Fort Bend County, Texas

Coordinates: 29°32′N 95°46′W / 29.53°N 95.77°W / 29.53; -95.77
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Fort Bend County
County
Official seal of Fort Bend County
Seal
Map of Texas highlighting Fort Bend County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°32′N 95°46′W / 29.53°N 95.77°W / 29.53; -95.77
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1837
Named forA blockhouse positioned in a bend of the Brazos River, which was the center of life in the future county in early days.
SeatRichmond
Largest citySugar Land
Area
 • Total886 sq mi (2,295 km2)
 • Land875 sq mi (2,265 km2)
 • Water11 sq mi (30 km2)  1.29%
Population
 (2000)
 • Total354,452
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Websitewww.co.fort-bend.tx.us
FM 1092, a major entry into the county

Fort Bend County is a county located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. In 2000 its population was 354,452; in 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to have reached 509,822, a 43% growth rate in seven years from the last U.S. Census. Since the 1970s Fort Bend County has been one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. It is named for a blockhouse positioned in a bend of the Brazos River, which was the center of life in the future county in early days. Its county seat is RichmondTemplate:GR, while its largest city is Sugar Land.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 886 square miles (2,295 km²), of which, 875 square miles (2,265 km²) of it is land and 11 square miles (30 km²) of it (1.29%) is water.

Major Highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
190016,538—
191018,1689.9%
192022,93126.2%
193029,71829.6%
194032,96310.9%
195031,056−5.8%
196040,52730.5%
197052,31429.1%
1980130,846150.1%
1990225,42172.3%
2000354,45257.2%
2007 (est.)509,822

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 354,452 people, 110,915 households, and 93,057 families residing in the county. The population density was 405 people per square mile (156/km²). There were 115,991 housing units at an average density of 133 per square mile (51/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 56.96% White (46.21% White Non-hispanic), 19.85% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 11.20% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 9.10% from other races, and 2.56% from two or more races. 21.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.8% were of German, 6.3% American and 5.8% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

In 2006 Fort Bend county had a population of 493,187 people. This represented a growth of 39.1% since 2000. The county's racial or ethnic makeup was 53.96% White (39.63% White Non-hispanic), 20.88% African American, 14.77% Asian, 0.51% Native American, 7.73% other races and 2.14% from two or more races. 22.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.82% of the population was foreign born; of this, 50.24% came from Asia, 37.17% came from Latin America, 5.74% from Africa, 5.28% from Europe and 1.57% from other parts of the world.

Since the 1970's Fort Bend County has been attracting people from all types of racial and ethnic backgroups and according to a 2001 Claritas study, it is the 5th most diverse county in the United States among counties of 100,000+ population.[1] It is one of a growing number of counties with no clear ethnic-racial group in the majority. Fort Bend County also has the highest percentage of Asian Americans in the Southern United States.

In 2000 There were 110,915 households out of which 49.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.80% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.10% were non-families. 13.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.46.

In the county, the population was spread out with 32.00% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 32.30% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 5.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $63,831, and the median income for a family was $69,781. Males had a median income of $47,979 versus $32,661 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,985. About 5.50% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.50% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2006 Fort Bend County is the wealthiest county in Texas and one of the wealthiest in the US with a median household income of $75,202(In 2006 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars), having surpassed Collin and Rockwall counties(Dallas suburbs) since the 2000 census.[2]

Government and politics

Presidential elections results
Year Republican Democratic
2004 57.4% 93,625 42.1% 68,722
2000 59.6% 73,567 38.5% 47,569
1996 53.8% 49,945 41.1% 38,163
1992 46.6% 41,039 34.1% 29,992
1988 62.4% 39,818 36.6% 23,351
1984 68.7% 41,370 31.1% 18,729
1980 66.3% 25,366 30.3% 11,583
1976 60.3% 17,354 39.1% 11,264
1972 69.4% 10,475 30.1% 4,541
1968 39.7% 4,573 39.0% 4,493
1964 36.0% 3,493 63.8% 6,186
1960 42.8% 3,301 56.3% 4,339

County politics in Fort Bend County, as with all counties in Texas, are centered around a Commissioners' Court composed of four popularly elected County Commissioners, one representing each precinct drawn on the basis of population, and a county judge elected to represent the entire county. Other county officials include a Sheriff, District Attorney, Tax Assessor-Collector, County Clerk, District Clerk, County Treasurer, and County Attorney.

