Wichita County, Texas facts for kids

Wichita County
	Quick facts for kidsWichita County, Texas
	Map
	; Location in the state of Texas
	; Texas's location in the U.S.
	Statistics
Founded	February 1, 1882
Seat	Wichita Falls
Largest City	Wichita Falls
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 633 sq mi (1,639 km²); 628 sq mi (1,627 km²); 5.3 sq mi (14 km²), 0.8%
Population; - (2010); - Density	; 131,500; 209/sq mi (81/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
	Website: www.co.wichita.tx.us

Wichita County (/ˈwɪtʃᵻtɔː/ WITCH-ə-taw) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 131,500. The county seat is Wichita Falls. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1882.

Wichita County is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 633 square miles (1,640 km²), of which 628 square miles (1,630 km²) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km²) (0.8%) is water. The county is drained by the Wichita River and other streams.

Major highways

Interstate 44
U.S. Highway 82
U.S. Highway 277
U.S. Highway 281
U.S. Highway 287
State Highway 25
State Highway 79
State Highway 240
State Highway 258

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	433	—
1890	4,831	1,015.7%
1900	5,806	20.2%
1910	16,094	177.2%
1920	72,911	353.0%
1930	74,416	2.1%
1940	73,604	−1.1%
1950	98,493	33.8%
1960	123,528	25.4%
1970	120,563	−2.4%
1980	121,082	0.4%
1990	122,378	1.1%
2000	131,664	7.6%
2010	131,500	−0.1%
Est. 2015	131,705	0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010–2014

As of the census of 2000, there were 131,664 people, 48,441 households, and 32,891 families residing in the county. The population density was 210 people per square mile (81/km²). There were 53,304 housing units at an average density of 85 per square mile (33/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 78.76% White, 10.23% Black or African American, 0.89% Native American, 1.84% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 5.51% from other races, and 2.68% from two or more races. 12.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 48,441 households out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. In 2000, there were 1,869 unmarried partner households: 1,677 heterosexual, 94 same-sex male, and 98 same-sex female.

27.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 13.70% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 19.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 103.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,780, and the median income for a family was $40,937. Males had a median income of $28,687 versus $21,885 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,965. About 10.30% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.40% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Wichita County, Texas facts for kids

Contents

Geography

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Communities

Cities

Town

Unincorporated communities