Jim Wells County, Texas
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county
Jim Wells County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 38,891. Its county seat is Alice. The county was founded in 1911<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is named for James B. Wells Jr. (1850–1923), for three decades a judge and Democratic Party political boss in South Texas.
Jim Wells County comprises the Alice, Texas micropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice combined statistical area.
Geography
[edit]According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (0.4%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Major highways
[edit]- File:US 281.svg U.S. Highway 281
- File:I-69C (TX).svg Interstate 69C is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 281 in most places.
- File:Texas 44.svg State Highway 44
- File:Texas 141.svg State Highway 141
- File:Texas 359.svg State Highway 359
- File:Texas FM 624.svg Farm to Market Road 624
- File:Texas FM 665.svg Farm to Market Road 665
- File:Texas FM 716.svg Farm to Market Road 716
- File:Texas FM 2295.svg Farm to Market Road 2295
Adjacent counties
[edit]- Live Oak County (north)
- San Patricio County (northeast)
- Nueces County (east)
- Kleberg County (east)
- Brooks County (south)
- Duval County (west)
Demographics
[edit]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) | 9,001 | 8,062 | 6,963 | 22.89% | 19.74% | 17.90% |
Black or African American alone (NH) | 166 | 156 | 180 | 0.42% | 0.38% | 0.46% |
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 75 | 97 | 58 | 0.19% | 0.24% | 0.15% |
Asian alone (NH) | 167 | 134 | 140 | 0.42% | 0.33% | 0.36% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 13 | 4 | 15 | 0.03% | 0.01% | 0.04% |
Other Race alone (NH) | 13 | 28 | 95 | 0.03% | 0.07% | 0.24% |
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 119 | 103 | 605 | 0.30% | 0.25% | 1.56% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 29,772 | 32,254 | 30,835 | 75.71% | 78.98% | 79.29% |
Total | 39,326 | 40,838 | 38,891 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
At the 2000 census,<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> 39,326 people, 12,961 households and 10,096 families were residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 14,819 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 77.90% White, 0.60% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 118.83% from other races, and 2.43% from two or more races. About 75.71% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
Of the 12,961 households, 40.2% had children under 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were not families. About 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.99, and the average family size was 3.45.
Age distribution was 31.4% under 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.40 males.
The median household income was $28,843, and the median family income was $32,616. Males had a median income of $30,266 versus $17,190 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,252. About 20.1% of families and 24.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.8% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those aged 65 or over.
Government and politics
[edit]Located in South Texas, Jim Wells County is part of the oldest Democratic stronghold in the entire United States, a region that has consistently voted for Democrats since the days of Woodrow Wilson. The Jim Wells County Democratic Party has maintained its influence in the county despite massive demographic changes due to civil rights, the collapse of Jim Crow and poll taxes, and mass immigration from Mexico.<ref>Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016</ref> The only Republicans to win the county in presidential elections since its creation are Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Richard Nixon in his 1972 landslide and Donald Trump in 2020 and 2024. Since 2004, Jim Wells County has become slightly less Democratic than it was during the late twentieth century. Despite this shift, the Democratic nominee won at least 53.77 percent of the county's vote in every presidential election from 1976 through 2016. In 2020, the county ended its streak of Democratic victories when it was won by Donald Trump by a 10% margin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 2018 gubernatorial election, Republican Greg Abbott won 52.04% of the vote in Jim Wells County, becoming the first member of his party to win the county in a race for a state office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the same election, Democrat Beto O'Rourke won the county in the Senate contest with 53.85% of the vote.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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1948 U.S. Senate election
[edit]Template:Main Jim Wells County is known as the home of the "Box 13 scandal", the infamous ballot box that gave Lyndon Baines Johnson an 87-vote edge out of 988,295 cast over popular former governor Coke Stevenson in the Democratic primary election. It was later demonstrated that 200 votes, for Johnson, were "stuffed" into the ballot box after the polls closed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Johnson went on to win the election.
Communities
[edit]Cities
[edit]- Alice (county seat)
- Orange Grove
- Premont
- San Diego (mostly in Duval County)
Village
[edit]- Pernitas Point (mostly in Live Oak County)
Census-designated places
[edit]- Alfred
- Alice Acres
- Amargosa
- Ben Bolt
- Coyote Acres
- K-Bar Ranch
- Loma Linda East
- Owl Ranch
- Rancho Alegre
- Sandia
- South La Paloma
- Westdale
Former census-designated places
[edit]Unincorporated communities
[edit]Education
[edit]School districts in the county include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>
- Agua Dulce Independent School District
- Alice Independent School District
- Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Independent School District
- La Gloria Independent School District
- Orange Grove Independent School District
- Premont Independent School District
- San Diego Independent School District
Coastal Bend College (formerly Bee County College) is the designated community college for the county.<ref>Texas Education Code Sec. 130.167. BEE COUNTY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA. The legislation calls it "Bee County College".</ref>
See also
[edit]- List of museums in South Texas
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Jim Wells County, Texas
- Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Jim Wells County
References
[edit]External links
[edit]Template:Jim Wells County, Texas Template:Texas counties Template:Texas Template:Authority control Template:Coord