Corpus Christi, Texas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Corpus Christi
City
Downtown Bayfront
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  Corpus, Sparkling City by the Sea
Location within Nueces County
Corpus Christi Location in Texas Show map of Texas Corpus Christi Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Nueces, Kleberg, San Patricio, Aransas
Named for	Body of Christ
Government
• Type	Council–manager government
Area
• City	488.73 sq mi (1,265.80 km2)
• Land	160.63 sq mi (416.03 km2)
• Water	328.10 sq mi (849.77 km2)
Elevation	7 ft (2 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	317,863
• Estimate  (2022)	316,239
• Rank	US: 62nd
• Density	2,033.17/sq mi (785.01/km2)
• Urban	339,066 (US: 119th)
• Urban density	2,622.9/sq mi (1,012.7/km2)
• Metro	421,933 (US: 121st)
• CSA	525,875 (86th)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	78401, 78402, 78404–78419
Area code(s)	361
FIPS code	48-17000
GNIS feature ID	2410234

Corpus Christi (/ˌkɔːrpəs ˈkrɪsti/ kor-PƏS-_-KRIS-tee; Latin for 'Body of Christ') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. It is 130 miles (210 km) southeast of San Antonio and 208 miles (335 km) southwest of Houston. Its political boundaries encompass Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Its zoned boundaries include small land parcels or water inlets of three neighboring counties.

The city's population was 316,239 in 2022, making it the eighth-most populous city in Texas. The Corpus Christi metropolitan area had an estimated population of 442,600. It is also the hub of the six-county Corpus Christi-Kingsville Combined Statistical Area, with a 2013 estimated population of 516,793. The Port of Corpus Christi is the fifth-largest in the United States. The region is served by the Corpus Christi International Airport.

The city's name means body of Christ in Ecclesiastical Latin, in reference to the Christian sacrament of Holy Communion. The name was given to the settlement and surrounding bay by Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519, as he discovered the lush semitropical bay on the Western Christian feast day of Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi is home to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, one of two locations training primary student pilots and advanced multiengine pilots of the US Navy, US Marine Corps, and US Coast Guard.

History

Map of Corpus Christi in 1887

Corpus Christi was founded in 1839 by Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney and William P. Aubrey as Kinney's Trading Post, or Kinney's Ranch. It was a small trading post that sold supplies to a Mexican revolutionary army camped about 25 mi (40 km) west. In July 1845, U.S. troops commanded by General Zachary Taylor set up camp there in preparation for war with Mexico, where they remained until March 1846. About a year later, the settlement was named Corpus Christi and was incorporated on 9 September 1852.

The Battle of Corpus Christi was fought between August 12 and August 18, 1862, during the American Civil War. United States Navy forces blockading Texas fought a small land and sea engagement with Confederate forces in and around Corpus Christi Bay and bombarded the city. Union forces defeated Confederate States Navy ships operating in the area, but were repulsed when they landed on the coast.

Damaged restaurant after Hurricane Allen

The Port of Corpus Christi was opened in 1926, and the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station was commissioned in 1941.

The 1919 Storm devastated the city, killing hundreds on September 14. Only three structures survived the storm on North Beach. To protect the city, the seawall was built. The city also suffered damage from Hurricane Celia in 1970 and Hurricane Allen in 1980, but little damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Civil rights

