Nueces County, Texas
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Nueces County (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 353,178,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> making it the 16th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Corpus Christi,<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> which is also the most populous city in the Nueces County,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> at 317,773 people, as of 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county was formed in 1846 from portions of San Patricio County and organized the following year.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> It is named for the Nueces River, which marks the county's northwestern boundary with San Patricio County before emptying into its mouth at Nueces Bay north of the port of Corpus Christi. <ref name=":0" /> Nueces County is part of the Corpus Christi metropolitan statistical area.
Native Americans & History
Earliest signs of life in the county were estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. The earliest group were a culture named the Aransas. They were a nomadic group of hunter-gatheres, who had left the coastal region around 700-800 years ago, where the region remained uninhabited for about a century. The next group to migrate into the region were the Karankawa people, about 600 years ago, then being followed by other groups. <ref name=":0" />
The Indian tribes that lived in and raided the county were the Lipan Apache, Karankawa, Coahuiltecan, Kickapoo, and the Seminole. The final recorded Indian raid in the county happened in April 1878, when Lipan Apache, Kickapoo, Seminole, Mexicans, and a white man briefly entered the county and onto ranches, before returning west to Laredo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert are land and Template:Convert (28%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> It borders the Gulf of Mexico, lovated about 210 miles southwest of Houston and 145 miles southeast from San Antonio. The elevation, in the county, ranges from sea level to about 180 feet above seen level. In the county, about 61 to 70 percent of the land is ideal farmland for many agricultrual purpouses. <ref name=":0" />
Major highways
Adjacent counties
- San Patricio County (north)
- Kleberg County (south)
- Jim Wells County (west)
- Aransas County (northeast)
Demographics
| 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) | 118,178 | 111,870 | 106,165 | 37.68% | 32.88% | 30.06% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 12,718 | 12,178 | 12,651 | 4.05% | 3.58% | 3.58% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 933 | 882 | 907 | 0.30% | 0.26% | 0.26% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 3,458 | 5,495 | 7,712 | 1.10% | 1.62% | 2.18% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 136 | 209 | 281 | 0.04% | 0.06% | 0.08% |
| Other Race alone (NH) | 308 | 399 | 1,264 | 0.10% | 0.12% | 0.36% |
| Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH) | 2,963 | 2,897 | 7,146 | 0.94% | 0.85% | 2.02% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 174,951 | 206,293 | 217,052 | 55.78% | 60.63% | 61.46% |
| Total | 313,645 | 340,223 | 353,178 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 313,645 people, 110,365 households, and 79,683 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 123,041 housing units averaged Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 72.03% White, 4.24% African American, 0.64% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 18.74% from other races, and 3.13% from two or more races. About 55.78% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 110,365 households, 36.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.80% were married couples living together, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.80% were not families. About 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the county, the age distribution was 28.40% under the age of 18, 10.50% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males. The largest perecentage of citizens is in the age group's 10-19, 20-29, and 30-39.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The median income for a household in the county was $35,959, and for a family was $41,066. Males had a median income of $31,571 versus $22,324 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,036. About 14.70% of families and 18.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.00% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities (multiple counties)
- Aransas Pass (partly in San Patricio and Aransas Counties)
- Corpus Christi (county seat) (San Patricio and Aransas Counties)
- Ingleside (mostly in San Patricio County)
- Portland (mostly in San Patricio County)
In the 2000 U.S. census, a portion of San Patricio was indicated as being in Nueces County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of the 1990 U.S. census, the 2010 U.S. census, and the 2020 U.S. census, that particular area is indicated as being in San Patricio County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cities
Census-designated places
- Banquete
- La Paloma-Lost Creek
- North San Pedro
- Rancho Banquete
- Sandy Hollow-Escondidas
- Spring Gardens
- Tierra Grande
- Tierra Verde
Unincorporated communities
Education
School districts:<ref name=NuecesCoSDMap2020>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref> Template:Div col
- Agua Dulce Independent School District
- Aransas Pass Independent School District
- Banquete Independent School District
- Bishop Consolidated Independent School District
- Calallen Independent School District
- Corpus Christi Independent School District
- Driscoll Independent School District
- Flour Bluff Independent School District
- London Independent School District
- Port Aransas Independent School District
- Robstown Independent School District
- Tuloso-Midway Independent School District
- West Oso Independent School District
Del Mar College is the designated community college for all of Nueces County.<ref>Texas Education Code Sec. 130.177. DEL MAR COLLEGE-CORPUS CHRISTI JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.</ref>
Politics
Historically, Nueces County leaned Democratic in presidential elections, though in recent years has narrowly voted Republican. Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 became the first Republican candidate to carry the county. Prior to that year, the only times Nueces County did not vote for the national Democratic candidate was in its first presidential election in 1848 for Whig Zachary Taylor, and in 1860, supporting Southern Democratic John C. Breckinridge. Since Eisenhower's election, the only other Republicans to carry the county in the 20th century were Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984. So far, Bill Clinton remains the last Democratic candidate to win Nueces County, having done so in 1996.
Since 2000, Nueces County has voted for every Republican presidential candidate, with only George W. Bush in 2004 and Donald Trump in 2024 having carried it by a double digit margin, with Bush's 56.8% of the vote also the highest for any Republican in the county's history. In 2016, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the county with a plurality of 48.6% to 47.1%, or 1,568 votes, the closest race since 1956.
Democratic strength is concentrated within the inland portion of the county, with particular strengths in center portion of Corpus Christi whereas neighborhoods that are predominately Hispanic and the city of Robstown. Republicans performed well in areas particularly in the suburbs of the city, North Padre Island and Port Aransas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Nueces County, Texas
- Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Nueces County
- List of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast
- Nueces County Keach Family Library
References
External links
- Nueces County government's website
- Nueces County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
- Historic Nueces County materials, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
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