Gray 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 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,227. 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 ...

is Pampa. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1902. Gray County is named for Peter W. Gray, a Confederate lawyer and soldier in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Gray County comprises the Pampa, TX micropolitan statistical area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.4%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* Interstate 40 * U.S. Highway 60 * State Highway 70 * State Highway 152 * State Highway 273

Adjacent counties

* Roberts County (north) * Hemphill County (northeast) * Wheeler County (east) * Collingsworth County (southeast) * Donley County (south) * Armstrong County (southwest) * Carson County (west)

National protected area

* McClellan Creek National Grassland

Demographics

As of the

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 ...

of 2000, 22,744 people, 8,793 households, and 6,049 families were residing 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 10,567 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 82.15% White, 5.85% African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 8.25% from other races, and 2.42% from two or more races. About 13.01% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 8,793 households, 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were not families. About 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39, and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the age distribution was 24.00% under 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.10% who were 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,368, and for a family was $40,019. Males had a median income of $32,401 versus $20,158 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 $16,702. About 11.20% of families and 13.80% 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 17.60% of those under age 18 and 9.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Pampa (county seat)

Towns

* Lefors * McLean

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

* Alanreed

Other unincorporated communities

* Back * Hoover

Politics

Prior to 1952, Gray County was primarily Democratic similar to most of Texas and the Solid South. The county only gave a Republican presidential candidate a majority before 1952 in 1928, when

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

won the county due to anti-Catholic sentiment towards Al Smith. Starting with the 1952 election, the county has become a Republican stronghold along with the rest of the Texas Panhandle. This level of Republican dominance has increased in recent years, as every Republican presidential candidate in the second millennium has racked up 80% of the county's vote. Additionally, after the 2008 election, Democrats

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

, and

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

have failed to win even 1,000 votes total in the county.

Notable people

* Phil Cates, state representative from 1971 to 1979, was born in Pampa in 1947. * Tom Mechler, state Republican Party chairman since 2015, is a former Gray County Republican chairman. * Kae T. Patrick, a native of Gray County, served in the Texas House of Representatives from

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 ...

from 1981 to 1988. * Trae Young, NBA player, was raised in Pampa while his father played pro-basketball overseas.

References

External links

Gray County government's website
*
Gray County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{coord, 35.41, -100.81, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1902 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1902 Pampa, Texas micropolitan area Texas Panhandle