Midland County, Texas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Midland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2020, the population was 169,983. The county seat is
Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...
. The county is so named for being halfway (midway) between
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railway. Midland County is included in the Midland, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Midland–
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
Combined Statistical Area.


History

In 1968, the county lost before the Supreme Court in ''
Avery v. Midland County ''Avery v. Midland County'', 390 U.S. 474 (1968), is a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that local government districts had to be roughly equal in population. Background Having already held in 1965 in ''Reynolds v. Sims'' that dispa ...
'' which required local districts to be nearly equal. The city of Midland had most of the county's population but only elected one of the five county commissioners, which was found to violate the Fourteenth Amendment.


Geography

According to the
U.S. 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 the ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. The
Spraberry Trend The Spraberry Trend (also known as the Spraberry Field, Spraberry Oil Field, and Spraberry Formation; sometimes erroneously written as Sprayberry) is a large oil field in the Permian Basin of West Texas, covering large parts of six counties, and ...
, the third-largest oil field in the United States by remaining reserves, underlies much of the county.


Major highways

* * * * * * * * * *


Adjacent counties

* Martin County (north) *
Glasscock County Glasscock County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 1,116. Its county seat is Garden City, Texas, Garden City. The county was created in 1 ...
(east) * Upton County (south) *
Ector County Ector County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In the 2020 census, its population was 165,171. Its county seat is Odessa. The county was founded in 1887 and organized in 1891. It is named for Mathew Ector, a Confederate genera ...
(west) *
Andrews County Andrews County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in West Texas and its county seat is Andrews. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,610. The Andrews Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Andrews County. Andrews c ...
(northwest) *
Reagan County Reagan County is a county on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,385. The county seat is Big Lake. The county is named after John Henninger Reagan (1818-1905), who was the postmaster ge ...
(southeast)


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 2000, there were 116,009 people, 42,745 households, and 30,947 families residing in the county. The population density was 129 people per square mile (50/km2). There were 48,060 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile (21/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 77.32% White, 6.98% Black or African American, 0.64% Native American, 0.93%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 12.17% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. 29.03% of the population were Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race. There were 42,745 households, out of which 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.21. In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.20% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,082, and the median income for a family was $47,269. Males had a median income of $36,924 versus $24,708 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,369. 12.90% of the population and 10.30% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.20% are under the age of 18 and 7.90% are 65 or older.


Oil and gas industry

Midland County ranks #1 in the state of Texas for total oil production and #2 for total gas production. Oil and gas data from the Texas Railroad Commission reports 6,602 currently producing wells as of September 2020.


Politics

Midland County was one of the first areas of Texas to turn Republican. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the county was Harry Truman in 1948. Even in the presidential election of 1964 in which the incumbent president, Texan Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson, won a national landslide victory, it gave 57.8% of its ballots to Republican presidential candidate and Arizona native
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
. Midland County is located in Texas's 11th congressional district, represented by Republican
August Pfluger August Lee Pfluger II ( ; born December 28, 1978) is an American politician and retired military officer from the state of Texas. He is the U.S. representative for . Pfluger succeeded fellow Republican Mike Conaway in 2021. Early life and educ ...
. The 11th Congressional District gave George W. Bush 78% of its votes in 2004, higher than any other congressional district in the nation.


Communities


Cities

*
Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...
(county seat) (small part in Martin County) *
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
(partly in
Ector County Ector County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In the 2020 census, its population was 165,171. Its county seat is Odessa. The county was founded in 1887 and organized in 1891. It is named for Mathew Ector, a Confederate genera ...
)


Unincorporated communities

*
Chub Chub is a common fish name. It pertains to any one of a number of ray-finned fish in several families and genera. In the UK, the term ''chub'' usually refers to the species ''Squalius cephalus''. In addition, see sea chub. In family Cyprinidae ...
* Cotton Flat *
Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to: People * Greenwood (surname) Settlements Australia * Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region * Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth C ...
* Spraberry * Terminal * Valley View * Warfield


Ghost towns

* Dameron City *
Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...
* Pleasant * Prairie Lee * Slaughter


Education

School districts: * Midland Independent School District * Greenwood Independent School District Most areas in the county are within the service area of Midland College; however the Greenwood area is not within the Midland College service area.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.188. MIDLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA


See also

* List of museums in West Texas * National Register of Historic Places listings in Midland County, Texas * Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Midland County * Gary Painter, sheriff of Midland County from 1985 until his death in 2019


References


External links


Midland County government's website
*
Midland County Profile of the Texas Association of Counties
{{authority control 1885 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1885 Majority-minority counties in Texas