Tarrant_County,_Texas

Tarrant County, Texas

Tarrant County, Texas

County in Texas, United States


Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 U.S. census population of 2,110,640, making it the third-most populous county in Texas and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth.[1] Tarrant County, one of 26 counties created out of the Peters Colony, was established in 1849 and organized the next year.[2] It is named after Edward H. Tarrant, a lawyer, politician, and militia leader.

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Geography

USGS map of Tarrant County, 1894

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 902 square miles (2,340 km2), of which 864 square miles (2,240 km2) is land and 39 square miles (100 km2) (4.3%) is water.[3]

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Historical census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Historical communities

Ghost towns

Notes

  • Italics indicate that the city is a principal city of DFW or a county seat.
  • The term "town" is used only in reference to relative population. Under Texas law, all incorporated places are officially designated "cities".

Demographics

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Note: the U.S. Census Bureau treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

Since the 1850 United States census, Tarrant County has experienced population growth except for the 1870 census; in 1850, the county had a population of 664, growing to 1,170,103 at the 1990 census. By the 2020 census, the county's population grew to 2,110,640.[9] Tarrant County is the second-most populous county in the Metroplex, behind Dallas County.

Ethnic origins in Tarrant County, TX

In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 71.2% White, 12.8% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 9.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races; 19.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[10] In 2020, its racial and ethnic makeup was 42.87% non-Hispanic white, 29.42% Hispanic or Latino American of any race, 16.99% Black or African American, 6.05% Asian alone, 0.33% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 0.39% some other race, and 3.74% multiracial.[9] Its increasing racial and ethnic diversity has reflected growing trends of diversification in Texas.[11][12][13]

In 2000, there were 533,864 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.22. As of the 2010 census, there were about 5.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.[14]

In the county as of 2000, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $46,179, and the median income for a family was $54,068. Males had a median income of $38,486 versus $28,672 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,548. About 8.0% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. According to the 2021 census estimates, the median income for a household in the county was $71,346.

Government, courts, and politics

Government

Tarrant County, like all Texas counties, is governed by a Commissioners Court. The court consists of the county judge, who is elected county-wide and presides over the full court, and four commissioners, who are elected in each of the county's four precincts.[15]

County Judge and Commissioners

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County Officials

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Constables

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County services

The JPS Health Network (Tarrant County Hospital District) operates the John Peter Smith Hospital and health centers.

Countywide law enforcement is provided by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and Tarrant County Constable's Office. All cities in the county provide their own police services, with three exceptions: Westlake contracts service from the Keller Police Department,[19] and Haslet[20] and Edgecliff Village[21] contract service from the Sheriff's Office. DFW Airport,[22] the Tarrant County Hospital District, and the Tarrant Regional Water District also provide their own police forces.

Since the disbandment of the North Tarrant County Fire Department, no countywide firefighting services exist. All municipalities provide their own fire departments. Most cities also operate their own ambulances, with two notable exceptions: Fort Worth and 14 other Tarrant County cities are served by the Metropolitan Area EMS Authority (MAEMSA), a governmental administrative agency established under an interlocal operating agreement and operating as MedStar Mobile Health,[23] while the city of Arlington contracts paramedic apparatus from private entity American Medical Response.[24]

Fire and EMS protection in unincorporated portions of Tarrant County is governed by the Tarrant County Emergency Services District #1, which administers contracts with 17 fire departments (including 10 with EMS response) and has mutual aid agreements with eight additional fire departments.[25]

CareFlite air ambulance services operate from Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.

Courts

Justices of the Peace

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County criminal courts

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County civil courts

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County probate courts

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Civil district courts

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Family district courts

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Juvenile district court

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Politics

Since the 1950s, Tarrant County has been very conservative for an urban county, and one of the most populous Republican-leaning counties in the nation. However, it elected Democrat Jim Wright to 17 terms (1955–1989) as U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House (1987–1989), and Wright was succeeded by fellow Democrat Pete Geren (1989–1997).

Beginning in 2016, the Democratic Party rebounded to represent a larger portion of the political profile and made huge gains in Tarrant County, concentrated in several areas throughout the county: eastern Euless, Grand Prairie and eastern and southern Arlington, northern and western areas of Mansfield, large portions of Fort Worth, particularly the area surrounding the Stockyards and Meacham Airport, southern and eastern Fort Worth, especially in dense metro areas and along I-35W, and Forest Hill.[30]

Republicans are dominant in many of the rural areas of the county, downtown and western Fort Worth and north of Loop 820, and almost all suburban areas including Benbrook, rural Mansfield areas and western Arlington, Haltom City, Mid-Cities (Hurst, Euless, and Bedford), and the northern suburbs.[30]

The county has leaned Republican in United States Senate races since Democrat Lloyd Bentsen's 1988 victory, but in the 2018 election Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke carried Tarrant, though losing statewide to incumbent Ted Cruz.[31]

In 2020, Joe Biden carried the county with 49.3% (to Donald Trump's 49.1%) in the 2020 presidential election, the first win for a Democratic presidential ticket in Tarrant County since Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and the closest race in the county since 1976, which was won by the razor thin margin of 1,826 votes (The margin of votes in 2020, in comparison, was 1,836 votes). Many other suburban Texas counties, including Tarrant's immediate neighbors in Denton County and Collin County as well as those around Houston and Austin, have shown similar trends since 2016.

