429		−4.4%
1890	17,859		23.8%
1900	20,676		15.8%
1910	17,699		−14.4%
1920	18,874		6.6%
1930	18,860		−0.1%
1940	17,384		−7.8%
1950	14,663		−15.7%
1960	13,777		−6.0%
1970	13,831		0.4%
1980	17,726		28.2%
1990	19,832		11.9%
2000	23,590		18.9%
2010	28,417		20.5%
U.S. Decennial Census Texas Almanac: 1850-2010

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,590 people, 8,747 households, and 6,481 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 10,205 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.22% White, 10.64% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 6.99% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. 16.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 26.9% were of German, 8.8% American, 8.0% Czech, 6.4% English and 5.0% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 8,747 households out of which 34.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.60% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.90% were non-families. 22.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,615, and the median income for a family was $46,342. Males had a median income of $32,455 versus $22,142 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,140. About 8.80% of families and 12.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.70% of those under age 18 and 14.40% of those age 65 or over.

Elected officials

United States Congress

Senators		Name	Party	First Elected	Level
	Senate Class 1	Kay Bailey Hutchison	Republican	1993	Senior Senator
	Senate Class 2	John Cornyn	Republican	2002	Junior Senator
Representatives		Name	Party	First Elected	Area(s) of Austin County Represented
	District 10	Michael McCaul	Republican	2004	Entire county

Texas Legislature

Texas Senate

District 18:- Glenn Hegar (R)- first elected in 2006.

Texas House of Representatives

District 13:- Lois Kolkhorst (R)- first elected in 2000.

Communities

Cities

• Bellville
• Brazos Country
• Industry
• Sealy
• Wallis

Towns

• San Felipe

Other localities

• Bleiblerville
• Cat Spring
• Kenney
• New Ulm
• Shelby

Education

The following school districts serve Austin County:

• Bellville Independent School District
• Brazos Independent School District (partial)
• Brenham Independent School District (partial)
• Columbus Independent School District (partial)
• Sealy Independent School District

Transportation

The TTC-69 component (recommended preferred) of the planned Trans-Texas Corridor goes through Austin County.

See also

• Adelsverein
• List of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Austin County, Texas

External links

• Austin County website
• Austin County, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Historic Austin County materials, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.