Jim Wells County, Texas
Jim Wells County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 39,326. Its 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.
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Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 868 square miles (2,249 km²), of which, 865 square miles (2,239 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (10 km²) of it (0.43%) is water.
Major highways
Adjacent counties
- Live Oak County (north)
- San Patricio County (northeast)
- Nueces County (east)
- Kleberg County (east)
- Brooks County (south)
- Duval County (west)
Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1940 | 20,239 | — | |
| 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% | |
| Est. 2007 | 41,119 | 4.6% | |
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 39,326 people, 12,961 households, and 10,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people 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 out 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.
In the county, the population was spread out with 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 income for a household in the county was $28,843, and the median income for a family 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
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During the 2004 presidential election, Jim Wells County was one of the few counties in Texas where George W. Bush was defeated by Senator John Kerry. Kerry received 6,824 votes to 5,808 for Bush.
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
Categories: Texas counties | Jim Wells County, Texas | United States counties with Hispanic majority populations
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