Hays 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 ...
in the central portion of 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 ...
. It is part of the
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
-
Round Rock
Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
The city stra ...
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
. As of the
2020 census, its official population had reached 241,067. 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
San Marcos.
Hays, along with
Comal and
Kendall Counties, was listed in 2017 as one of the nation's fastest-growing counties with a population of at least 10,000. From 2015 to 2016, Hays County, third on the national list, had nearly 10,000 new residents during the year.
The county is named for
John Coffee Hays, a
Texas Ranger and
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
officer who fought the Texas- Comanche wars of the 1800s.
History
Hays County has been inhabited for thousands of years. Evidence of
Paleo-Indians
Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...
found in the region goes as far back as 6000 BC.
Archeological evidence of native agriculture goes back to 1200 AD. The earliest Europeans to arrive in the area were explorers and missionaries from the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. Father
Isidro Félix de Espinosa, Father
Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares, and
Pedro de Aguirre traveled through the area in 1709. A few years later,
French-Canadian
French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...
Louis Juchereau de St. Denis
Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis (; September 17, 1676 – June 11, 1744) was a French-Canadian soldier and explorer best known for his exploration and development of the Louisiana (New France) and Spanish Texas regions. He commanded a smal ...
was attacked by
Comanches
The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma ...
in 1714. More permanent European influence was established in 1755, when the Mission San Francisco Xavier de los Dolores was established among the
Apache
The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
tribe.
In 1831,
Coahuila y Tejas
Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution.
It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) f ...
issued a land grant to
Juan Martín de Veramendi, to Juan Vicente Campos in 1832,
and to Thomas Jefferson Chambers in 1834.
The Mexican government issued a land grant to the first Anglo-American settler in the county, Thomas G. McGhee of
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, in 1835.
On March 1, 1848, the legislature formed Hays County from
Travis County. The county is named for Tennessee native Captain John Coffee Hays of the
Texas Rangers.
San Marcos was named as the county seat. The legislature established
Blanco
Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to:
People
*Blanco (surname) Fictional characters
*Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
*Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge''
*Graboid#El Blanco, ...
from part of Hays in 1858, but incorporated part of
Comal into Hays. Risher and Hall Stage Lines controlled 16 of 31 passenger and mail lines in Texas.
In 1861, voters in the county favored
secession
Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
from the Union.
The next year, the state legislature transferred more of Comal County to Hays County.
In 1867, the first cattle drive from Hays County to
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
occurred.
The
International-Great Northern Railroad was completed from Austin to San Marcos in 1880.
Camp
Ben McCulloch, named after a brigadier general, was organized in 1896 for reunions of
United Confederate Veterans
The United Confederate Veterans (UCV, or simply Confederate Veterans) was an American Civil War veterans' organization headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was organized on June 10, 1889, by ex-soldiers and sailors of the Confederate Sta ...
. A teacher's college,
Southwest Texas State Normal School, was established in San Marcos in 1899.
Wonder Cave opened to the public in 1900. The current Hays County Courthouse in San Marcos was erected in 1908 in Beaux-Arts style by architect C.H. Page and Bros. The
Aquarena Springs tourist site opened in 1928 in San Marcos.
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...
graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1930. In 1942, construction of
San Marcos Army Air Field began.
San Marcos Army Air Field was renamed Gary Air Force Base in 1953 to honor Second Lieutenant Arthur Edward Gary, the first San Marcos resident killed in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
The state legislature resurveyed the Hays and Travis County lines, adding to Hays County, in 1955.
In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced the establishment of a
Job Corps center based at the deactivated Gary Air Force Base.
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 an area of , of which (0.3%) are covered by water.
The county is predominantly in the
Edwards Plateau
The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...
, with the southeast portion in the
Texas Blackland Prairies.
Adjacent counties
*
Travis County (northeast)
*
Caldwell County (east)
*
Comal County
Comal County ( ) is a County (United States), county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and Eu ...
(south)
*
Guadalupe County (southwest)
*
Blanco County (northwest)
Transportation
Major highways
*
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 ...
*
U.S. Highway 290
*
State Highway 21
*
State Highway 80
Airport
*
San Marcos Regional Airport - general aviation airport without commercial flights
Education
School districts in Hays County include:
*
Blanco
Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to:
People
*Blanco (surname) Fictional characters
*Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
*Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge''
*Graboid#El Blanco, ...
*
Comal
*
Dripping Springs Independent
*
Hays Consolidated Independent
*
Johnson City
*
San Marcos Consolidated
*
Wimberley Independent
As of 2020, the county has six high schools, 10 middle schools, and 24 elementary schools.
