Hays County, Texas facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Hays County
U.S. county
Hays County Courthouse, built in 1908 using the eclectic style of architecture
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1848
Named for	John Coffee Hays
Seat	San Marcos
Largest city	San Marcos
Area
• Total	680 sq mi (1,800 km²)
• Land	678 sq mi (1,760 km²)
• Water	1.9 sq mi (5 km²) 0.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	241,067
• Estimate (2023)	269,103
• Density	354.5/sq mi (136.9/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	21st, 35th

Hays County Annex Building across from the courthouse in San Marcos

Hays County Veterans Monument in San Marcos

Hays County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its official population had reached 241,067. The county seat is San Marcos. 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.

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
Geography
- Adjacent counties
Transportation
- Major highways
- Airport
Education
Demographics
Communities
Gallery
See also

History

Hays County has been inhabited for thousands of years. Evidence of Paleo-Indians found in the region goes as far back as 6000 BC. 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. A few years later, French-Canadian Louis Juchereau de St. Denis was attacked by Comanches in 1714.

More permanent European influence was established in 1755, when the Mission San Francisco Xavier de los Dolores was established among the Apache tribe. In 1831, Coahuila y Tejas issued a land grant to Juan Martín de Veramendi, to Juan Vicente Campos in 1832, and to Thomas Jefferson Chambers in 1834. The Mexican government issued a land grant to the first Anglo-American settler in the county, Thomas G. McGhee of Tennessee, in 1835.

On March 1, 1848, the legislature formed Hays County from Travis County. The county is named for Tennessee native Captain John Coffee Hays of the Texas Rangers. San Marcos was named as the county seat. 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.

In 1861, voters in the county favored secession from the Union. The next year, the state legislature transferred more of Comal County to Hays County. In 1867, the first cattle drive from Hays County to Kansas occurred.

The International-Great Northern Railroad was completed from Austin to San Marcos in 1880. Camp Ben McCulloch, named after a brigadier general, was organized in 1896 for reunions of United Confederate Veterans. A teacher's college, Southwest Texas State Normal School, was established in San Marcos in 1899.

Wonder Cave opened to the public in 1900. The current Hays County Courthouse in San Marcos was erected in 1908 in Beaux-Arts style by architect C.H. Page and Bros. The Aquarena Springs tourist site opened in 1928 in San Marcos.

Lyndon Baines Johnson graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1930. In 1942, construction of San Marcos Army Air Field began. 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.

The state legislature resurveyed the Hays and Travis County lines, adding 16,000 acres (65 km²) to Hays County, in 1955. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced the establishment of a Job Corps center based at the deactivated Gary Air Force Base.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 680 sq mi (1,800 km²), of which 1.9 sq mi (4.9 km²) (0.3%) are covered by water. The county is predominantly in the Edwards Plateau, with the southeast portion in the Texas Blackland Prairies.

Adjacent counties

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

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 35
U.S. Highway 290
State Highway 21
State Highway 80

Airport

San Marcos Regional Airport - general aviation airport without commercial flights

Education

School districts in Hays County include:

Blanco
Comal
Dripping Springs Independent
Hays Consolidated Independent
Johnson City
San Marcos Consolidated
Wimberley Independent

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

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. It operates three distance-learning centers that offer basic and early college start classes, along with testing centers for online classes.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	387	—
1860	2,126	449.4%
1870	4,088	92.3%
1880	7,555	84.8%
1890	11,352	50.3%
1900	14,142	24.6%
1910	15,518	9.7%
1920	15,920	2.6%
1930	14,915	−6.3%
1940	15,349	2.9%
1950	17,840	16.2%
1960	19,934	11.7%
1970	27,642	38.7%
1980	40,594	46.9%
1990	65,614	61.6%
2000	97,589	48.7%
2010	157,127	61.0%
2020	241,067	53.4%
2023 (est.)	280,486	78.5%
U.S. Decennial Census 2010 2020

**Hays County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
*Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
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%).

As of the census of 2000, 97,589 people, 51,265 households, and 22,150 families resided in the county. The population density was 144 people per square mile (56 people/km²). The 55,643 housing units averaged 53 units per square mile (20/km²). 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.

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.