Bexar County ( or ; ) 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 ...

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 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 ...

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324, making it the state's fourth-most populous county. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio– New Braunfels, TX metropolitan statistical area. It is the 16th-most populous county in the nation and the fourth-most populated in Texas. Bexar County has a large Hispanic population with a significant growing African American population. With a population that is 59.3% Hispanic as of 2020, it is Texas' most populous majority-Hispanic county and the third-largest such nationwide.

History

Bexar County was created on December 20, 1836, and encompassed almost the entire western portion of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

. This included the disputed areas of eastern New Mexico northward to Wyoming. After statehood, 128 counties were carved out of its area. The county was named for San Antonio de Béxar, one of the 23 Mexican municipalities (administrative divisions) of Texas at the time of its independence. San Antonio de Béxar—originally ''Villa de San Fernando de Béxar''—was the first civil government established by the Spanish in the province of Texas. Specifically, the municipality was created in 1731 when 55

Canary Islanders Canary Islanders, or Canarians (), are the people of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain near the coast of Maghreb, Northwest Africa. The distinctive variety of the Spanish language spoken in th ...

settled near the system of missions that had been established around the source of the

San Antonio River The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...

. The new settlement was named after the '' Presidio'' San Antonio de Béjar, the Spanish military outpost that protected the missions. The presidio, located at the San Pedro Springs, was founded in 1718 and named for Viceroy Balthasar Manuel de Zúñiga y Guzmán Sotomayor y Sarmiento, second son of the Duke of

Béjar Béjar () is a town and municipality of Spain located in the province of Salamanca, autonomous community of Castile and León. As of 2018, it had a population of 12,961. The historical development of the town has been linked to its once thriving ...

(a town in Spain). The modern city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas also derived its name from San Antonio de Béjar.

Native Americans

Natives that lived in the county included the

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

Payaya The Payaya people were Indigenous people whose territory encompassed the area of present-day San Antonio, Texas. The Payaya were a Coahuiltecan people, Coahuiltecan band and are the earliest recorded inhabitants of San Pedro Springs Park, the geog ...

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...

, and

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

. The last Indian raid in the county may have been on March 18, 1878, when Carl Mueller was killed by Indians in Helotes.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (1.3%) are covered by water. Bexar County is in south-central Texas, about west of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and from both the US-Mexican border to the southwest and the

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 ...

to the southeast. The Balcones Escarpment bisects the county from west to northeast; to the north of the escarpment are the rocky hills, springs and canyons of the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...

. South of the escarpment are Blackland Prairie and the South Texas plains. The

rises from springs north of Downtown San Antonio, and flows southward and southeastward through the county.

Major highways

Bexar County has a comprehensive "wagon wheel" highway system, with radial highways and beltways that encircle Downtown San Antonio, allowing for simplified countywide highway access, much like the highway around Houston or Dallas. San Antonio is unique, however, in that unlike Houston or Dallas, none of these highways are currently tolled. Highway281South

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

* Interstate 37 *

Interstate 410 Interstate 410 (I-410), colloquially Loop 410, is an auxiliary route of I-10 around San Antonio, Texas. It is identified as the Connally Loop in honor of former Texas Governor John Connally. Route description I-410 circumnavigate ...

U.S. Route 87 * US 90

U.S. Route 90 * US 181

U.S. Route 181 * US 281

U.S. Route 281 * Texas 16

State Highway 16 * Texas Loop 1604

State Highway Loop 1604

Adjacent counties

* Kendall County (north) * Comal County (northeast) * Guadalupe County (east) * Wilson County (southeast) * Atascosa County (south) * Medina County (west) * Bandera County (northwest)

National protected area

* San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

State parkland

* Government Canyon State Natural Area

Communities

Cities

Multiple counties

* Cibolo (mostly in Guadalupe County) * Elmendorf (small part in Wilson County) * Fair Oaks Ranch (partly in Kendall and Comal counties) * Lytle (mostly in Atascosa County and a small part in Medina County) *

(county seat) (small parts in Comal and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

counties) * Schertz (partly in Guadalupe and Comal counties) * Selma (partly in Guadalupe and Comal counties) * Universal City (small part in Guadalupe County)

Enclave cities

Alamo Heights Alamo Heights is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States, that is surrounded by the city of San Antonio. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Alamo Heights was 7,357. It is part of the Greater San Antonio metropolitan area. ...

* Balcones Heights * Castle Hills * Hill Country Village * Kirby * Leon Valley * Olmos Park * Shavano Park * Terrell Hills

Bexar County only

* Converse * Grey Forest * Helotes *

Live Oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...

* Sandy Oaks *

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

* Von Ormy * Windcrest

Towns

* China Grove * Hollywood Park * St. Hedwig

Census-designated places

* Cross Mountain *

Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of ...

