Tarrant County, Texas

Tarrant County, Texas
Map of Texas highlighting Tarrant County
Location in the state of Texas
Map of the U.S. highlighting Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded 1849
Seat Fort Worth
Largest city Fort Worth
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
897 sq mi (2,324 km²)
863 sq mi (2,236 km²)
34 sq mi (88 km²), 3.80%
PopulationEst.
 - (2007)
 - Density
1,717,435
1,990/sq mi (768/km²)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.tarrantcounty.com

Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2007, it had a population of 1,717,435. Its county seat is Fort Worth.[1] Tarrant County is the second most populous county in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and contains its second and third largest principal cities. The county is named in honor of General Edward H. Tarrant.[2]

Fort Worth is the largest city in Tarrant County with a population of 653,320 as of 2006,.[3] Arlington is the second largest city with population of 367,197 in 2006 and North Richland Hills is the third largest with 65,750 residents as of 2006.

Contents

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 897 square miles (2,324 km²), of which, 863 square miles (2,236 km²) of it is land and 34 square miles (88 km²) of it (3.80%) is water.

Major highways

  • I-20 (TX).svg Interstate 20
  • I-30 (TX).svg Interstate 30
  • I-35W (TX).svg Interstate 35W
  • I-820 (TX).svg Interstate 820
  • US 81.svg U.S. Highway 81
  • US 287.svg U.S. Highway 287
  • US 377.svg U.S. Highway 377
  • Texas 10.svg State Highway 10
  • Texas 26.svg State Highway 26
  • Texas 114.svg State Highway 114
  • Texas 121.svg State Highway 121
  • Texas 183.svg State Highway 183
  • Texas 199.svg State Highway 199
  • Texas 360.svg State Highway 360
  • Texas Spur 303.svg Spur 303

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1900 52,376
—
1910 108,572 107.3%
1920 152,800 40.7%
1930 197,553 29.3%
1940 225,521 14.2%
1950 361,253 60.2%
1960 538,495 49.1%
1970 716,317 33.0%
1980 860,880 20.2%
1990 1,170,103 35.9%
2000 1,446,219 23.6%
Est. 2006 1,671,295 15.6%

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 1,446,219 people, 533,864 households, and 369,433 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,675 people per square mile (647/km²). There were 565,830 housing units at an average density of 655 per square mile (253/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.23% White, 12.80% Black or African American, 0.57% Native American, 3.64% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 9.09% from other races, and 2.51% from two or more races. 19.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 533,864 households out of which 36.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 12.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 24.90% 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 2.67 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the county, the population was spread out with 28.10% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 33.50% from 25 to 44, 20.10% from 45 to 64, and 8.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,179, and the median income for a family was $54,068. Males had a median income of $38,486 versus $28,672 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,548. About 8.00% of families and 10.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.80% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.

Tarrant County has one of the nation's highest property tax rates. In 2007, it was ranked in the Top 25 for property taxes as percentage of the homes value on owner occupied housing ranking 15th.[5]

High property tax rates can reduce a home's value significantly, leading to less resale value and negative equity upon ownership of the home. Part of this is due to the complex Robin Hood plan school funding mechanism in Texas.[6]

Politics

Tarrant County has consistently supported Republican Party candidates in recent decades. Since 1960 it has supported the Republican presidential candidate in every election except 1964.

Major Political Parties

Presidential Election Results 1960-2004
Year Democrat Republican
2008 43.8% 274,101 55.6% 347,843
2004 37.01% 207,286 62.39% 349,462
2000 36.78% 173,758 60.74% 286,921
1996 41.60% 170,431 50.85% 208,312
1992 33.14% 156,230 38.90% 183,387
1988 38.19% 151,310 61.24% 242,660
1984 32.57% 120,147 67.25% 248,050
1980 39.69% 121,068 56.86% 173,466
1976 49.18% 122,287 50.05% 124,433
1972 31.29% 69,187 68.55% 151,596
1968 41.79% 79,705 42.88% 81,786
1964 62.98% 97,092 36.71% 56,593
1960 44.66% 59,385 54.75% 72,813

