Canyon is a city in and the

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 ...

Randall County, Texas Randall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 140,753. Its county seat is Canyon. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1889. It is named for Horace Randal, a Confed ...

, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

, metropolitan statistical area. Canyon is the home of the

Panhandle–Plains Historical Museum Panhandle–Plains Historical Museum is a history museum located on the campus of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, United States, a small city south of Amarillo. The museum's contents are owned and controlled by the Panhandle-Plains ...

, and the outdoor musical drama ''Texas''.

History

Canyon was founded by L. G. Conner. The

JA Ranch The JA Ranch is a historic cattle ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon in Armstrong County, Texas. Founded in 1876 by Charles Goodnight and John George Adair, it is the oldest cattle ranching operation in the Texas Panhandle. Its headquarters area wa ...

is east of Canyon. The Tex Randall statue, a tall cowboy next to

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

, was constructed in 1959 and designated an official Canyon landmark in 2017.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Canyon has a total area of , all land. The city itself lies in a valley that eventually becomes

Palo Duro Canyon Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo and Canyon. The second largest canyon system in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but ...

to the east.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,836 people, 5,189 households, and 3,444 families residing in the city.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, 13,303 people, 5,185 households and 2,924 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 5,611 housing units averaged 1,133.54 per square mile (437.68/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.5% White, 2.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.7% from other races, and 2% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 15.7% of the population. Of the 5,185 households, 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.6% were not families. About 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.99. The population was distributed as 21.4% under the age of 18, 18.6% from 20 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 15.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two 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 of und ...

was $32,361 and the median family income was $46,250. Males had a median income of $34,338 versus $25,255 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 city was $16,292. About 8.1% of families and 14.3% 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 10.2% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in Canyon is served by the Canyon Independent School District. Currently, the only

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

is Canyon High School, whose mascot is an Eagle. Some students in Canyon, TX play soccer at the Brown Road Soccer Complex on the west side of town.

Canyon is the home of

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Associat ...

, the main campus is located near the city center.

Sport

Canyon is home to the

West Texas A&M Buffaloes The West Texas A&M Buffaloes, also known as the WTAMU Buffaloes or WT Buffaloes, and formerly West Texas State Buffaloes and WTSU Buffaloes, are the athletic teams that represent West Texas A&M University, located in Canyon, Texas, in NCAA Divis ...

Canyon Texas - WTAMU - Old Main Building

Points of interest

* Tallest wind turbine in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is a GW 3MW(S) Wind Turbine with a nacelle height of 130 metres and a total height of 199.2 metre

situated at 34.967324 N 101.789980 W.

Notable people

* Houston Bright, composer who taught for three decades at

* Harold Bugbee,

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

artist and the former curator of Panhandle-Plains Museum *

Terry Funk Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...

, professional wrestler and actor *

Blair Garner Blair Garner is an American radio personality best known for his work in country radio. Garner spent over two decades as a nationally syndicated overnight disc jockey, first hosting ''After Midnite'' for Premiere Networks and then ''The Blair Gar ...

, syndicated radio host *

Bryan A. Garner Bryan Andrew Garner (born November 17, 1958) is an American legal scholar and lexicographer. He has written more than two dozen books about English usage and style such as ''Garner's Modern English Usage'' for a general audience, and others for l ...

, editor-in-chief of ''Black's Law Dictionary'', author, and teacher * Margaret Pease Harper, educator, musician and originator of ''

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 ...

'' *

Mark Lair Mark Lair (born 1947) is a professional American bridge player from Canyon, Texas. Lair is ranked 5th all-time on the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) Top 500 listings with over 77,000 masterpoints (as of January 18 2025). He is an ACBL Gr ...

, Hall of Fame bridge player *

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 March 6, 1986) was an American Modernism, modernist painter and drafter, draftswoman whose career spanned seven decades and whose work remained largely independent of major art movements. Called the "M ...

, artist, lived in Canyon (1916–1918), inspired by the beauty of the Palo Duro country * Carmen Espinoza-Rodriquez, singer/songwriter *

Jake Rogers Jake Rogers may refer to: * Jake Rogers (baseball) (born 1995), American baseball player * Jake Rogers (footballer) (born 2005), Australian rules footballer * Jake Wesley Rogers (born 1996), American musician {{hndis, Rogers, Jake ...

, MLB catcher for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

* Brandon Schneider, women's basketball head coach at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

; born in Canyon * Candi Whitaker, women's basketball head coach at

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

; born in Canyon

References

External links

City of Canyon

Handbook of Texas Online

Randall County, Texas Genealogy
{{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Randall County, Texas County seats in Texas Cities in Amarillo metropolitan area