* Macdona * Randolph Air Force Base * Scenic Oaks * Timberwood Park

Other unincorporated communities

* Adkins * Atascosa * Bexar * Boldtville * Buena Vista * Cassin * Leon Springs * Losoya * Martinez * Sayers * Southton * Thelma

Former communities

* Cottage Hill * Fratt (former) * Stone Oak * Wetmore

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 1,714,773 people living in the county. Of those, 72.9% were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.5% Black or African American, 2.4% Asian, 0.8% Native American, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 12.7% of some other race and 3.5% of two or more races. 58.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). As of the census of 2000, 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families were residing in the county. The population density was . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of . The

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the county was 68.86% White, 7.18% Black or African American, 0.80% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 17.80% from other races, and 3.64% from two or more races. About 54.35% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of 488,942 households, 36.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.50% were married couples living together, 15.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were not families. About 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.33. A Williams Institute analysis of 2010 census data found there were about 6.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county. In the county, the population was distributed as 28.50% under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 19.90% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males. The median income for a household was $38,328, and for a family was $43,724. Males had a median income of $30,756 versus $24,920 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,363. About 12.70% of families and 15.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.40% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Bexar County is governed by a Commissioners Court, composed of four Commissioners and one County Judge, who acts as the presiding officer. The Commissioners represent their respective precincts, which are roughly equal in population and geographic area. On July 12, 2011, the Commissioners Court established the Office of the County Manager to streamline "the functions, offices and departments that report to Commissioners Court."

Corrections

The Bexar County jail facilities are at 200 North Comal in downtown

, operated by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office (Javier Salazar, Sheriff). In late 2012, press reports noted an increase in the number of suicides at the facility. The issue was a topic of debate in the election for sheriff that year. The jail holds an average of about 3,800 prisoners in 2012, with a total capacity of 4,596, making it the fourth-largest in the state. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Dominguez Unit, a state jail for men, in an unincorporated section of Bexar County.

Education

Libraries

Library systems include: * San Antonio Public Library On September 14, 2013, Bexar County opened BiblioTech – Bexar County's Digital Library, the nation's first bookless library.

Property taxes

In 2016, for the third consecutive year, Bexar County increased the appraised value of businesses and residences. Most will hence find their

property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...

es will increase for the year, with higher payments for some beginning as early as November 1. The latest 7.5 percent increase in valuation follows an 11 percent rise in 2015, and a 7 percent jump in 2014. The 2016 total value for all property in the county is approximately $163 billion, or $13 billion more than in 2015. County residents express dismay to Mary Kieke, the deputy chief appraiser. "People are very upset. The tax system is absolutely broken," she said.

Military installations

* Brooks City-Base (decommissioned) * Camp Bullis *

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a United States Army, U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president o ...

* Kelly Air Force Base (decommissioned) *

* Randolph Air Force Base * San Antonio Military Medical Center

Notable people

* Carol Burnett, comedian and actress, was born and grew up in San Antonio *

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

, actress, was born in San Antonio *

Christopher Cross Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1979), and " Arthur's Theme (Best ...

(born Christopher Charles Geppert), Grammy-winning, Oscar-winning, chart-topping pop music artist of the early 80s *

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

, 34th President of the United States; stationed at

in 1916 * Al Freeman, Jr., was born in San Antonio; he became an actor, known for ABC soap opera ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'', and ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

'' *

Rick Galindo Ricardo Galindo III is an American politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and inf ...

, Republican member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

from District 117 in Bexar County * Mina Myoui, singer in South Korean group Twice * Cyndi Taylor Krier, first woman and first Republican to be elected to the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

from Bexar County (1985–1993), and first woman and first Republican to be appointed as a Bexar County administrative judge (1993 to 2001) * James Robertson Nowlin, United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas; one of the first two Republicans since Reconstruction to represent Bexar County in the Texas House of Representatives * Ciro D. Rodriguez, member of Congress, previously 28th District, Texas, now 23rd District, Texas *

Michelle Rodriguez Mayte Michelle Rodríguez (born July 12, 1978) is an American actress. She began her career in 2000, playing a troubled boxer in the independent sports drama film ''Girlfight'' (2000), where she won the Independent Spirit Awards, Independent S ...

, actress,

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

's ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

'' * Robert Rodríguez, director of '' Spy Kids'', '' Desperado'', and ''

Sin City ''Sin City'' is a series of neo-noir Comic book, comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in ''Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special'' (April 1991), and continued in ''Dark Horse Prese ...

'' * Joe Sage, one of the first two Republicans since Reconstruction, with James Robertson Nowlin, to represent Bexar County in the Texas House of Representatives * Alan Schoolcraft, former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives * Percy Sutton, former Manhattan Borough President, and civil rights attorney; clients included

, and the owner of the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

and several radio stations * Carlos I. Uresti, member of the Texas Senate from the 19th District * Kevin Patrick Yeary, judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, effective 2015; assistant district attorney for Bexar County, 1998–2014

Climate

Politics

As an urban county, Bexar County has voted for Democratic candidates in most presidential elections. From 1932 to 2012 it was a nationwide bellwether, supporting the winner in every election except 1968. Former Governor of Texas

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

remains the last Republican to carry the county in presidential elections. Democrats perform well within the Connally Loop, which contains heavily Hispanic neighborhoods on the south and west sides of San Antonio, and African Americans on the east side. In recent years, Democrats have made inroads on the Northwest Side toward the

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA or UT San Antonio) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Established in 1969,List of museums in Central Texas *

National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas. This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Bexar County, Texas. There are ...

* Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Bexar County

References

;Specific ;General * Stephens, A. Ray, and William M. Holmes, ''Historical Atlas of Texas.'' University of Oklahoma Press, 1989.