• In November 1873, seven Mexican shepherds were lynched by a mob near the city. The crime was never solved.
• In February 1929, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) was founded in Corpus Christi. This organization was created to battle racial discrimination against Hispanic people in the United States. Since its founding, LULAC has grown and now has a national headquarters in Washington, D.C.
• In March 1949, the American GI Forum (AGIF) was founded in Corpus Christi. Currently, AGIF focuses on veteran's issues, education, and civil rights issues. This organization was founded after concerns over the segregation of Mexican-American veterans from other veterans groups and the denial of medical services based on race by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Cisneros v. Corpus Christi Independent School District (1970) was the first case to extend the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision (1954) to Mexican Americans. It recognized them as a minority group that could be and was frequently discriminated against. Such segregation and discrimination was ruled unconstitutional. Judge Woodrow Seals found that the school board consciously fostered a system that perpetuated traditional segregation. This included a system that bused Anglo students to schools out of their neighborhoods, renovated old schools in black and Mexican-American neighborhoods rather than building new ones, assigned black and Hispanic teachers to segregated schools, and limited hiring of such teachers at other schools; the school board also lacked a majority-to-minority busing system.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Corpus Christi has a total area of 460.2 square miles (1,192.0 km²), of which 154.6 mi² (400.5 km², 33.60%) is land and 305.6 mi² (791.5 km², 66.40%) is covered by water. Drinking water for the city is supplied by three reservoirs, Lake Corpus Christi, the Choke Canyon Reservoir, and Lake Texana. Through an effective regional partnership with the Nueces River Authority and the Port of Corpus Christi Authority, a 101 mi (163 km) pipeline was built which transports water from Lake Texana to the city's O.N. Stevens Water Treatment Plant. It was named the Mary Rhodes Pipeline, after the late mayor. A phase 2 of the pipeline is underway to draw water from the Colorado River. All reservoirs are outside the city limits, but Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir are managed directly by the public utility of the City of Corpus Christi. To support future water needs, plans are being completed to build a desalinization plant.

Annexation

Since its founding, the city has annexed nearby lands and waters for growth and development purposes. The original area encompassed several city blocks in present-day downtown Corpus Christi with the majority of city expansion occurring in the 20th century.

Neighborhoods

Aerial view of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

• Bayside
• Flour Bluff
• South Side
• Calallen
• Clarkwood
• Annaville
• North Beach
• Mustang Island
• North Padre Island
• West Texas Lake
• Gardendale

Suburbs

• Portland
• Robstown
• Aransas Pass
• Port Aransas
• Odem
• Gregory
• Mathis
• Taft
• Ingleside
• Agua Dulce
• Bishop

Climate

The city has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers and very short, mild winters. In November through February, the weather is the coolest. A noticeable warming trend occurs in March through April. The warmest part of the year is June through September with August being the peak of summer. October in the city is very warm, but not as hot as the summer. Corpus Christi is very windy, with wind speeds often reaching to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h; 11 m/s) with gusts reaching more than 35 miles per hour (56 km/h; 16 m/s). The city’s record high temperature is 109 °F (42.8 °C), on September 5, 2000, and the hottest month August 2012 with an average of 88.3 °F or 31.3 °C. Average night-time winter lows in January, the coldest month, are a little less than 50 °F or 10 °C and its record low is 11 °F or −11.7 °C on February 12, 1899, and the coldest maximum 26 °F or −3.3 °C on five occasions, the most recent being on January 30, 1951. The coolest month on record has been February 1905, with a mean of 45.6 °F or 7.6 °C. In December 2004, the city experienced snowfall on Christmas Eve, the city’s largest recorded snowstorm at 4.4 inches (0.11 m). The snow melted the day after Christmas. Because of the uniqueness of the event, three separate books document the event, Snow, More Snow, and More Snow for Kids, all with the theme of the South Texas Christmas miracle.

Between 1981 and 2010, Corpus Christi averaged 31.73 inches or 805.9 millimetres of rainfall; however, long periods with very little rainfall are normal, and hurricanes can frequently produce daily falls of over 4 inches or 101.6 millimetres. The wettest day on record in July 2, 2007, with 9.86 inches or 250.4 millimetres, whilse the wettest month on record has been September 1967, with 20.33 inches or 516.4 millimetres, including four days with over 3 inches or 76.2 millimetres. Eight months with not even a trace of rainfall have happened, of which the most recent was May 1998, and 21 with merely a trace. The longest spell without measurable rainfall in Corpus Christi has been 55 days from June 23 to August 17 (inclusive) of 1895, and from June 1 to July 25 of 1915, whilse easily the driest calendar year has been 1917, with a mere 5.38 inches or 136.7 millimetres. The two wettest calendar years have been 1888 with 48.16 inches or 1,223.3 millimetres and 1991 with 48.07 inches or 1,221.0 millimetres, although from August 1967 to July 1968, 59.09 inches or 1,500.9 millimetres fell, and for the 12 months ending January 1918, only 5.22 inches or 132.6 millimetres.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 316,239 people (2022 estimate), 117,210 households (2021 estimate), and 79,055 families residing in the city. At the 2010 census, 305,215 people resided in Corpus Christi, a 10.0% increase since 2000.

