Tarrant County is located in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As of

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

, it had a population of 2,110,640. It is Texas' third-most populous county and the 15th-most populous in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Fort Worth. Tarrant County, one of 26 counties created out of the Peters Colony, was established in 1849 and organized the next year. It was named in honor of General Edward H. Tarrant of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from M ...

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (4.3%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Denton County (north) * Dallas County (east) * Ellis County (southeast) * Johnson County (south) * Parker County (west) * Wise County (northwest)

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

* Azle (partly in Parker County) * Burleson (mostly in Johnson County) * Crowley (small part in Johnson County) * '' Fort Worth'' (small parts in Denton, Johnson,

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado *Parker, Florida *Parker, Idaho *Parker, Kansas *Parker, Missouri *Parker, North Carolina *Parker, Pe ...

and

Wise WISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * WISE (AM), a radio station licensed to Asheville, North Carolina *WISE-FM, a radio station licensed to Wise, Virginia * WISE-TV, a television station licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana Education * ...

counties) *

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it th ...

(partly in Dallas County and a small part in Ellis County) * Grapevine (small parts in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Denton counties) * Haslet (small part in Denton County) *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market t ...

(small parts in

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. Surname A *Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series '' ...

and Johnson counties) * Newark (mostly in Wise County) *

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

(almost entirely in Parker County) * Roanoke (almost entirely in Denton County) * Southlake (small part in Denton County)

Cities

* '' Arlington'' *

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

* Blue Mound * Colleyville *

Dalworthington Gardens Dalworthington Gardens is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States and a suburb of Arlington. The population was 2,259 at the 2010 census. History The community was established in 1934 as a subsistence homestead project during the Great ...

* Euless * Everman *

Forest Hill Forest Hill or Forrest Hill may refer to: Places Australia * Forest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Wagga Wagga * Forrest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Albury * Forest Hill, Queensland * Forest Hill, Victoria ** Forest Hill Chase Sh ...

* Haltom City * Hurst * Keller * Kennedale * Lake Worth * North Richland Hills * Pelican Bay * Richland Hills * River Oaks * Saginaw * Sansom Park * Watauga * Westworth Village * White Settlement

Towns

Benbrook Benbrook is a town located in the southwestern corner of Tarrant County, Texas, and a suburb of Fort Worth. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,234, reflecting an increase of 1,026 from the 20,208 counted in the 2000 Ce ...

* Edgecliff Village *

Flower Mound Flower Mound is an incorporated town located in Denton and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Located northwest of Dallas and northeast of Fort Worth adjacent to Grapevine Lake, the town derives its name from a prominent mound locate ...

(mostly in Denton County) *

Lakeside Lakeside or Lake Side may refer to: Places Australia * Lakeside College, Pakenham, Victoria * Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, Joondalup, Western Australia * Lakeside, near Reservoir, Victoria * Lakeside International Raceway, Pine Rivers, Quee ...

* Pantego * Trophy Club (mostly in Denton County) *

Westlake Westlake may refer to: Places Australia * Westlake, Canberra, a ghost town suburb of Canberra * Westlake, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Westlake, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland ** Westlake Girls High School ** Westlake Boys ...

(small part in Denton County) *

Westover Hills Westover Hills is a town in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. The population was 682 at the 2010 census. In 2000, Westover Hills was the wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income and the 12th highest-income place in the United State ...

Census-designated places

* Briar (partly in

and

counties) * Pecan Acres (small part in Wise County) * Rendon

Historical census-designated places

* Eagle Mountain

Unincorporated communities

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

(partly in Denton County) * Avondale * Boss * Eagle Acres * Lake Crest Estates * Lake Forest * Lake Shore Estates

Historical communities

* Birdville * Bisbee *

Bransford Bransford is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district of the county of Worcestershire, England. It is situated close to the River Teme and the village of Leigh. It is on the primary route between Worcester and Hereford, the A41 ...

* Center Point * Ederville * Garden Acres * Handley * Johnsons Station

Ghost towns

Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

* Minters Chapel

* *

Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' As of the census of 2010, there were 1,809,034 people. Tarrant County is currently the second most populous county in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metropolitan Statistical Area. Non-Hispanic whites are believed to constitute about 46.7% of the county's population according to current population trends. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 1,446,219 people, 533,864 households, and 369,433 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was 1,675 people per square mile (647/km²). There were 565,830 housing units at an average density of 655 per square mile (253/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.2%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 12.8%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.6% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 9.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. 19.7% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 533,864 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.22. As of the 2010 census, there were about 5.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males. The median income for a household in the county was $46,179, and the median income for a family was $54,068. Males had a median income of $38,486 versus $28,672 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $22,548. About 8.0% of families and 10.6% 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 13.8% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government, courts, and politics

Government

Tarrant County, like all Texas counties, is governed by a

Commissioners Court A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

. The court consists of the county judge, who is elected county-wide and presides over the full court, and four commissioners, who are elected in each of the county's four precincts.

