Parker County, Texas

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Parker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 148,222.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Weatherford.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was created in 1855 and organized the following year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is named for Isaac Parker, a state legislator who introduced the bill that established the county in 1855.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Parker later fought in the Texas Brigade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Parker County is included in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert are land and Template:Convert (0.7%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The county is intersected by the Brazos River.<ref>Template:Cite AmCyc</ref>

Highest point

Template:Main Slipdown Mountain and Slipdown Bluff, at a height of Template:Convert, are the highest points in Parker County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They are located just east of the Advance community, southwest of Poolville.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Wise County (north)
Tarrant County (east)
Johnson County (southeast)
Hood County (south)
Palo Pinto County (west)
Jack County (northwest)

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

Azle (mostly in Tarrant County)
Cresson (partly in Hood and Johnson counties)
Fort Worth (mostly in Tarrant County, with small parts in Denton, Johnson, Wise, and Parker counties)
Mineral Wells (mostly in Palo Pinto County)
Reno (small part in Tarrant County)

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

Template:US Census population

**Parker 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 name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	78,980	99,698	117,747	89.25%	85.27%	79.44%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,559	1,842	1,636	1.76%	1.58%	1.10%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	518	768	878	0.59%	0.66%	0.59%
Asian alone (NH)	298	631	990	0.34%	0.54%	0.67%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	19	35	97	0.02%	0.03%	0.07%
Other race alone (NH)	58	64	470	0.07%	0.05%	0.32%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	852	1,479	6,585	0.96%	1.26%	4.44%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	6,211	12,410	19,819	7.02%	10.61%	13.37%
Total	88,495	116,927	148,222	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

In 2000, the county had a population of 88,495; by 2020, its population increased to 148,222.<ref name="2020CensusP2" /> Among the 2020 census population, the racial and ethnic makeup was 79.44% non-Hispanic white, 13.37% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 4.44% multiracial, 1.10% Black or African American, 0.67% Asian alone, 0.59% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.32% some other race, and 0.07% Pacific Islander.

American Community Survey 2023 Data

The United States Census Bureau estimated that in 2023, Parker County’s population was 173,494. It was also estimated that the county was 15.1% Hispanic or Latino, 79.6% NH White, 1.8% NH Black, 0.9% NH Asian, 0.7% NH Native American, 0.1% NH Pacific Islander, 1.8% NH Multiracial.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Total	Percentage
Hispanic or Latino	26,265	15.1%
NH White	138,142	79.6%
NH Black	3,164	1.8%
NH Asian	1,587	0.9%
NH Native American	1,037	0.7%
NH Pacific Islander	139	0.1%
NH Multiracial	3,064	1.8%

Politics

Parker County, like most suburban counties in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area, has been a Republican stronghold for decades. Republicans have held all public offices since 1999 and the county has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976.

Notable people

Oliver Loving, developer of the Loving-Goodnight Cattle Trail
Bose Ikard, trusted cattle driver of Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight
Mary Martin, star of stage and screen
S.W.T. Lanham, last Confederate veteran to serve as governor of Texas
Jim Wright, youngest mayor of Weatherford, Texas, and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives