Dallas County, Texas
| Dallas County, Texas | |
 The former Dallas County Courthouse in Dallas.
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 Location in the state of Texas |
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 Texas's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | March 30, 1846 |
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| Named for | George Mifflin Dallas |
| Seat | Dallas |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
908 sq mi (2,353 km²) 880 sq mi (2,278 km²) 29 sq mi (75 km²), 3.19% |
| Population - Density |
2,492,850 2,691/sq mi (1,038.85/km²) |
| Website | www.dallascounty.org |
Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area (colloquially referred to as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex). As of 2010, the county had an estimated population of 2,492,850 and is now the ninth most populous county in the United States.
Its county seat is Dallas[1], which is also the largest city in the county, the third-largest city in Texas, and the eighth-largest city in the United States. Dallas County is the most populous county within the metropolitan area and contains the largest of its principal cities.
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Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 908 square miles (2,352 km2), of which 880 square miles (2,279 km2) is land and 29 square miles (75 km2) (3.19%) is water.
Major Highways
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Interstate 20.svg.png){kind=small}
Interstate 30.svg.png){kind=small}
Interstate 35E.svg.png){kind=small}
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Interstate 635
Dallas North Tollway
U.S. Highway 67
U.S. Highway 75
U.S. Highway 77
U.S. Highway 80
U.S. Highway 175
State Highway 5
State Highway 66
State Highway 78
State Highway 114
State Highway 121
State Highway 161
State Highway 183
State Highway 190
State Highway 289
State Highway 342
State Highway 352
Loop 12Adjacent counties
- Collin County (north)
- Rockwall County (northeast)
- Kaufman County (east)
- Ellis County (south)
- Tarrant County (west)
- Denton County (northwest)
- Johnson County (southwest)
Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1850 | 2,743 |
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| 1860 | 8,665 | 215.9% | |
| 1870 | 13,814 | 59.4% | |
| 1880 | 33,488 | 142.4% | |
| 1890 | 67,042 | 100.2% | |
| 1900 | 82,726 | 23.4% | |
| 1910 | 135,748 | 64.1% | |
| 1920 | 210,551 | 55.1% | |
| 1930 | 325,691 | 54.7% | |
| 1940 | 398,564 | 22.4% | |
| 1950 | 614,799 | 54.3% | |
| 1960 | 951,527 | 54.8% | |
| 1970 | 1,327,321 | 39.5% | |
| 1980 | 1,556,390 | 17.3% | |
| 1990 | 1,852,810 | 19.0% | |
| 2000 | 2,218,899 | 19.8% | |
| Est. 2010 | 2,492,850 | 12.3% | |
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523 people per square mile (974/km²). There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/sq mi (375/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 58.35% White, 20.31% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 3.98% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 14.04% from other races, and 2.70% from two or more races. 29.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 807,621 households out of which 35.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.90% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.90% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.34.
In the county, the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 34.40% from 25 to 44, 18.90% from 45 to 64, and 8.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was US$43,324, and the median income for a family was $49,062. Males had a median income of $34,988 versus $29,539 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,603. About 10.60% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.00% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Like all Counties in Texas, Dallas County is governed by a Commissioners Court. The Dallas County Commissioners Court consists of the County Judge (the chairperson of the Court) who is elected County-wide and four Commissioners who are elected by the voters in each of four districts.
The Commissioners Court is the policy-making body for the County; in addition, the County Judge is the senior executive and administrative position in the County. While the cities in the County handle many tasks in local government, the County holds responsibility for the following:
"The Commissioners Court sets the County tax rate, adopts the budget, appoints boards and commissions, approves grants and personnel actions, and oversees the administration of county government. Each commissioner also supervises a Road and Bridge District. The Commissioners Court also approves the budget and sets the tax rate for the hospital district, which is charged with the responsibility for providing acute medical care for citizens who otherwise would not receive adequate medical services."[3]
The total 2010 fiscal year budget is approximately $871 million USD[4].