County commissioners

County officials

Constables

County services

The

JPS Health Network The Tarrant County Hospital District (TCHD) does business as the JPS Health Network. It is the taxpayer-supported hospital district of Tarrant County, Texas. Its headquarters are in the John Peter Smith Hospital at 1500 South Main Street, Fort ...

(Tarrant County Hospital District) operates the John Peter Smith Hospital and health centers. Countywide law enforcement is provided by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and Tarrant County Constable's Office. All cities in the county provide their own police services, with three exceptions: Westlake contracts service from the Keller Police Department, and Haslet and Edgecliff Village contract service from the Sheriff's Office. DFW Airport, the Tarrant County Hospital District, and the Tarrant Regional Water District also provide their own police forces. Since the disbandment of the North Tarrant County Fire Department, no countywide firefighting services exist. All municipalities provide their own fire departments. Most cities also operate their own ambulances, with two notable exceptions: Fort Worth and 14 other Tarrant County cities are served by the Metropolitan Area EMS Authority (MAEMSA), a governmental administrative agency established under an interlocal operating agreement and operating as MedStar Mobile Health, while the city of Arlington contracts paramedic apparatus from private entity American Medical Response. Fire and EMS protection in unincorporated portions of Tarrant County is governed by the Tarrant County Emergency Services District #1, which administers contracts with 17 fire departments (including 10 with EMS response) and has mutual aid agreements with eight additional fire departments. CareFlite air ambulance services operate from Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.

Courts

Justices of the peace

County criminal courts

County civil courts

County probate courts

Criminal district courts

Civil district courts

Family district courts

Juvenile district court

Politics

Since the 1960s, Tarrant County has been fairly conservative for an urban county, and one of the most populous Republican-leaning counties in the nation. However, it elected Democrat

Jim Wright James Claude Wright Jr. (December 22, 1922 – May 6, 2015) was an American politician who served as the 48th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. He represented Texas's 12th congressional district as a ...

to 17 terms (1955-1989) as U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House (1987-1989), and Wright was succeeded by fellow Democrat Pete Geren (1989-1997). In 2018, the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

rebounded to represent a larger portion of the political profile and made huge gains in Tarrant County, concentrated in several areas throughout the county: eastern Euless, Grand Prairie and eastern and southern Arlington, northern and western areas of Mansfield, large portions of Fort Worth, particularly the area surrounding the Stockyards and Meacham Airport, southern and eastern Fort Worth, especially in dense metro areas and along I-35W, and Forest Hill. Republicans are dominant in many of the rural areas of the county, downtown and western Fort Worth and north of Loop 820, and almost all suburban areas including Benbrook, rural Mansfield areas and western Arlington, Haltom City, Mid-Cities (Hurst, Euless, and Bedford), and the northern suburbs. Beginning in 1952, the majority of voters supported the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

presidential candidate in every election except

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, when Tarrant County voted for the Lyndon B. Johnson-Hubert Humphrey Democratic ticket, then again in 2020 when the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris Democratic ticket carried the county. In 2016, Donald Trump-Mike Pence won Tarrant with 51.7% of the vote, the worst showing for Republicans since the Bob Dole-Jack Kemp ticket in 1996 won by a margin of 8.6%, and closest since 1976 when Gerald Ford-Bob Dole carried the county by less than 1% over the Jimmy Carter-Walter Mondale ticket. The first Republican elected to the State Senate from Tarrant County since Reconstruction was

Betty Andujar Elizabeth Richards Andujar (November 6, 1912 – June 8, 1997), was a homemaker, civic activist, and politician, the first Republican woman to be elected and serve in the Texas State Senate. From 1973 to 1983, Andujar represented District ...

in 1972. The county has leaned Republican in United States Senate races since Democrat Lloyd Bentsen's 1988 victory, but in the

2018 election The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general elect ...

Democratic candidate

Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate ...

carried Tarrant, though losing statewide to incumbent

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

. In 2020, Joe Biden carried the county with 49.3% (to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

's 49.1%) in the 2020 presidential election, the first win for a Democratic presidential ticket in Tarrant County since Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and the closest race in the county since 1976, which was won by the razor thin margin of 1,826 votes (The margin of votes in 2020, in comparison, was 1,836 votes). Many other suburban Texas counties, including Tarrant's immediate neighbors in Denton County and

Collin County Collin County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas- Fort Worth- Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and a small portion of the city of Dallas is in the county. At the 2020 United States census, the county's popula ...

as well as those around

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

and Austin, have shown similar trends since 2016. From the 1893 beginning of U.S. House District 12, there have been two Republicans in 127 years elected to the U.S. House for the western half of Tarrant County; from the 1875 inception of U.S. House District 6, there have been three Republicans in 145 years elected to the U.S. House for the eastern portion of Tarrant County, including former congressman and senator

Phil Gramm William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was a ...