From the 1893 beginning of U.S. House District 12, there have been two Republicans in 127 years elected to the U.S. House for the western half of Tarrant County; from the 1875 inception of U.S. House District 6, there have been three Republicans in 145 years elected to the U.S. House for the eastern portion of Tarrant County, including former congressman and senator Phil Gramm's election as both a Democrat and a Republican after he switched parties in 1983 to run for re-election. The first Republican elected to the State Senate from Tarrant County since Reconstruction was Betty Andujar in 1972.

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Texas State Representatives

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Texas State Senators

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United States House of Representatives

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Education

Colleges and universities

Under the Texas Education Code, Tarrant County is the entire official service area of Tarrant County College (formerly Tarrant County Junior College).[34]

Universities in Tarrant County include:

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools in Texas are organized into independent school districts and charter schools. Tarrant County is also home to dozens of private high schools and nearly 100 lower-level private schools.[35]

Independent school districts

Those serving the county include:[36]

Masonic Home Independent School District formerly served a part of the county.[37] In 2005 it merged into FWISD.[38]

Charter schools

Private schools

Transportation

Major highways

C. H. Rogers' Road Map of Tarrant County, 1920

Airports

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is partially in the cities of Grapevine and Euless in Tarrant County and Irving in Dallas County.

Fort Worth Alliance Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located 14 miles (23 km) north of the central business district of Fort Worth on Interstate-35W. Billed as the world's first purely industrial airport, it was developed in a joint venture between the City of Fort Worth, the Federal Aviation Administration and Hillwood Development Company, a real estate development company owned by H. Ross Perot Jr. Alliance Airport has 9600' and 8200' runways.

Fort Worth Meacham International Airport is located at the intersection of Interstate 820 and U.S. Business Highway 287 in northwest Fort Worth, 5 miles from the downtown business district. Meacham International Airport has two parallel runways.

Fort Worth Spinks Airport is located 14 miles south of the downtown business district. The airport is located at the intersection of Interstate-35W and HWY 1187 and serves as a reliever airport for Fort Worth Meacham International Airport and Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport.

See also


References

  1. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  2. "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  3. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  4. "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  5. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  6. "Census shows less white Texas ahead of redistricting fight". Associated Press News. August 12, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  7. Ura, Alexa; Kao, Jason; Astudillo, Carla; Essig, Chris (August 12, 2021). "People of color make up 95% of Texas' population growth, and cities and suburbs are booming, 2020 census shows". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  8. Ura, Alexa (June 22, 2023). "Hispanics officially make up the biggest share of Texas' population, new census numbers show". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  9. Leonhardt, David; Quealy, Kevin (June 26, 2015), "Where Same-Sex Couples Live", The New York Times, retrieved July 6, 2015
  10. "Commissioners Court". access.tarrantcounty.com. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  11. "Tarrant County Republican Party". Tarrant County Republican Party. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  12. "Elected County Officials". www.tarrantcounty.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  13. "Constables". www.tarrantcountytx.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  14. "Police Services". Westlake, Texas. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  15. "Police Protection Tarrant County Sheriff's Office". Haslet, Texas. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  16. "Police Department (Tarrant County)". Town of Edgecliff Village, Texas. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  17. "DFW Airport Police and Fire". DFW International Airport. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  18. "About Us". MedStar Mobile Health. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  19. "Tarrant County Emergency Services District No. 1". Tarrant County, Texas. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  20. "Misdemeanor Courts". www.tarrantcountytx.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  21. "Felony Courts". www.tarrantcountytx.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  22. "District Courts". www.tarrantcountytx.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  23. "Family Courts". www.tarrantcountytx.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  24. Kennedy, Bud (November 6, 2018). "For Tarrant Democrats, a big state Senate win and a lot of oh-so-close calls". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  25. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  26. "Texas Redistricting". www.tlc.state.tx.us. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  27. Texas Private Schools, accessed 2008-08-23
  28. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Tarrant County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022. - Text list
  29. Texas Education Agency: See map of Tarrant County. Retrieved on July 3, 2022.
  30. "CONSOLIDATIONS, ANNEXATIONS AND NAME CHANGES FOR TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS" (PDF). Texas Education Agency. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.

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