According to the 2010 census, 80.9% of Corpus Christi's population was White; 4.3% was African American; 1.8% Asian; 0.1% Pacific Islander; 10.4% of some other race; and 2.5% of two or more races. About 62.23% of Corpus Christi's population was of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race, and 33.3% of the population was non-Hispanic White, down from 56% in 1970. In 2000, the racial makeup was 71.62% White, 4.67% African American, 0.64% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 18.58% from other races, and 3.13% from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 54.33% of the population.

Economy

The majority of the population is employed in the services, wholesale and retail trades, and government sectors. Corpus Christi has an unemployment rate of 4.5% as of July 2019.

The Port of Corpus Christi, which is the fifth-largest U.S. port and deepest inshore port on the Gulf of Mexico, handles mostly oil and agricultural products. Much of the local economy is driven by tourism and the oil and petrochemicals industry. In 2005, the port was ranked as the 47th-largest in the world by cargo tonnage.

Corpus Christi is home to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, providing 6,200 civilian jobs to the local economy, making it the single largest employer in the city. Corpus Christi Army Depot, located on NAS Corpus Christi, is the largest helicopter repair facility in the world. Additionally located on NAS Corpus Christi is the United States Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi is the original home of the headquarters of Whataburger, a fast-food restaurant operator and franchiser with 650 stores in 10 states and Mexico; the company relocated its headquarters to San Antonio in 2009. Other large employers include Christus Spohn Health System at 5,400 local employees, the Corpus Christi Independent School District with 5,178, H-E-B at 5,000, and Bay Ltd. at 2,100. Other companies based in Corpus Christi include Stripes Convenience Stores and AEP Texas.

Corpus Christi became the first major city to offer citywide free wi-fi in April 2005 and to allow remote meter reading after a meter reader was attacked by a dog. In 2007, the network was purchased by Earthlink for $5.5 million, and stopped being a free service on May 31, 2007.

Culture

Various sections of Corpus Christi maintain distinct senses of identity and community from the city proper, especially the Calallen and Flour Bluff areas.

Attractions

The city is home to a number of popular destinations for both tourists and residents. The official visitor and tourism information organization is the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau. Some of the most visited attractions are located on North Beach, where the Texas State Aquarium and the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay are located.

USS Lexington -- The-Blue-Ghost' -- Floating Museum

Art Museum of South Texas

USS Lexington was also part of the set for the 2001 film Pearl Harbor. Corpus Christi's museum district is located near USS Lexington. Some attractions located in the museum district are the Museum of Asian Cultures, the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, the South Texas Institute for the Arts, and the Harbor Playhouse Theatre, one of the oldest continually operating community theatres in Texas. Heritage Park is also in the museum district, where a number of older restored houses can be found. The downtown area, of which the museum district is a part, is home to skyscrapers such as One Shoreline Plaza, company offices, various shops, a popular center of marinas, and Mirador de la Flor. Downtown also is home of K Space Contemporary, a nonprofit art organization promoting and presenting local, regional, and national contemporary art.

Texas State Aquarium

The Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, also located in the city, hosts gardening programs from time to time. On Oso Bay near the Pharaoh Valley subdivision, the Hans and Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge is known for seabird-watching. The nearby Pharaohs golf course also serves as a haven for coastal and migratory birds.

Directly east of Corpus Christi are Padre Island and Mustang Island, home to various municipal, state, and national parks, most notably the Padre Island National Seashore. The city is also near King Ranch, one of the world's largest ranches, upon which the movie Giant was based.