Fort Bend County, like most Texas counties, was once a stronghold for the Democratic Party. In fact, so few Republicans resided in Fort Bend County at one time that in 1960, the county's Republican chair at the time once received a letter with the nickname "Mr. Republican" in lieu of his name [1]. However, as master-planned communities in the eastern and northern portions of the county began to develop, the Houston area's historically strong Republican base on the west side of Houston began to expand into Fort Bend County, and beginning in 1978, Republicans began to win several offices within the county.

Among the first Republicans elected was the fiscally conservative Ron Paul to the U.S. House of Representatives, who became known for his staunch opposition to the general platforms of both major parties earning the nickname "Dr. No" in the process. Another key Republican elected during this time was future Congressman and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who was elected to represent the county's only seat in the Texas House of Representatives. By 1982, several county-level positions were taken over by Republicans. In 1984, DeLay succeeded Paul in Congress after the latter ran for an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign; the seat was won by the Republican primary winner, Phil Gramm. The 1994 takeover of the Commissioners' Court by a Republican County Judge for the first time since Reconstruction solidified Fort Bend County's perceived reputation as a Republican stronghold. Today, every elected countywide office in Fort Bend County is held by Republicans, who also control a majority of precinct-based positions (County Commissioners, Constables, Justices of the Peace, etc.). No Democrat has carried Fort Bend County in the presidential election since 1964, when Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas won his second term.

Despite Fort Bend being a Republican stronghold, Democrats continue to show sporadic strength in a handful of areas within the county. In 2004, George W. Bush won 57 percent of the vote compared to 42 percent for John Kerry, compared to 60 percent for Bush and 39 percent for Al Gore (as well as 2% for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader) in 2000, and Bill Clinton lost the county by only 12 percent in 1992 (to incumbent George H.W. Bush, whom Clinton defeated nationally) and 1996 (when Clinton defeated Bob Dole in the national election). Also, in 2006, Democrat Nick Lampson defeated Republican write-in candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs for the congressional seat in Texas's 22nd congressional district that was vacated by Tom DeLay after he resigned from Congress. While Lampson won all four counties that cover the district (Fort Bend, Harris, Brazoria and Galveston), Fort Bend gave Lampson his smallest winning margin of the four counties, at 6.4% percent, compared to 6.92% for Harris County, 7.23% for Brazoria County, and more than 45 percent in Galveston County (whose Democratic base is considered the most active in the state outside of Austin). Lampson is expected to face a very strong challenge for his seat in 2008 due to the district's overwhelming Republican nature (John Kerry only received 34% of the vote in 2004).

Among the four Commissioners' Court precincts, three precincts are heavily Republican. Two of them, Precinct 3 and Precinct 4 which cover most of the Sugar Land and Katy areas, consistently vote Republican, with Precinct 1 containing significant Democratic areas specifically in Rosenberg and in the northeastern parts of the county around the community of Fresno (which have large Hispanic populations). All of its elected precinct officials in these precincts are Republicans. The fourth precinct, Precinct 2 which covers much of Missouri City including its mostly African-American north side, is heavily Democratic with a few Republican pockets mainly around the Quail Valley neighborhood of Missouri City, and likewise all of its precinct-level officeholders are Democrats.

