Howard County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. At the 2020 census, its population was 34,860. 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 st ...

is Big Spring. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1882. It is named for Volney E. Howard, a U.S. Congressman from

. Howard County is included in the Big Spring, Texas Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.4%) are covered by water. Howard County is located at the boundary between the Llano Estacado to the north and the Edwards Plateau to the south. Beals Creek, a tributary of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

, flows through the center of Big Spring and divides these two major physiographic regions.

Major highways

Interstate 20 * Business Loop 20

Interstate 20 Business * US 87

U.S. Highway 87 * Texas 176

State Highway 176 * Texas 350

State Highway 350 * Texas FM 669

Farm to Market Road 669 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

Farm to Market Road 700

Adjacent counties

* Borden County (north) * Mitchell County (east) * Sterling County (southeast) * Glasscock County (south) * Martin County (west) * Dawson County (northwest) * Scurry County (northeast)

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 the 2000

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 ...

, there were 33,627 people, 11,389 households and 7,949 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 37 per square mile (14/km²). There were 13,589 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.14%

White White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 4.13%

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 ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.59% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.01%

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 O ...

, 12.43% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.10% from two or more races. 37.46% 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 forme ...

or Latino of any race. There were 11,389 households, of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.30% were married couples living together, 12.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 26.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.07. 24.20% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 118.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 122.50 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

was $30,805 and the median family income was $37,262. Males had a median income of $28,971 and females $21,390. 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 ...

was $15,027. About 14.50% of families and 18.60% 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 t ...

, including 24.70% of those under age 18 and 15.50% of those age 65 or over. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

Howard County,

has an estimated population of 36,459 as of July 1, 2018. That's a 4.1% increase from the 2010

. 21.7% of the people are under 18 years old and 12.9% are older than 65 years old. Of the current population, 42.8% are female. In regards to race, 87.8% are white, 7.3% are black and 42.4% are Hispanic. The owner occupied housing rate is at 68.1%, with the median value of owner occupied housing being $85,700. High School graduates make up 82.1% of the population while only 12.9% have a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

or higher.

Media

The county is served by a daily newspaper, local radio stations KBST (AM), KBST-FM, KBTS (FM), KBYG (AM), nearby stations KBXJ (FM), KPET (AM) and KWDC (FM), and the various Midland and Odessa radio and TV stations.

Communities

Cities

* Big Spring (county seat) * Forsan

Towns

* Coahoma * Vealmoor

Census-designated place

* Sand Springs

Unincorporated communities

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the me ...

* Knott * Ross City

Ghost town

* Soash

Politics

References

External links

Howard County government’s website
*
Howard County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1882 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1882 Majority-minority counties in Texas