's election as both a Democrat and a Republican after he switched parties in 1983 to run for re-election.

State Board of Education members

Texas State Representatives

Texas State Senators

United States House of Representatives

Education

Colleges and universities

Under the Texas Education Code, Tarrant County is the entire official service area of

Tarrant County College Tarrant County College (TCC) or Tarrant County College District (TCCD) is a public community college in Tarrant County, Texas. It offers Associate of Arts, an Associate of Science, an Associate of Applied Science, and Associate of Arts in Teachi ...

(formerly Tarrant County Junior College). Universities in Tarrant County include: * University of Texas at Arlington *

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

(Fort Worth)

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools in Texas are organized into independent

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, whi ...

s and

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

s. Tarrant County is also home to dozens of private high schools and nearly 100 lower-level private schools.

Independent school districts

Those serving the county include: * Arlington Independent School District * Birdville Independent School District * Carroll Independent School District * Castleberry Independent School District * Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District * Everman Independent School District * Fort Worth Independent School District *

Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District (GCISD) is a public school district based in Grapevine, Texas, USA. The district serves most of the cities of Grapevine and Colleyville and includes small portions of Euless, Hurst, and Sout ...

(most) * Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District * Keller Independent School District * Kennedale Independent School District * Lake Worth Independent School District *

White Settlement Independent School District White Settlement Independent School District is a public school district based in White Settlement, Texas ( USA). The district serves students in White Settlement and a portion of Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U. ...

* Aledo Independent School District (partial) * Azle Independent School District (partial) *

Burleson Independent School District Burleson may refer to: Places * Burleson, Texas * Burleson County, Texas * Old Burleson, Alabama People with the surname * Albert S. Burleson, American postmaster general and congressman * Alec Burleson (born 1998), American baseball player * C ...

(partial) * Crowley Independent School District (partial) *

Godley Independent School District Godley Independent School District is a public school district based in Godley, Texas ( USA). In 2010, the school district was rated " Recognized" by the Texas Education Agency. SchoolsGodley High School(Grades 9-12)Godley Middle School(Gr ...

(partial) * Lewisville Independent School District (partial) * Mansfield Independent School District (partial) *

Northwest Independent School District Northwest Independent School District (Northwest ISD) is a rapidly growing North Texas public school district with its headquarters in the city of Fort Worth, Texas ( USA). with a Justin postal address. The school district is named for its lo ...

(partial) Masonic Home Independent School District formerly served a part of the county. In 2005 it merged into FWISD.

Charter schools

* Arlington Classics Academy * Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts * IDEA Public Schools * Harmony Public Schools * Newman International Academy * Texas School of the Arts * Treetops School International * Uplift Education (partial) * Westlake Academy

Private schools

* Colleyville Covenant Christian Academy * Fort Worth Christian School * Fort Worth Country Day School * Lake Country Christian School * Nolan Catholic High School * The Oakridge School *

Southwest Christian School The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions— north, east, south, and west—eac ...

* Temple Christian School * Trinity Baptist Temple Academy * Trinity Valley School

Transportation

Major highways

Rogers Road Map of Tarrant County 1920 UTA

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Airports

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Ai ...

is partially in the cities of Grapevine and Euless in Tarrant County and

Irving Irving may refer to: People *Irving (name), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters * Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip) * Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' vide ...

in Dallas County. Fort Worth Alliance Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located north of the central business district of Fort Worth on Interstate-35W. Billed as the world's first purely industrial airport, it was developed in a joint venture between the City of Fort Worth, the Federal Aviation Administration and Hillwood Development Company, a real estate development company owned by H. Ross Perot Jr. Alliance Airport has 9600' and 8200' runways. Fort Worth Meacham International Airport is located at the intersection of Interstate 820 and U.S. Business Highway 287 in northwest Fort Worth, 5 miles from the downtown business district. Meacham International Airport has two parallel runways. Fort Worth Spinks Airport is located 14 miles south of the downtown business district. The airport is located at the intersection of Interstate-35W and HWY 1187 and serves as a reliever airport for Fort Worth Meacham International Airport and Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport.

References

External links

Tarrant County official website

Tarrant County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
from The University of Texas at Austin
Tarrant County profile from The County Information Project
{{Coord, 32.77, -97.29, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex 1850 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1850 Majority-minority counties in Texas