Lavaca County, Texas

Lavaca County (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,337.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Hallettsville.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was created in 1846.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is named for the Lavaca River, which curves its way southeast through Moulton and Hallettsville before reaching the coast at Matagorda Bay.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (0.08%) is covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

• File:US 77.svg U.S. Highway 77
• 
  File:US 77.svg U.S. Highway 77 Alternate
• 
  U.S. Highway 90 Alternate
• State Highway 95
• File:Texas 111.svg State Highway 111

Adjacent counties

• Fayette County (north)
• Colorado County (northeast)
• Jackson County (southeast)
• Victoria County (south)
• DeWitt County (southwest)
• Gonzales County (northwest)

Demographics

Lavaca 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)	15,579	14,674	14,564	81.10%	76.18%	71.61%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,287	1,255	1,173	6.70%	6.52%	5.77%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	28	30	30	0.15%	0.16%	0.15%
Asian alone (NH)	26	56	74	0.14%	0.29%	0.36%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	3	17	5	0.02%	0.09%	0.02%
Other race alone (NH)	18	18	31	0.09%	0.09%	0.15%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	86	136	524	0.45%	0.71%	2.58%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2,183	3,077	3,936	11.36%	15.97%	19.35%
Total	19,210	19,263	20,337	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 19,210 people, 7,669 households, and 5,391 families were residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 9,657 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 86.86% White, 6.79% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 4.86% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. About 11.36% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of descent, 27.0% were of Czech, 24.1% German, 9.1% American, and 5.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000; 86.3% spoke English, 7.7% Spanish, 4.6% Czech and 1.2% German as their first language. In terms of ancestry in 2016, 32.8% were of German, 30.7% were of Czech, 10.8% were of Irish, 5.4% were of English, 3.4% were of American, and 2.2% were French.

Of the 7,669 households, 30.0% had children under 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were not families. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44, and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the age distribution was 24.2% under 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 23.50% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 21.80% who were 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.10 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 88.50 males.

The median income for a household was $29,132, and for a family was $36,760. Males had a median income of $26,988 versus $17,537 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,398. About 10.20% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.20% of those under age 18 and 18.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education

These K-12 school public school districts are located in Lavaca County:<ref name=SDUSCensusBureauMap2020>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

• Ezzell Independent School District
• Hallettsville Independent School District (includes portions it covers for K-12, and portions in Vysehrad ISD that it covers only for secondary school)
• Moulton Independent School District
• Shiner Independent School District
• Sweet Home Independent School District
• Weimar Independent School District
• Yoakum Independent School District

Additionally, Vysehrad Independent School District is an elementary-only school district.<ref name=SDUSCensusBureauMap2020/>

All of the county is in the service area of Victoria College.<ref>Texas Education Code Sec. 130.208. THE VICTORIA COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.</ref>

Communities

Cities

• Hallettsville (county seat)
• Shiner
• Yoakum (partly in DeWitt County)

Town

• Moulton

Unincorporated communities

• Breslau
• Sweet Home
• Speaks
• Sublime

Politics

For all of its history, Lavaca County has had conservative roots and morals. It last voted for a Democrat in 1976 when Georgian Jimmy Carter was on the Democrat ticket. Each successive election thereafter, Lavaca County has continued to tilt more to the right.

All county level officials are Republicans. Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot Template:U.S. SenHead Template:U.S. SenRow Template:U.S. SenFoot

See also

• List of museums in South Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lavaca County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Lavaca County

External links

• Lavaca County website
• Template:Handbook of Texas
• https://web.archive.org/web/20101205061757/http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/freelavaca.htm