Hays County, Texas

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File:Hays County Annex Bldg. San Marcos, TX IMG 4114.JPG

Hays County Annex Building across from the courthouse in San Marcos

File:Hays County, TX, Veterans Monument, San Marcos IMG 4122.JPG

Hays County Veterans Monument in San Marcos

Hays County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Texas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its official population had reached 241,067.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is San Marcos.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Hays, along with Comal and Kendall Counties, was listed in 2017 as one of the nation's fastest-growing counties with a population of at least 10,000. From 2015 to 2016, Hays County, third on the national list, had nearly 10,000 new residents during the year.<ref>Zeke MacCormack, "Folks flocking to area counties: Kendall, Comal, and Hays are on the top 10 list", San Antonio Express-News, March 24, 2017, pp. 1, A11.</ref>

The county is named for John Coffee Hays, a Texas Ranger and Mexican–American War officer who fought the Texas- Comanche wars of the 1800s.

History

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Hays County has been inhabited for thousands of years. Evidence of Paleo-Indians found in the region goes as far back as 6000 BC.<ref name="Hays County, Texas">Template:Cite web</ref> Archeological evidence of native agriculture goes back to 1200 AD. The earliest Europeans to arrive in the area were explorers and missionaries from the Spanish Empire. Father Isidro Félix de Espinosa, Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares, and Pedro de Aguirre traveled through the area in 1709.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A few years later, French-Canadian Louis Juchereau de St. Denis was attacked by Comanches in 1714.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> More permanent European influence was established in 1755, when the Mission San Francisco Xavier de los Dolores was established among the Apache tribe.<ref>Template:Cite book Template:Self-published source</ref>Template:Self-published inline In 1831, Coahuila y Tejas<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> issued a land grant to Juan Martín de Veramendi,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to Juan Vicente Campos in 1832,<ref name="Hays County, Texas" /> and to Thomas Jefferson Chambers in 1834.<ref name="Hays County, Texas" /> The Mexican government issued a land grant to the first Anglo-American settler in the county, Thomas G. McGhee of Tennessee, in 1835.<ref name="Hays County, Texas" />

On March 1, 1848, the legislature formed Hays County from Travis County. The county is named for Tennessee native Captain John Coffee Hays<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> of the Texas Rangers. San Marcos was named as the county seat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The legislature established Blanco from part of Hays in 1858, but incorporated part of Comal into Hays. Risher and Hall Stage Lines controlled 16 of 31 passenger and mail lines in Texas.<ref name="Hays County, Texas" />

In 1861, voters in the county favored secession from the Union.<ref name="Hays County, Texas" /> The next year, the state legislature transferred more of Comal County to Hays County.<ref name="Hays County, Texas" /> In 1867, the first cattle drive from Hays County to Kansas occurred.<ref name="Hays County, Texas" />

The International-Great Northern Railroad was completed from Austin to San Marcos in 1880.<ref name="Hays County, Texas" /> Camp Ben McCulloch, named after a brigadier general, was organized in 1896 for reunions of United Confederate Veterans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A teacher's college, Southwest Texas State Normal School, was established in San Marcos in 1899.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Wonder Cave opened to the public in 1900.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The current Hays County Courthouse in San Marcos was erected in 1908 in Beaux-Arts style by architect C.H. Page and Bros.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Aquarena Springs tourist site opened in 1928 in San Marcos.<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref>

Lyndon Baines Johnson graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1930.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1942, construction of San Marcos Army Air Field began.<ref name="Gary Air Force Base">Template:Cite web</ref> San Marcos Army Air Field was renamed Gary Air Force Base in 1953 to honor Second Lieutenant Arthur Edward Gary, the first San Marcos resident killed in World War II.<ref name="Gary Air Force Base" />

The state legislature resurveyed the Hays and Travis County lines, adding Template:Convert to Hays County, in 1955.<ref name="Hays County, Texas" /> In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced the establishment of a Job Corps center based at the deactivated Gary Air Force Base.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (0.3%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The county is predominantly in the Edwards Plateau, with the southeast portion in the Texas Blackland Prairies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Adjacent counties

Travis County (northeast)
Caldwell County (east)
Comal County (south)
Guadalupe County (southwest)
Blanco County (northwest)

Transportation

Major highways

Airport

San Marcos Regional Airport - general aviation airport without commercial flights

Education

School districts in Hays County include:<ref>Template:Cite web - List</ref>

As of 2020, the county has six high schools, 10 middle schools, and 24 elementary schools.Template:Citation needed

Higher education in Hays County includes one four-year institution, Texas State University, in San Marcos.

