Midland 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 of

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 ...

. As of 2020, the population was 169,983. The

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 Midland. 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. Accord ...

and El Paso on the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...

. Midland County is included in the Midland, TX

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

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 Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

History

In 1968, the county lost before the Supreme Court in '' Avery v. Midland County'' 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 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 (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 gene ...

(west) * Andrews County (northwest) * Reagan County (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 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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 116,009 people, 42,745 households, and 30,947 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

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 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 ...

, 6.98%

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 ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.64% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 12.17% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. 29.03% 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 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 ...

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 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 $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 Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

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 president ...

. Midland County is located in

Texas's 11th congressional district Texas's 11th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives is in the midwestern portion of the state of Texas, stretching from the Permian Basin through the Hill Country to the outer fringes of the Dallas–Fort Worth me ...

, 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 ed ...

. 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 (county seat) (small part in Martin County) *

(partly in

)

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 Cyprinida ...

* Cotton Flat * Greenwood * 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-c ...

* Pleasant * Prairie Lee * Slaughter

Education

School districts: * Midland Independent School District *

Greenwood Independent School District Greenwood Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Greenwood, Texas (USA). Greenwood ISD serves approximately 3,000 students. The district's mascot is the ranger/rangerette. As of 2015, Ariel Elliott is th ...

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

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