Midland County, Texas

Midland County, Texas

The Midland County Courthouse in Midland

Seal
Map of Texas highlighting Midland County
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded 1885
Seat Midland
Largest city Midland
Area
  Total 902 sq mi (2,336 km2)
  Land 900 sq mi (2,331 km2)
  Water 1.8 sq mi (5 km2), 0.2%
Population
  (2015) 161,077
  Density 152/sq mi (59/km²)
Congressional district 11th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.co.midland.tx.us
Former Midland County courthouse marked for razing
Midland County Public Library in Midland

Midland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2015, the population was 161,077.[1] The county seat is Midland.[2] The county is so named as the county is halfway (midway) between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railway.

Midland County is included in the Midland, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the MidlandOdessa Combined Statistical Area.

History

In 1968, the county lost before the Supreme Court in Avery v. Midland County which required local districts to be nearly equal. The city of Midland had most of the county's population but only elected one of the five county commissioners, which was found to violate the Fourteenth Amendment.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 902 square miles (2,340 km2), of which 900 square miles (2,300 km2) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) (0.2%) is water.[3] The Spraberry Trend, the third-largest oil field in the United States by remaining reserves, underlies much of the county.[4]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
18901,033
19001,74168.5%
19103,46499.0%
19202,449−29.3%
19308,005226.9%
194011,72146.4%
195025,785120.0%
196067,717162.6%
197065,433−3.4%
198082,63626.3%
1990106,61129.0%
2000116,0098.8%
2010136,87218.0%
Est. 2016162,565[5]18.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1850–2010[7] 2010–2014[1]

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 116,009 people, 42,745 households, and 30,947 families residing in the county. The population density was 129 people per square mile (50/km²). There were 48,060 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile (21/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.32% White, 6.98% Black or African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 12.17% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. 29.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 42,745 households, out of which 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.20% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,082, and the median income for a family was $47,269. Males had a median income of $36,924 versus $24,708 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,369. 12.90% of the population and 10.30% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.20% are under the age of 18 and 7.90% are 65 or older.

Politics

Presidential Elections Results[9]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2016 75.1% 36,973 20.4% 10,025 4.5% 2,214
2012 79.9% 35,689 18.5% 8,286 1.6% 722
2008 78.1% 36,155 20.9% 9,691 0.9% 428
2004 81.6% 36,585 17.9% 8,005 0.5% 244
2000 79.3% 31,514 19.0% 7,534 1.8% 692
1996 68.0% 25,382 25.5% 9,513 6.5% 2,425
1992 58.4% 24,143 22.2% 9,160 19.5% 8,044
1988 77.9% 30,618 21.6% 8,487 0.6% 221
1984 82.1% 33,706 17.6% 7,214 0.3% 119
1980 76.6% 25,027 20.9% 6,839 2.5% 826
1976 70.5% 19,178 28.4% 7,725 1.1% 292
1972 79.6% 18,905 18.5% 4,388 1.9% 457
1968 55.1% 12,789 20.5% 4,756 24.5% 5,677
1964 57.8% 11,906 42.0% 8,646 0.3% 53
1960 64.3% 11,343 33.1% 5,842 2.6% 460
1956 70.0% 8,287 29.3% 3,468 0.7% 86
1952 71.0% 7,956 29.0% 3,244
1948 36.9% 1,410 53.2% 2,032 9.9% 376
1944 10.3% 302 57.6% 1,688 32.1% 939
1940 25.1% 646 74.8% 1,921 0.1% 3
1936 13.3% 190 86.1% 1,229 0.6% 9
1932 9.7% 136 88.8% 1,245 1.5% 21
1928 49.6% 347 50.0% 350 0.4% 3
1924 9.8% 44 89.3% 399 0.9% 4
1920 19.9% 68 79.5% 271 0.6% 2
1916 6.5% 24 91.4% 339 2.2% 8
1912 4.1% 10 87.8% 215 8.2% 20

Although Midland was historically Democratic, it has been unabashedly Republican in presidential elections since 1952. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the county was Harry Truman in 1948.[10] Even in the presidential election of 1964 in which the incumbent president, Texan Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson, won a national landslide victory, it gave 57.8% of its ballots to Republican presidential candidate and Arizona native Barry Goldwater.[11] In 2008, It cast 36,135 votes for Republican John McCain for president, which was 78% of the vote in Midland County. Democrat Barack Obama received 21% of the vote and 9,672 votes. Other candidates received 1% of the vote. Midland County is in the 11th Congressional District in Texas and it is represented by Mike Conaway, a Republican. The 11th Congressional District gave George W. Bush 78% of its votes in 2004, higher than any other congressional district in the nation. In Midland County in 2004, Republican George W. Bush received 82% of the vote in Midland County, while Democrat John Kerry received 18%.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

  • Chub
  • Cotton Flat
  • Greenwood
  • Spraberry
  • Terminal
  • Valley View
  • Warfield

Ghost towns

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". The County Information Program, Texas Association of Counties. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  4. Top 100 Oil and Gas Fields Archived 2009-05-15 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  7. "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  8. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  9. http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS
  10. Geographie Electorale
  11. http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/datagraph.php?year=1964&fips=48&f=1&off=0&elect=0

Coordinates: 31°53′N 102°01′W / 31.89°N 102.02°W / 31.89; -102.02

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