Sports

Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks

Although Corpus Christi has no teams in any of the four major sports leagues of the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL, it does have several sports offerings. The city is home to the Corpus Christi IceRays of the North American Hockey League and the Corpus Christi Hooks, of the Texas League, and the AA affiliate of the Houston Astros. The largest venue in Corpus Christi is the 18,000-capacity American football stadium named Buccaneer Stadium.

Year-round NCAA Division I collegiate athletics may be found at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as the Islanders compete in 14 men's and women's sports as a member of the Southland Conference.

Corpus Christi is also home to the Corpus Christi Rugby Football Club, which is a member of the Texas Rugby Union, an affiliate of the Western Rugby Union and of the United States Rugby Football Union.

In 2017, the United Soccer League expanded to Corpus Christi, forming Corpus Christi FC. Corpus Christi FC plays in the Mid-South Division of the USL League Two.

In 2023, the American Indoor Football expanded to Corpus Christi, forming Corpus Christi Tritons.

Parks and recreation

The city's location beside Corpus Christi Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and Laguna Madre provides opportunities for water sports and nature tourism. Waterfowl hunting is available in the region for duck, geese, coot, and teal. White-winged dove and mourning dove are also hunted on private leases. The brushland inland from Corpus Christi is also ideal for hunting feral hogs and white-tailed deer.

Fishing

Fishing is a popular recreational activity in Corpus Christi, including fishing from various piers around Corpus Christi Bay, wade fishing in Oso Bay, and fishing from the Gulf of Mexico at Packery Channel or at Bob Hall Pier.

Wind sports

The city has one of the highest average wind speeds of coastal cities in North America. This, combined with the Bay Front area located along Ocean Drive, makes the city an important destination for wind sports such as kite boarding, wind surfing, kite flying, wing foiling, and sailing. In 1990, Corpus Christi hosted the Windsurfing World Championships. In 2018, Corpus Christi hosted the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships, and in 2022, the J/24 World Championship.

Skating

The Corpus Christi Skate Park opened on February 17, 2007. It is located in Cole Park on the shoreline of the Corpus Christi Bay near downtown. The 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m²) concrete park includes a skating bowl and a street course with stairs, railings, and flat surfaces.

Birdwatching

Seagulls at the Corpus Christi Coast

Being a coastal city, Corpus Christi is a good spot for seabird watching. Popular spots include Blucher Park in downtown, the Hans and Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge along Oso Bay, Hazel Bazemore County Park along the Nueces River in Calallen, and the South Texas Botanic Garden and Nature Center along the Oso Creek.

The Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi, founded in 1957, promotes birding culture and protects habitat for birds in the Coastal Bend region of Texas, with five sanctuaries owned or managed by the club within Corpus Christi. The club hosts field trips and public meetings monthly.

Education

Colleges and universities

Corpus Christi is home to several institutions of higher learning: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Del Mar College, Saint Leo University-Corpus Christi, and numerous vocational schools, including Southern Careers Institute, South Texas Vo-Tech, Career Centers of Texas-Corpus Christi, and Vogue Cosmetology School. The city is also home to Stark College and Seminary (formerly known as the South Texas School of Christian Studies), located on Ward Island alongside Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is a component of the Texas A&M University System. It was formerly known as Corpus Christi State University, Texas A&I University at Corpus Christi, and the University of Corpus Christi.

Saint Leo University-Corpus Christi Education Center is located at Corpus Christi's Naval Air Station.

Del Mar College is a local community college designated for the entire Corpus Christi city limits. It began in the 1940s at a location behind Wynn Seale Jr. High School. The main campus began with the administration building, which was constructed after World War II on Del Mar. The college grew to encompass a good portion of a residential addition called Southmoreland built from the Bohemian farmlands in the late 1930s. Del Mar now includes a west campus located in the area of Corpus Christi that once was Cliff Maus Airport. Del Mar College is expanding their footprint with the unveiling of their new Southside Campus near Oso Creek. The new Southern branch campus will serve the recent growing Southside area.