Currently (February 2010), the County Commissioners Court consists of[5]
- Jim Foster, County Judge (Democrat)
- Maurine Dickey, District 1 (Republican)
- Mike Cantrell, District 2 (Republican)
- John Wiley Price, District 3 (Democrat)
- Kenneth A. Mayfield, District 4 (Republican)
Politics
| Year | Democrat | Republican |
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| 2008 | 57.5% 424,468 | 41.9% 309,477 |
| 2004 | 49.0% 336,641 | 50.4% 346,246 |
| 2000 | 44.9% 275,308 | 52.6% 322,345 |
| 1996 | 46.0% 255,766 | 46.8% 260,058 |
| 1992 | 35.0% 231,412 | 38.7% 256,007 |
| 1988 | 40.9% 243,198 | 58.4% 347,094 |
| 1984 | 33.4% 203,592 | 66.4% 405,444 |
| 1980 | 36.8% 190,459 | 59.2% 306,682 |
| 1976 | 42.3% 196,303 | 56.7% 263,081 |
| 1972 | 29.6% 129,662 | 69.5% 305,112 |
| 1968 | 34.1% 123,809 | 50.7% 184,193 |
| 1964 | 54.7% 166,472 | 45.1% 137,065 |
| 1960 | 37.0% 88,876 | 62.2% 149,369 |
Dallas County has voted for the Republican Presidential Candidate in almost every election since 1960; the only exceptions being in 1964 and 2008. More recently however, it has gradually shifted more Democratic in recent elections. The Democratic control is partly due to the city of Dallas, which has become a stronghold of that party.
In the United States House of Representatives, districts 3, 5, 24, 26, 30 and 32 are entirely within the county and all are represented by the Republicans, with the exception of one district being Democrat. In order of district number they are Sam Johnson, Jeb Hensarling, Kenny Marchant, Michael C. Burgess, Eddie Johnson, Pete Sessions.[6]
Cities and towns
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†Denotes a municipality whose physical boundaries extend beyond Dallas County
Historical communities
- Bird's Fort
- Buckingham (Annexed by Richardson in 1996)
- Embree (merged into Garland in 1887)
- Fruitdale (annexed by Dallas in 1964)
- Duck Creek (merged into Garland in 1887)
- Long Creek (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953)
- Hatterville (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953)
- New Hope (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953 - not to be confused with the Collin County town of the same name)
- Oak Cliff (Annexed by Dallas in 1903)
- Penn Springs (Annexed by Duncanville in 1947)
- Renner (annexed by Dallas in 1983)
- Tripp (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953)
- Trinity Mills (Annexed by Carrollton)[7]
Education
The following school districts serve Dallas County:
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Transportation
Love Field, located in Dallas and in Dallas County, serves many domestic passengers.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport partially located in the city of Irving in Dallas County and Grapevine and Euless in Tarrant County.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit provides bus and rail service to many cities in Dallas County, with Dallas being the largest.
The Trinity Railway Express provides commuter rail service to Tarrant County, including downtown Fort Worth.
Corrections
Dallas County operates several jail facilities. They include:[8]
- 111 Riverfront Blvd (Dallas)
- North Tower Jail
- South Tower Jail - also known as the "Suzanne Kays Tower"
- West Tower Jail
- Government Center Jail - 600 Commerce Street (Dallas)
- Decker Detention Center - 899 North Stemmons Freeway (Dallas)
- (formerly) Suzanne Kays Jail - 521 North Industrial Boulevard (Dallas) - population integrated into the South Tower; demolished to clear way for the Trinity River Project[9]
Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Hutchins Unit state jail for men in an unincorporated area adjacent to Hutchins.[10] Corrections Corporation of America operates the Dawson Unit, a co-gender state jail in Downtown Dallas, under contract.[11]
Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville is located in Seagoville.
See also
- Dallas County District Attorney
References
- ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ http://www.dallascounty.org/
- ↑ http://www.dallascounty.org/department/budget/documents/FY2010ApprovedBudgetDetail.pdf
- ↑ http://www.dallascounty.org/department/districtclerk/forms/COMBINED_MASTER_FINAL_OFFICIALS_20100201.pdf
- ↑ http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe
- ↑ Trinity Mills, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online. By Matthew Hayes Nall. Retrieved on 31 March 2007.
- ↑ "Jail Information." Dallas County Sheriff's Office. Accessed September 14, 2008.
- ↑ Suzanne Kays Jail to be Torn Down - Dallas Morning News CRIME Blog
- ↑ "HUTCHINS (HJ)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 14, 2008.
- ↑ "DAWSON (JD)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 14, 2008.
External links
- Dallas County Government official site
- Dallas County from the Handbook of Texas Online
- History of Dallas County, Texas: from 1837 to 1887 by John Henry Brown, published 1887, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
- Memorial and biographical history of Dallas County, Texas published 1892, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
- Official directory, taxpayers of Dallas County, Texas published 1896, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
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Denton County | Collin County | Rockwall County | |
| Tarrant County |  |
Kaufman County | ||
 Dallas County, Texas  |
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| Johnson County | Ellis County |
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