Austin Community College is the designated community college for the whole county.<ref>Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.166. AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA..</ref> It operates three distance-learning centers that offer basic and early college start classes, along with testing centers for online classes.

Demographics

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**Hays 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)	62,945	92,062	121,568	64.50%	58.60%	50.43%
Black or African American alone (NH)	3,448	4,970	9,004	3.53%	3.16%	3.74%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	368	502	599	0.38%	0.32%	0.25%
Asian alone (NH)	740	1,699	4,822	0.76%	1.08%	2.00%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	47	104	144	0.05%	0.07%	0.06%
Other race alone (NH)	138	226	1,009	0.14%	0.14%	0.42%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	1,044	2,143	11,050	1.07%	1.36%	4.58%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	28,859	55,401	92,871	29.57%	35.26%	38.52%
Total	97,589	157,107	241,067	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2015 Texas population estimate program, the county's population was 193,963: non-Hispanic Whites, 106,919 (55.1%); non-Hispanic Blacks, 5,860 (3.0%); other non-Hispanics, 6,624 (3.4%); and Hispanics and Latinos (of any race), 74,560 (38.4%).<ref name="Texas Demographic Center">Template:Citation</ref>

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 97,589 people, 51,265 households, and 22,150 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 55,643 housing units averaged Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 78.92% White, 3.68% Black or African American, 0.69%Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 13.36% from other races, and 2.49% from two or more races. About 29.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 33,410 households, 34.0% had children under 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were not families; 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.69, and the average family size was 3.21.

A Williams Institute analysis of 2010 census data found about 7.4 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.<ref name=newyorktimes>Template:Citation</ref>

The county's population was distributed as 24.5% under 18, 20.5% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.30 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 99.50 males.

The county's median household income was $45,006 and the median family income was $56,287. Males had a median income of $35,209 versus $27,334 for females. The county's per capita income was $19,931. About 6.40% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.30% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Hays County currently leans towards the Democratic Party in federal elections. The county was strongly Democratic-leaning before the 1970s, then (like some other suburban counties in the state) began trending towards the Republican Party in the 1970s.

The county began trending Democratic again in the late 2010s and early 2020s. It has backed Democrats in most statewide races since 2018, including for President (in 2020 and 2024), despite Democrats losing all statewide races in Texas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024, Kamala Harris became the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry Hays County despite losing the presidential election since 1968.

Until 2020, when Joe Biden won the county with 54.4% of the vote, the last Democrat to carry Hays County in a presidential election was Bill Clinton, with a plurality of 39.8% of the vote in 1992. The last Democrat to win a majority of the vote in the county before 2020 was Jimmy Carter, with 54.4% in 1976. Lloyd Bentsen had been the last Democratic Senate candidate to carry the county, winning 69.2% of the vote in 1988, until 2018, when Beto O'Rourke carried the county with 57.1% of the vote.<ref name="uselectionatlas.org">Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 2022 elections, Democrats won all but one race in Hays County; They flipped several countywide seats previously held by Republicans.<ref name="kxan.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

Democratic voters mostly reside along the I-35 Corridor and communities East. Communities West of the I-35 Corridor lean Republican. San Marcos, home of Texas State University, and the city of Kyle generally vote Democratic. Driftwood, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, and Woodcreek generally vote Republican. Elections within the county are often decided by margins in Bear Creek, Belterra, Buda, and the county's northcentral border along Travis County.Template:Citation needed

County government

County Judge and commissioners

	Name	Party
County Judge	Ruben Becerra	Democratic
Commissioner, Precinct 1	Debbie Ingalsbe	Democratic
Commissioner, Precinct 2	Michelle Cohen	Democratic
Commissioner, Precinct 3	Lon Shell	Republican
Commissioner, Precinct 4	Walt Smith	Republican

County Officials

	Name	Party
Criminal District Attorney	Kelly Higgins	Democratic
District Clerk	Avery Anderson	Democratic
County Clerk	Elaine Cárdenas	Democratic
Sheriff	Gary Cutler	Republican
Tax Assessor-Collector	Jenifer O’Kane	Republican
Treasurer	Daphne Sanchez Tenorio	Democratic

Communities

Census-designated places

Ghost town

Goforth

Gallery

References

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External links

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Hays County government's website Template:Webarchive
Template:Handbook of Texas
HaysWeb - Hays County Information
Hays County Historical Commission

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