Midland County, Texas

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Midland County, Texas
The Midland County Courthouse in Midland
Seal
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1885
Seat	Midland
Largest city	Midland
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	902 sq mi (2,336 km²) 900 sq mi (2,331 km²) 1.8 sq mi (5 km²), 0.2%
Population  - (2020)  - Density	169,983 152/sq mi (59/km²)
Congressional district	11th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.midland.tx.us

Former Midland County courthouse marked for razing

Midland County Public Library in Midland

Midland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,983. The county seat is Midland. The county is so named for being halfway (midway) between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railway. Midland County is included in the Midland, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Midland–Odessa Combined Statistical Area.

History

In 1968, the county lost before the Supreme Court in Avery v. Midland County which required local districts to be nearly equal. The city of Midland had most of the county's population but only elected one of the five county commissioners, which was found to violate the Fourteenth Amendment.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 902 square miles (2,340 km²), of which 900 square miles (2,300 km²) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) (0.2%) is water. The Spraberry Trend, the third-largest oil field in the United States by remaining reserves, underlies much of the county.

Major highways

• I-20
• I-20 Bus.
• SH 137
• SH 140
• SH 158
• SH 191
• SH 349 (Nadine and Tom Craddick Highway)
• Loop 40
• Loop 250
• Loop 268

Adjacent counties

• Martin County (north)
• Glasscock County (east)
• Upton County (south)
• Ector County (west)
• Andrews County (northwest)
• Reagan County (southeast)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	1,033		—
1900	1,741		68.5%
1910	3,464		99.0%
1920	2,449		−29.3%
1930	8,005		226.9%
1940	11,721		46.4%
1950	25,785		120.0%
1960	67,717		162.6%
1970	65,433		−3.4%
1980	82,636		26.3%
1990	106,611		29.0%
2000	116,009		8.8%
2010	136,872		18.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010–2020

As of the census of 2000, there were 116,009 people, 42,745 households, and 30,947 families residing in the county. The population density was 129 people per square mile (50/km²). There were 48,060 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile (21/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.32% White, 6.98% Black or African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 12.17% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. 29.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 42,745 households, out of which 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.20% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,082, and the median income for a family was $47,269. Males had a median income of $36,924 versus $24,708 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,369. 12.90% of the population and 10.30% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.20% are under the age of 18 and 7.90% are 65 or older.

Oil & Gas Activity Summary

Midland County ranks #1 in the state of Texas for total oil production and #2 for total gas production. Oil and gas data from the Texas Railroad Commission reports 6,602 currently producing wells as of September 2020.

Politics

Midland County was one of the first areas of Texas to break away from its Democratic roots. it has been Republican in presidential elections since 1952. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the county was Harry Truman in 1948. Even in the presidential election of 1964 in which the incumbent president, Texan Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson, won a national landslide victory, it gave 57.8% of its ballots to Republican presidential candidate and Arizona native Barry Goldwater. Midland County is in the 11th Congressional District in Texas and it is represented by August Pfluger, a Republican. The 11th Congressional District gave George W. Bush 78% of its votes in 2004, higher than any other congressional district in the nation. In Midland County in 2004, Republican George W. Bush received 82% of the vote while Democrat John Kerry received 18%.

United States presidential election results for Midland County, Texas

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	45,624	77.34%	12,329	20.90%	1,035	1.75%
2016	36,973	75.13%	10,025	20.37%	2,214	4.50%
2012	35,689	79.85%	8,286	18.54%	722	1.62%
2008	36,155	78.13%	9,691	20.94%	428	0.92%
2004	36,585	81.60%	8,005	17.85%	244	0.54%
2000	31,514	79.30%	7,534	18.96%	692	1.74%
1996	25,382	68.01%	9,513	25.49%	2,425	6.50%
1992	24,143	58.39%	9,160	22.15%	8,044	19.45%
1988	30,618	77.86%	8,487	21.58%	221	0.56%
1984	33,706	82.13%	7,214	17.58%	119	0.29%
1980	25,027	76.55%	6,839	20.92%	826	2.53%
1976	19,178	70.52%	7,725	28.41%	292	1.07%
1972	18,905	79.60%	4,388	18.48%	457	1.92%
1968	12,789	55.07%	4,756	20.48%	5,677	24.45%
1964	11,906	57.78%	8,646	41.96%	53	0.26%
1960	11,343	64.28%	5,842	33.11%	460	2.61%
1956	8,287	69.99%	3,468	29.29%	86	0.73%
1952	7,956	71.04%	3,244	28.96%	0	0.00%
1948	1,410	36.93%	2,032	53.22%	376	9.85%
1944	302	10.31%	1,688	57.63%	939	32.06%
1940	646	25.14%	1,921	74.75%	3	0.12%
1936	190	13.31%	1,229	86.06%	9	0.63%
1932	136	9.70%	1,245	88.80%	21	1.50%
1928	347	49.57%	350	50.00%	3	0.43%
1924	44	9.84%	399	89.26%	4	0.89%
1920	68	19.94%	271	79.47%	2	0.59%
1916	24	6.47%	339	91.37%	8	2.16%
1912	10	4.08%	215	87.76%	20	8.16%

Communities

Cities

• Midland (county seat) (small part in Martin County)
• Odessa (partly in Ector County)

Unincorporated communities

• Chub
• Cotton Flat
• Greenwood
• Spraberry
• Terminal
• Valley View
• Warfield

Ghost towns

• Dameron City
• Germania
• Pleasant
• Prairie Lee
• Slaughter

See also

• List of museums in West Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Midland County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Midland County
• Gary Painter, sheriff of Midland County from 1985 until his death in 2019

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Midland County, Texas

• Midland County government's website
• Midland County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Midland County Profile of the Texas Association of Counties