Commissioners' Court

Commissioners Name Party First Elected Communities Represented
  Judge Bob Hebert Republican 2002 Countywide
  Precinct 1 Tom Stavinoha Republican 2000 Arcola, Beasley, Fairchilds, Fresno, Greatwood, Needville, Orchard, Richmond, Rosenberg, Sienna Plantation
  Precinct 2 Grady Prestage Democratic 1990 eastern Stafford, most of Missouri City east of FM 1092
  Precinct 3 W. A. "Andy" Meyers Republican 1996 Cinco Ranch, Fulshear, Lakemont, Mission Bend, Pecan Grove, Simonton, north Sugar Land, western Stafford
  Precinct 4 James Patterson Republican 1998 Missouri City west of FM 1092, New Territory, western and southern areas of Sugar Land (including the planned development of First Colony)

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 Fort Bend County Represented
  District 9 Al Green Democrat 2004 Mission Bend, eastern portion of Stafford, northern and eastern portions of Missouri City, county’s entire share of Houston
  District 14 Ron Paul Republican 1996 (also served 1976-1977 and 1979-1985) Far northern and western areas
  District 22 Nick Lampson Democrat 2006 (also served 1997-2005) Sugar Land, Rosenberg, western and southern portions of Missouri City

Texas Legislature

Texas Senate

District Name Party First Elected Area(s) of Fort Bend County Represented
  13 Rodney Ellis Democrat 1990 Northern portions of Missouri City, Stafford, county’s share of Houston
  17 Kyle Janek Republican 2002 Sugar Land and southern Missouri City
  18 Glenn Hegar Republican 2006 Richmond, Rosenberg, Katy

Texas House of Representatives

District Name Party First Elected Area(s) of Fort Bend County Represented
  26 Charlie Howard Republican 1994 Sugar Land
  27 Dora Olivo Democrat 1996 Rosenberg, most of Missouri City, county’s share of Houston
  28 John Zerwas Republican 2006 Far northern and western areas

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated areas

Other unincorporated areas

Education

Public school districts

Colleges and universities

Libraries

Fort Bend County Libraries operates many libraries in the county.

Houston Public Library operates one branch in the county.

Transportation

Airports

The sole publicly-owned airport in the county is Sugar Land Regional Airport in Sugar Land

Privately-owned airports for public use include:

Privately-owned airports for private use include:

The following general aviation heliports (all privately owned, for private use) exist in unincorporated areas:

  • Dewberry Heliport is in an unincorporated area between Fulshear and Katy

The closest airport with regularly scheduled commercial service is Houston's William P. Hobby Airport in Harris County. The closest airport with regularly scheduled international commercial service is George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston in Harris County.

Mass transit

Fort Bend County officially created a department of Public Transportation in 2005 that provides commuter buses to Greenway Plaza, Houston Galleria, and starting in July 2008, The Texas Medical Center. It also provides Demand and Response Buses to Senior Citizens and the General Public that travel only in Fort Bend County to anywhere in Fort Bend County. www.co.fort-bend.tx.us

Freeway system

The TTC-69 component (recommended preferred) of the planned Trans-Texas Corridor goes through Fort Bend County [3].

Corrections

The Fort Bend County Jail is located at 1410 Ransom Road in Richmond.[4]

Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the following facilities in Fort Bend County:

State jails for men:

Other facilities:

  • Jester I Unit - Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility (Unincorporated area)[9] (Co-located with the Jester units)
  • Jester IV Unit - Psychiatric Facility (Unincorporated area)[10] (Co-located with the Jester units)

References

  1. ^ Claritas Study Ranks Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Counties Nationwide
  2. ^ "2006 American Community Survey: Fort Bend County, Texas". census.gov. 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  3. ^ TxDoT, TTC Section C & S, Detailed Maps 2 & 3, 2007-12-17
  4. ^ "Detention." Fort Bend County. October 3, 2006.
  5. ^ "CENTRAL (C)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 14, 2008.
  6. ^ "Street/Address Locator." City of Sugar Land. Accessed September 14, 2008.
  7. ^ "JESTER III (J3)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 14, 2008.
  8. ^ "VANCE (J2)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 14, 2008.
  9. ^ "JESTER I (J3)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 14, 2008.
  10. ^ "JESTER IV (J4)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 14, 2008.

External links

29°32′N 95°46′W / 29.53°N 95.77°W / 29.53; -95.77

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