Aransas 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 ...

. It is in

South Texas South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of th ...

and 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 Rockport. As of the 2020 census, its population was 23,830. Aransas County comprises the Rockport, Texas micropolitan statistical area.

History

Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

and

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

Alonso Álvarez de Pineda Alonso Álvarez de Pineda (; 1494–1520) was a Spanish conquistador and cartography, cartographer who was the first to prove the insularity of the Gulf of Mexico by sailing around its coast. In doing so he created the first map to depict what i ...

was likely the first European to encounter this land when he sailed along the Texas coast in the summer of 1519 and charted Aransas Bay. This name is derived from an outpost established during the Viceroyalty of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

called "Río de Nuestra Señora de Aránzazu", which was itself named for the Sanctuary of Aránzazu, a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

sanctuary in Oñate,

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, whose name originates from the

Basque language Basque ( ; ) is a language spoken by Basques and other residents of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque ...

. In 1871, the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

established Aransas County from portions of Refugio County, and it organized the following year. In August 2017,

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

inflicted tremendous damage on the county.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which (52%) are covered by water.

Adjacent counties

* Calhoun County (northeast) *

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

(east) * Nueces County (south) * San Patricio County (southwest) * Refugio County (northwest)

National protected area

* Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, 23,830 people, 9,917 households, and 6,303 families resided in the county. As of the 2000

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, 22,497 people, 9,132 households, and 6,401 families lived 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 12,848 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.44% White, 1.43% Black or African American], 0.58% Native American, 2.77% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.33% from other races, and 2.39% from two or more races. About 20.32% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 9,132 households, 27.0% had children under 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were not families. About 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.90. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, about 5.9

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

per 1,000 households lived in the county. In the county, the age distribution was 23.8% under 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 95.5 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,702, and for a family was $34,915. Males had a median income of $31,597 versus $20,289 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 $18,560. About 15.5% of families and 19.90% 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 31.0% of those under 18 and 10.2% of those 65 or over.

Education

Most county residents, including the cities of Rockport and Fulton, are served by the Rockport-Fulton Independent School District. Some residents (including the city of Aransas Pass, which is actually outside of the county) are served by the Aransas Pass Independent School District. Del Mar College is the designated community college for the county.

Transportation

Major highways

* State Highway 35 * State Highway 188

Airport

Aransas County Airport is located in Fulton, north of Rockport.

Communities

Cities

* Aransas Pass (partly in San Patricio and Nueces counties) * Corpus Christi (mostly in Nueces County with small parts also in Kleberg and San Patricio Counties) * Rockport (county seat)

Towns

* Fulton

Census-designated places

* Holiday Beach * Lamar

Unincorporated communities

Estes The surname "Estes" originates from the Middle English word est, meaning 'east'.https://forebears.io/surnames/estes The name "Estes" may also have its roots in ancient Greece, where it comes from the Greek "esthesis", which means "sensation" or "pe ...