Johnson County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 179,927. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Cleburne. Johnson County is named for Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson Sr., a Texas Ranger, politician and soldier in the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

(fighting for the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

). Johnson County is included in the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

–

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

– Arlington metropolitan statistical area.

History

The first settler of Johnson County was Henry Briden, who built a log cabin on the

Nolan River Nolan River is a river in north central Texas, running through Johnson County and Hill County and is part of the Brazos River drainage basin. The Nolan's headwaters are in farm land in northwest Johnson County. The river runs generally paralle ...

in 1849. His log cabin still exists, and can be seen along State Highway 174 in Rio Vista, Texas. The first county seat was Wardville, now located under the waters of Lake Pat Cleburne. In 1856, Buchanan became the county seat. Johnson County was divided in 1866, with the western half becoming Hood County. Camp Henderson became the new county seat and was renamed Cleburne in honor of Confederate General

Patrick Cleburne Major general, Major-General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne ( ; March 16, 1828November 30, 1864) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer in the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, West ...

. In 2025, the sheriff in Johnson County utilized a national database generated by automatic license-plate readers to track down a Texas woman who possibly sought to have an out-of-state abortion.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (1.3%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* * * U.S. Highway 67 * U.S. Highway 287 * U.S. Highway 377 * State Highway 81 * State Highway 171 * State Highway 174

Adjacent counties

* Tarrant County (north) * Ellis County (east) * Hill County (south) * Bosque County (southwest) * Somervell County (southwest) * Hood County (west) * Parker County (northwest)

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

* Burleson (small part in Tarrant County) * Cresson (partly in Hood and Parker counties) * Crowley (mostly in Tarrant County) *

(mostly in Tarrant County, with small parts in Denton, Parker, Wise, and Johnson counties) *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

(mostly in Tarrant County and a small part in Ellis County) *

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

(small part in Ellis County)

Cities

* Alvarado * Briaroaks * Cleburne (county seat) * Coyote Flats * Godley * Grandview *

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

* Keene * Rio Vista

Towns

* Cross Timber

Census-designated place

* The Homesteads

Unincorporated communities

* Beulah *

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

* Egan * Lillian * Parker * Sand Flat

Demographics

2023 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates

The United States Census Bureau estimated that in 2023, Johnson County’s population was 202,906. It was also estimated that the county was 25.9% Hispanic or Latino, 64.4% NH White, 5.8% NH Black, 1.3% NH Asian, 0.5% NH Native, 0.4% NH Pacific Islander, and 1.9% NH Multiracial.

2000 census

In 2000 there were 126,811 people, 43,636 households, and 34,428 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . The 46,269 housing units averaged . In 2020, its population was 179,927, reflecting the increase of the Metroplex's population and suburbanization. At the 2000 census, the racial makeup of the county was 90.01% White, 2.50% African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 4.52% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. About 12.12% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2010, its racial makeup was 76.55%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 2.52% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.63% Asian American, 0.31% Pacific Islander, 0.11% some other race, 1.29% multiracial, and 18.10% Hispanic or Latino of any race. By 2020, its racial and ethnic makeup was 66.26% non-Hispanic white, 3.58% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.52% Pacific Islander, 0.34% some other race, 4.19% multiracial, and 23.68% Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $44,621, and for a family was $49,963. Males had a median income of $36,718 versus $25,149 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $18,400. About 6.90% of families and 8.80% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.60% of those under age 18 and 10.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

School districts include: * Alvarado Independent School District * Burleson Independent School District * Cleburne Independent School District * Crowley Independent School District * Godley Independent School District * Granbury Independent School District * Grandview Independent School District * Joshua Independent School District * Keene Independent School District * Mansfield Independent School District * Rio Vista Independent School District * Venus Independent School District

Hill College Hill College is a public community college in Hillsboro, Texas. It opened in 1923. History The authorization to establish Hill College was issued in 1921 by the Attorney General of the State of Texas under the name of Hillsboro Junior Colle ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

in Hillsboro, a town in neighboring Hill County also provides tertiary education, with a campus in Cleburne since 1971. Johnson County is defined by the Texas Education Code as being in the Hill College service area.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.181. HILL COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
/ref> Southwestern Adventist University, a private

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in Keene, is currently the only four-year institution of higher learning in Johnson County. Southwestern is affiliated with the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

and has existed since 1893.

Media

Johnson County is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth television media market in north-central Texas. Local news media outlets are: KDFW-TV,

KXAS-TV KXAS-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alon ...

, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, KFWD-TV, and KDTX-TV. KCLE is the local radio station, which offers local news in addition to its country-music format. The local newspapers are the '' Cleburne Times-Review'', '' Burleson Star'', and '' Joshua Star''.

Politics

References

External links

Official Johnson County, Texas website

Johnson County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

{{Coord, 32.38, -97.36, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex 1854 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1854