Cities and towns

  • Arlington
  • Azle †
  • Bedford
  • Benbrook
  • Blue Mound
  • Burleson ***
  • Colleyville
  • Crowley
  • Dalworthington Gardens
  • Edgecliff Village
  • Euless
  • Everman
  • Flower Mound **
  • Forest Hill
  • Fort Worth ††††
  • Grapevine †††
  • Grand Prairie *
  • Haltom City
  • Haslet
  • Hurst
  • Keller
  • Kennedale
  • Lake Worth
  • Lakeside
  • Mansfield *****
  • Newark ****
  • North Richland Hills
  • Pantego
  • Pelican Bay
  • Richland Hills
  • River Oaks
  • Saginaw
  • Sansom Park
  • Southlake ††††
  • Trophy Club **
  • Watauga
  • Westlake ††††
  • Westover Hills
  • Westworth Village
  • White Settlement

* Mostly in Dallas County
** Mostly in Denton County
*** Mostly in Johnson County
**** Mostly in Wise County
***** Partly in Johnson and Ellis Counties
† Partly in Parker County
†† Partly in Wise County
††† Small portion in Dallas County
†††† Small portion in Denton County
††††† Partly in Parker and Wise Counties

Education

Colleges and Universities

Primary and Secondary schools

Public schools in Texas are organized into Independent School Districts and charter schools. Tarrant County is also home to dozens of private high schools and nearly 100 lower-level private schools.[7]

Independent School Districts

Charter schools

Private Schools

Notable private schools include:

Transportation

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is partially in the cities of Grapevine and Euless in Tarrant County and Irving in Dallas County.

References

  1. ↑ "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. 
  2. ↑ http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/hct1.html
  3. ↑ "Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2006 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2007-06-28. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2006-01.csv. Retrieved 2007-06-28. 
  4. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  5. ↑ http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/1888.html Taxfoundation.org
  6. ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E5DB173BF934A35753C1A9629C8B63 Query.nytimes.com
  7. ↑ Texas Private Schools, accessed 2008-08-23

External links

Wise County Denton County
Parker County Dallas County
   Tarrant County, Texas    
Johnson County Ellis County
Municipalities and communities of Tarrant County, Texas
County seat: Fort Worth
Cities

Arlington | Azle‡ | Bedford | Benbrook | Blue Mound | Burleson‡ | Colleyville | Crowley‡ | Dalworthington Gardens | Euless | Everman | Forest Hill | Fort Worth‡ | Grand Prairie‡ | Grapevine‡ | Haltom City | Haslet‡ | Hurst | Keller | Kennedale | Lake Worth | Mansfield‡ | Newark‡ | North Richland Hills | Pelican Bay | Reno‡ | Richland Hills | River Oaks | Saginaw | Sansom Park | Southlake‡ | Watauga | Westworth Village | White Settlement
Towns

Edgecliff Village | Flower Mound‡ | Lakeside | Pantego | Trophy Club‡ | Westlake‡ | Westover Hills
CDPs

Briar‡ | Pecan Acres‡ | Rendon
Footnotes

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington
Counties
Collin • Dallas • Delta • Denton • Ellis • Hunt • Johnson • Kaufman • Parker • Rockwall • Tarrant • Wise
Major cities
Cities and towns
100k-300k
Carrollton • Denton • Frisco • Garland • Grand Prairie • Irving • McKinney • Mesquite • Plano • Richardson
Cities and towns
25k-99k
Allen • Bedford • Cedar Hill • Cleburne • The Colony • Coppell • DeSoto • Duncanville • Euless • Farmers Branch • Flower Mound • Grapevine • Haltom City • Highland Village • Hurst • Keller • Lancaster • Lewisville • Mansfield • North Richland Hills • Rockwall • Rowlett • Wylie
Cities and towns
10k-25k
Addison • Balch Springs • Benbrook • Burleson • Colleyville • Corinth • Ennis • Forest Hill • Greenville • Saginaw • Seagoville • Southlake • Terrell • University Park • Watauga • Waxahachie • Weatherford • White Settlement
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