Wichita County, Texas: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 19:26, 23 April 2025

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Wichita County (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 129,350.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Wichita Falls.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1882.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wichita County is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas, TX metropolitan statistical area.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (0.8%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The county is drained by the Wichita River and other streams.<ref>Template:Cite AmCyc</ref>

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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Geology

Template:See also Wichita County is part of the Texas Red Beds, which are strata of red-colored sedimentary rock from the Early Permian. The fossils of Permian period vertebrates in the Texas Red Beds were first discovered by Edward Drinker Cope in 1877.<ref> Cope, E. D. Descriptions of extinct vertebrata from the Permian and Triassic formations of the United States. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 1877. Volume 17:182–195. JSTOR. Accessed on August 28, 2017.</ref><ref>Case, E.C. The Red Beds between Wichita Falls, Texas, and Las Vegas, New Mexico, in Relation to Their Vertebrate Fauna. The Journal of Geology, vol. 22, no. 3, 1914, pp. 243–259. JSTOR. Accessed on August 28, 2017.</ref> Subsequent research has revealed rare fossils of Permian period amphibians like Trimerorhachis,<ref>Henry, Randy. NRCS and Landowner Team Up With Houston Museum after Rare Species Discovery. Natural Resources Conservation Service. Accessed on August 28, 2017.</ref> as well as rich deposits of other Permian tetrapods such as Dimetrodon and Diadectes.<ref>Caulfield, Dave. Prehistoric Predators: Fossil Findings in Seymour 'Redefining'. Newschannel 6: October 25, 2015. Accessed on August 28, 2017.</ref>

Demographics

Template:US Census population

**Wichita County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	96,490	90,001	79,694	73.29%	68.44%	61.61%
Black or African American alone (NH)	13,243	13,322	13,379	10.06%	10.13%	10.34%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	919	1,087	992	0.70%	0.83%	0.77%
Asian alone (NH)	2,386	2,586	2,647	1.81%	1.97%	2.05%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	99	85	140	0.08%	0.06%	0.11%
Other race alone (NH)	142	109	476	0.11%	0.08%	0.37%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	2,288	2,451	6,219	1.74%	1.86%	4.81%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	16,097	21,859	25,803	12.23%	16.62%	19.95%
Total	131,644	131,500	129,350	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 131,664 people, 48,441 households, and 32,891 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 53,304 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 78.76% White, 10.23% African American, 0.89% Native American, 1.84% Asian, 5.60% from other races, and 2.68% from two or more races. About 12.23% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 48,441 households, 33.6% had children under 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were not families, with 1,869 unmarried partner households - 1,677 heterosexual, 94 same-sex male, and 98 same-sex female. About 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.49, and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the age distribution was 25.2% under 18, 13.7% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 103.4 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,780, and for a family was $40,937. Males had a median income of $28,687 versus $21,885 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,965. About 10.30% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.40% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice James V. Allred Unit is located in Wichita County.<ref name="TDCJProfile">"Allred Unit Template:Webarchive." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 10, 2010.</ref><ref>"Sheet Number 1." City of Wichita Falls. Retrieved on September 22, 2010.</ref><ref>"Sheet Number 2." City of Wichita Falls. Retrieved on September 22, 2010.</ref><ref>"Sheet Number 9." City of Wichita Falls. Retrieved on September 22, 2010.</ref> Wichita County Commissioner Court members: County Judge Jim Johnson, Commissioner Pct. 1 Mark Beauchamp, Commissioner Pct. 2 Mickey Fincannon, Commissioner Pct. 3 Barry Mahler, and Commissioner Pct. 4 Jeff Watts

The sheriff of Wichita County is David Duke. He first took office on January 1, 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Politics

Wichita County is represented in the Texas House of Representatives by the Republican James Frank, a businessman from Wichita Falls. Wichita County has about 77% of the population of Texas' 69th state house district, 18% of the population of the 13th US congressional district, and 15% of the population of the 30th state senate district.

Presidential elections

Wichita County has consistently voted for the Republican Party in presidential elections since 1980.

In 2008, Wichita County cast the majority of its votes for Republican John McCain; he won 31,673 votes (69%). Democrat Barack Obama received 13,828 votes (30%). Other candidates received 1% of the vote. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush did better than John McCain and won 71% of the vote and 32,472 votes. Democrat John F. Kerry won 28% of the vote and 12,819 votes.