Higher education in Hays County includes one four-year institution,
Texas State University
Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...
, in San Marcos.
Austin Community College is the designated community college for the whole county. It operates three distance-learning centers that offer basic and early college start classes, along with testing centers for online classes.
Demographics
As of the 2015 Texas population estimate program, the county's population was 193,963:
non-Hispanic Whites
Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
, 106,919 (55.1%);
non-Hispanic Blacks, 5,860 (3.0%); other non-Hispanics, 6,624 (3.4%); and
Hispanics and Latinos (of any race), 74,560 (38.4%).
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, 97,589 people, 51,265 households, and 22,150 families resided 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 55,643 housing units averaged . The
racial makeup of the county was 78.92% White, 3.68% Black or African American, 0.69%Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 13.36% from other races, and 2.49% from two or more races. About 29.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 33,410 households, 34.0% had children under 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were not families; 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.69, and the average family size was 3.21.
A
Williams Institute analysis of
2010 census data found about 7.4
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 in the county.
The county's population was distributed as 24.5% under 18, 20.5% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.30 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 99.50 males.
The county's median household income was $45,006 and the median family income was $56,287. Males had a median income of $35,209 versus $27,334 for females. The county's
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 ...
was $19,931. About 6.40% of families and 14.30% 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 10.30% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over.
Government and politics
Hays County currently leans towards the
Democratic Party in federal elections. The county was strongly Democratic-leaning before the 1970s, then (like some other suburban counties in the state) began trending towards the
Republican Party in the 1970s.
The county began trending Democratic again in the late 2010s and early 2020s. It has backed Democrats in most statewide races since 2018, including for President (in 2020 and 2024), despite Democrats losing all statewide races in Texas. In 2024,
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
became the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry Hays County despite losing the presidential election since 1968.
Until 2020, when
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 ...
won the county with 54.4% of the vote, the last Democrat to carry Hays County in a presidential election was
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, with a plurality of 39.8% of the vote in 1992. The last Democrat to win a majority of the vote in the county before 2020 was
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
, with 54.4% in 1976.
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 69th United States secretary of the treasury under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994. He served as a United States senator from ...
had been the last Democratic Senate candidate to carry the county, winning 69.2% of the vote in 1988, until 2018, when
Beto O'Rourke
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...
carried the county with 57.1% of the vote.
Ann Richards
Dorothy Ann Richards (née Willis; September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. A Democrat, she first came to national attention as the Texas State Treasurer, ...
in 1990 was the last Democratic gubernatorial candidate to win the county, when she took 56.6% of the vote that year, until
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, when
Lupe Valdez won with a 49.6% plurality.
In the 2022 elections, Democrats won all but one race in Hays County; They flipped several countywide seats previously held by Republicans.
Democratic voters mostly reside along the I-35 Corridor and communities East. Communities West of the I-35 Corridor lean Republican. San Marcos, home of
Texas State University
Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...
, and the city of Kyle generally vote Democratic. Driftwood, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, and Woodcreek generally vote Republican. Elections within the county are often decided by margins in Bear Creek, Belterra, Buda, and the county's northcentral border along Travis County.
County government
County Judge and commissioners
County Officials
Communities
Cities (multiple counties)
*
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
(primarily in
Travis County and a small part in
Williamson County)
*
Niederwald (partly in
Caldwell County)
*
San Marcos (county seat) (small parts in
Caldwell and
Guadalupe counties)
*
Uhland (partly in
Caldwell County)
Cities
*
Buda
Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
*
Dripping Springs
*
Hays
*
Kyle
*
Mountain City
*
Wimberley
*
Woodcreek
Village
*
Bear Creek
Census-designated places
*
Belterra
*
Driftwood
Driftwood is a wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. It is part of beach wrack.
In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides ...
Ghost town
*
Goforth
Gallery
File:Hays - Hill Country 1.jpg, Blanco River
File:Hays - Hill Country 3.jpg, Another view of the Blanco River
File:Hays - Hill Country 2.jpg, 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 ...
File:Hays county patrol car.jpg
See also
*
List of museums in Central Texas
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Hays County, Texas
*
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Hays County
References
Further reading
*
External links
Hays County government's website
*
HaysWeb- Hays County Information
Hays County Historical Commission
{{Coord, 30.06, -98.03, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990
1848 establishments in Texas
Populated places established in 1848
Texas Hill Country
Greater Austin