Editing Somerset, Texas

{{short description|City in Bexar County, Texas, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox settlement
| official_name            = Somerset, Texas
| settlement_type          = [[City]]

<!-- Images -->| image_skyline            = 
| imagesize                = 
| image_caption            = 
| image_flag               = 
| image_seal               = <!-- Maps -->
| image_map                = TXMap-doton-Somerset.PNG
| mapsize                  = 250x200px
| map_caption              = Location of Somerset, Texas
| image_map1               = Bexar Somerset.svg
| mapsize1                 = 250px
| map_caption1             = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name         = United States
| subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[Texas]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Texas|County]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Bexar County, Texas|Bexar]]

<!-- Government -->| government_footnotes     = 
| government_type          = 
| leader_title             = 
| leader_name              = 
| leader_title1            = 
| leader_name1             = 
| established_title        = 
| established_date         = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref                = Imperial
| area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
| area_magnitude           = 
| area_total_km2           = 5.19
| area_land_km2            = 5.17
| area_water_km2           = 0.02
| area_total_sq_mi         = 2.00
| area_land_sq_mi          = 2.00
| area_water_sq_mi         = 0.01

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes     = 
| population_total         = 1756
| population_density_km2   = 379.80

<!-- General information -->| timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset               = -6
| timezone_DST             = CDT
| utc_offset_DST           = -5
| elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft             = 646
| coordinates              = {{coord|29|13|37|N|98|39|27|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code              = 78069
| area_code                = [[Area code 830|830]]
| blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info               = 48-68708<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
| blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info              = 1368603<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1368603}}</ref>
| blank2_name              = ANSI Code
| blank2_info              = 2411926<ref>{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer Files 2016-Places-Texas|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/gazetteer.html|website=US Census|accessdate=24 January 2017}}</ref>
| website                  = {{URL|https://cityofsomerset.org/}}
| footnotes                = 
| population_density_sq_mi = 983.48
}}

'''Somerset''' is a city in [[Bexar County, Texas|Bexar County]], [[Texas]], United States. It is located less than 20 miles south of Downtown [[San Antonio]] and is part of the {{nowrap|[[Greater San Antonio|San Antonio–New Braunfels]]}} metropolitan area. The population was 1,756 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].

==History==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2023}}
English speaking European settlers had already arrived in the area by the early 1800s. Somerset was named for an organized settlement that had been begun in 1848, in what is now Atascosa County, by a group of Baptist families from Somerset, Kentucky. The present site was named Somerset when the First Townsite Company was formed on the Artesian Belt Railroad right-of-way on May 25, 1909, by A. M. Pyron, Carl Kurz, and Jonas A. Kerr.

In 1913, while drilling for artesian water, Kurz discovered oil and an [[Business cycle|economic boom]] followed. The Somerset oilfield extended from Somerset to below Pleasanton and was the largest known shallow field in the world at that time. Two oil refineries in the field and a pipeline into San Antonio handled the high-gravity crude.

The town grew rapidly from fifty residents in 1925 to 700 in 1928; it was served by a state bank, a ten-room hotel, and several machine and blacksmith shops. A post office opened there in 1920. A nearby lignite coal mine also added to the booming economy of the area.

During the 1920s farmers turned from cotton to dryland fruit and vegetable farming. In 1931, the Somerset Fruit Growers Exchange building was dedicated, and between truck farming, oil, and coal, the town prospered until the mid-1930s, when diminishing oil returns and the Great Depression caused a decline. In 1931 the town reported twenty businesses; by 1958 there were only eight.

In 1920, the [[Somerset Independent School District]] was formed from at least five other school districts: Wildman, Senior, Bexar, Old Rock (Old Somerset area), and Oak Island. The Somerset Police Department was created in 1972 followed by the city being incorporated in 1973.  Somerset has a mayor-council form of city government.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], Somerset has a total area of {{convert|2.0|sqmi|km2}}, all  land.

==Demographics==
{{stack|{{US Census population
|1980= 1102
|1990= 1144
|2000= 1550
|2010= 1631
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
|2020=1756}}}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Somerset racial composition as of 2020'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4868708&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic){{efn|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.<ref>https://www.census.gov/ {{nonspecific|date=August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About the Hispanic Population and its Origin |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html |website=www.census.gov |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>}}
!Race
!Number
!Percentage
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] (NH)
|324
|18.45%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] (NH)
|1
|0.06%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] (NH)
|1
|0.06%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] (NH)
|3
|0.17%
|-
|Some Other Race (NH)
|4
|0.23%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed/Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|21
|1.2%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
|1,402
|79.84%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''1,756'''
|
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 1,756 people, 475 households, and 353 families residing in the city.

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,550 people, 513 households, and 392 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|773.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 547 housing units at an average density of {{convert|273.0|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 77.16% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.26% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.55% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.19% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 16.00% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 4.84% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 70.45% of the population.

There were 513 households, out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.51.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 32.5% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,268, and the median income for a family was $31,875. Males had a median income of $27,083 versus $20,357 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $11,238. About 22.0% of families and 23.2% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 28.6% of those under age 18 and 26.6% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
Residents are zoned to schools in the [[Somerset Independent School District]].

==See also==
{{portal|Texas}}
* [[List of municipalities in Texas]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Somerset, Texas}}


{{Bexar County, Texas}}
{{Greater San Antonio}}

{{authority control}}


[[Category:Cities in Bexar County, Texas]]
[[Category:Cities in Texas]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1909]]
[[Category:Greater San Antonio]]
[[Category:1909 establishments in Texas]]