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Jim Wells County, Texas
Jim wells courthouse
The Jim Wells County Courthouse in Alice.
Map of Texas highlighting Jim Wells County
Location in the state of Texas
Map of the U.S
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded 1912
Seat Alice
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

868 sq mi (2,248 km²)
865 sq mi (2,240 km²)
3 sq mi (8 km²), 0.43%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

38,891

Jim Wells County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,891. It is county seat is Alice[1]. The county is named for James Babbage Wells Jr., a political boss in southern Texas.

The Alice Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Jim Wells County.

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 868 square miles (2,248.1 km2), of which 865 square miles (2,240.3 km2) is land and 3 square miles (7.8 km2) (0.43%) is water.

Major highways[]

  • US 281 U.S. Highway 281
  • Texas 44 State Highway 44
  • Texas 359 State Highway 359
  • Texas FM 665 FM 665

Adjacent counties[]

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1920 6,587
1930 13,456 104.3%
1940 20,239 50.4%
1950 27,991 38.3%
1960 34,548 23.4%
1970 33,032 −4.4%
1980 36,498 10.5%
1990 37,679 3.2%
2000 39,326 4.4%
2010 40,838 3.8%
U.S. Decennial Census

At the 2000 census[2], there were 39,326 people, 12,961 households and 10,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 per square mile (18/km²). There were 14,819 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.90% White, 0.60% Black or African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 17.93% from other races, and 2.43% from two or more races. 75.71% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 12,961 households of which 40.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.00% were married couples living together, 15.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.10% were non-families. 19.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.45.

Age distribution was 31.40% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.40 males.

The median household income was $28,843, and the median family income was $32,616. Males had a median income of $30,266 versus $17,190 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,252. About 20.10% of families and 24.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.80% of those under age 18 and 21.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics[]

Located in South Texas, Jim Wells County is part of the oldest Democratic stronghold in the entire United States – a region that has consistently voted for Democrats since the days of Woodrow Wilson. The Jim Wells County Democratic Party has maintained control of the county despite massive demographic changes due to Civil Rights, the collapse of Jim Crow and poll taxes, and mass immigration from Mexico.[3] The only Republicans to win the county since its creation are Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Richard Nixon in his 1972 landslide and Donald Trump in 2020. Since 2004 Jim Wells County has become slightly less Democratic than it was during the late twentieth century. Despite this shift, the Democratic candidate won at least 53.77 percent of the county's vote in every election from 1976 to 2020. In 2020 the county ended its streak of Democratic victories when it was won by Donald Trump with a 10 percent margin.

In the 2018 gubernatorial election, Republican Greg Abbott won 52.04% of the vote in Jim Wells County, becoming the first member of his party to win the county in a statewide race.[4] During the same election, Democrat Beto O'Rourke won the county in the Senate contest with 53.85% of the vote.[5]

United States presidential election results for Jim Wells County, Texas[6]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 7,453 54.52% 6,119 44.77% 97 0.71%
2016 5,420 43.78% 6,694 54.08% 265 2.14%
2012 4,598 41.18% 6,492 58.14% 76 0.68%
2008 4,841 41.69% 6,706 57.75% 65 0.56%
2004 5,817 45.84% 6,824 53.77% 50 0.39%
2000 4,498 37.41% 7,418 61.70% 107 0.89%
1996 2,989 28.27% 7,116 67.31% 467 4.42%
1992 3,311 26.36% 7,812 62.19% 1,438 11.45%
1988 4,335 33.64% 8,495 65.92% 56 0.43%
1984 5,896 42.99% 7,795 56.84% 24 0.17%
1980 4,606 38.34% 7,267 60.49% 140 1.17%
1976 3,547 30.71% 7,961 68.93% 42 0.36%
1972 5,283 54.48% 4,404 45.41% 11 0.11%
1968 2,827 28.13% 6,304 62.73% 919 9.14%
1964 1,988 22.50% 6,849 77.50% 0 0.00%
1960 2,773 34.18% 5,330 65.71% 9 0.11%
1956 3,348 54.69% 2,752 44.95% 22 0.36%
1952 3,592 48.94% 3,745 51.03% 2 0.03%
1948 1,402 26.46% 3,781 71.35% 116 2.19%
1944 1,113 34.88% 1,908 59.79% 170 5.33%
1940 914 30.20% 2,105 69.56% 7 0.23%
1936 338 16.58% 1,691 82.97% 9 0.44%
1932 162 9.99% 1,449 89.39% 10 0.62%
1928 423 36.06% 747 63.68% 3 0.26%
1924 213 21.47% 654 65.93% 125 12.60%
1920 169 32.25% 304 58.02% 51 9.73%
1916 100 21.10% 335 70.68% 39 8.23%
1912 24 6.82% 241 68.47% 87 24.72%



1948 U.S. Senate election[]

Jim Wells County is known as the home of "Box 13", the infamous ballot box which gave Lyndon Baines Johnson a 200-vote edge over popular former governor Coke Stevenson in the Democratic primary election. It was later demonstrated that these 200 votes were "stuffed" into the ballot box after the polls had closed. Johnson went on to win the election.

Cities and towns[]

Cities[]

  • Alice
  • Orange Grove
  • Premont
  • San Diego (mostly in Duval County)

Villages[]

  • Pernitas Point (partly in Live Oak County)

Unincorporated areas[]

  • Alfred-South La Paloma
  • Alfred
  • Alice Acres
  • Ben Bolt
  • Bentonville
  • Casa Blanca
  • Coyote Acres
  • K-Bar Ranch
  • La Gloria
  • Loma Linda East
  • Owl Ranch-Amargosa
  • Palito Blanco
  • Rancho Alegre
  • Rancho de la Parita
  • Sandia
  • Springfield
  • Westdale
  • San Federico de la Corrazo

See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Jim Wells County, Texas

References[]

External links[]

Coordinates: 27°44′N 98°05′W / 27.73, -98.09


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Jim Wells County, Texas. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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