Southern Careers Institute offers career training at two Corpus Christi locations, primarily in the medical, business, and cosmetology fields.

In 2015, WalletHub ranked Corpus Christi near the bottom, 138 out of 150 cities in America, for its low educational level and low-income opportunities. To improve literacy levels in the city, a multiyear effort has been made to promote reading through annual literacy festivals. Started by First Lady Laura Bush and the Texas Book Festival, a series of book festivals is held each spring.

Schools

Seven school districts provide primary and secondary education for residents of the city limits, within Nueces County:

• Corpus Christi ISD
• Calallen ISD
• Flour Bluff ISD
• London ISD
• Port Aransas ISD
• Tuloso-Midway ISD
• West Oso ISD

The portion of Corpus Christi in Kleberg County is within the Riviera Independent School District. The portion in San Patricio County is in the Ingleside Independent School District.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi provides the primary and secondary education for Catholic schools. Several Open Enrollment Charter Schools are in Corpus Christi. These public schools are: Accelerated Learning Center, Cesar E Chavez Academy, Corpus Christi College Preparatory HS, Corpus Christi Montessori School, Dr ML Garza-Gonzalez Charter School, GCCLR Institute of Technology, Premier HS of Corpus Christi, Richard Milburn Academy, School of Science and Technology, Seashore Learning Center, and Seashore Middle Academy.

Corpus Christi Independent School District

Flour Bluff Independent School District

West Oso Independent School District

Tuloso-Midway Independent School District

Calallen Independent School District

London Independent School District

Private/charter/other

Libraries

Libraries in the city include:

• Dr. Clotilde P. Garcia, 5930 Brockhampton
• Ben F. McDonald, 4044 Greenwood
• Janet F. Harte, 2629 Waldron
• La Retama, 805 Comanche
• Owen R.Hopkins, 3202 McKinzie
• Anita & W.T. Neyland, 1230 Carmel Pkwy

TexShare card holders also have limited borrowing privileges at these area libraries:

• Nueces County Public Library in Robstown, Texas
• Mary and Jeff Bell Library at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
• Del Mar College Libraries

Infrastructure

Transportation

Corpus Christi is served by Corpus Christi International Airport and Interstate 37. Interstate 69E/U.S. Highway 77 connects the city to Brownsville and Victoria. Texas State Highway 44 is a main thoroughfare that connects Corpus Christi to Laredo and the western part of South Texas by way of Interstate 69W/U.S. Highway 59, Interstate 35, and U.S. Highway 83. The inner-city public transportation is provided by Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority with its 28 bus routes. Corpus Christi had a streetcar system functioning from 1910 to 1931 and a railway station (passenger service ended in 1965). Despite the convenience of a large harbor, the city does not have a passenger port. The city of Corpus Christi has a lower than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 8.5% of Corpus Christi households lacked a car, which decreased to 7.9% in 2016. The national average was 8.7% in 2016. Corpus Christi averaged 1.77 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.

The city is accessed by two major bridges, the Harbor Bridge (US 181) and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway (PR 22). Both bridges are maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation.

Major highways

Water

Drinking water for the city is supplied by three reservoirs, Lake Corpus Christi, the Choke Canyon Reservoir, and Lake Texana. Through an effective regional partnership with the Nueces River Authority and the Port of Corpus Christi Authority, a 101 mi (163 km) pipeline was built which transports water from Lake Texana to the city's O.N. Stevens Water Treatment Plant. It was named the Mary Rhodes Pipeline, after the late mayor. Phase two of the pipeline is underway to draw water from the Colorado River. All reservoirs are outside the city limits, but Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir are managed directly by the public utility of the City of Corpus Christi. To support future water needs, plans are being completed to build a desalinization plant.

Notable people

Sister cities

Corpus Christi keeps a thriving and active relationship with these sister cities:

See also

In Spanish: Corpus Christi (Texas) para niños