Dallas County, Texas

Dallas County
County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°46′N 96°47′W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	March 30, 1846
Named for	George Mifflin Dallas
Seat	Dallas
Population  (2000)
• Total	2,294,706
Website	www.dallascounty.org

Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas within the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area (colloquially referred to as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex). As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2.2 million (though a 2004 estimate placed the population at 2.3 million) and is now the ninth most populous county in the United States.

Its county seat is Dallas⁶, which is also the largest city in the county. Dallas County is the most populous county within the metropolitan area and contains the largest of its principal cities. The county was named in honor of George Mifflin Dallas, the eleventh vice president of the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,353 square kilometers (908 sq mi). 2,278 km² (880 sq mi) of it is land and 75 km² (29 sq mi) of it (3.19%) is water.

Major Highways

Interstate 20 Interstate 30 Interstate 35E Interstate 345 Interstate 45 Interstate 635

U.S. Highway 67 U.S. Highway 75 U.S. Highway 77 U.S. Highway 80 U.S. Highway 175

Texas State Highway 66 Texas State Highway 78 Texas State Highway 114 Texas State Highway Loop 12

Adjacent counties

• Collin County (north)
• Rockwall County (northeast)
• Kaufman County (east)
• Ellis County (south)
• Tarrant County (west)
• Denton County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	2,743		—
1860	8,665		215.9%
1870	13,814		59.4%
1880	33,488		142.4%
1890	67,042		100.2%
1900	82,726		23.4%
1910	135,748		64.1%
1920	210,551		55.1%
1930	325,691		54.7%
1940	398,564		22.4%
1950	614,799		54.3%
1960	951,527		54.8%
1970	1,327,321		39.5%
1980	1,556,390		17.3%
1990	1,852,810		19.0%
2000	2,218,899		19.8%
2006 (est.)	2,345,815

As of the census² of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523/mi² (974/km²). There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/mi² (375/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 58.35% White, 20.31% Black or African American, 0.56% Native American, 3.98% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 14.04% from other races, and 2.70% from two or more races. 29.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 807,621 households out of which 35.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.90% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.90% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.34.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 34.40% from 25 to 44, 18.90% from 45 to 64, and 8.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was US$43,324, and the median income for a family was $49,062. Males had a median income of $34,988 versus $29,539 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,603. About 10.60% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.00% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Addison Balch Springs Cedar Hill† Carrollton† Cockrell Hill Combine† Coppell Dallas†

DeSoto Duncanville Farmers Branch Ferris† Garland† Glenn Heights† Grand Prairie† Grapevine†

Highland Park Hutchins Irving Lancaster Lewisville† Mesquite† Ovilla† Richardson†

Rowlett† Sachse† Seagoville† Sunnyvale University Park Wilmer Wylie†

^†Denotes a municipality whose physical boundaries extend beyond Dallas County

Historical communities

• Bird's Fort
• Buckingham (Annexed by Richardson in 1996)
• Embree (merged into Garland in 1887)
• Fruitdale (annexed by Dallas in 1964)
• Duck Creek (merged into Garland in 1887)
• Long Creek (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953)
• Hatterville (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953)
• New Hope (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953 - not to be confused with the Collin County town of the same name)
• Oak Cliff (Annexed by Dallas in 1903)
• Penn Springs (Annexed by Duncanville in 1947)
• Tripp (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953)
• Trinity Mills (Annexed by Carrollton, Texas)

Education

The following school districts serve Dallas County:

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD (partly in Denton County) Cedar Hill ISD Coppell ISD Dallas ISD DeSoto ISD Duncanville ISD Ferris ISD (mostly in Ellis County) Garland ISD

Grand Prairie ISD Grapevine-Colleyville ISD (mostly in Tarrant County) Highland Park ISD Irving ISD Lancaster ISD Mesquite ISD Richardson ISD Sunnyvale ISD

External links

• Dallas County Government official site
• Dallas County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• History of Dallas County, Texas: from 1837 to 1887 by John Henry Brown, published 1887, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Memorial and biographical history of Dallas County, Texas published 1892, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Official directory, taxpayers of Dallas County, Texas published 1896, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.