Hockley 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,537. 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 Levelland. The county was created in 1876, but not organized until 1921. It is named for George Washington Hockley, a secretary of war 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 ...

. Hockley County comprises the Levelland Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Lubbock–Levelland Combined Statistical Area.

History

Hockley County was formed in 1876 from portions of Bexar and Young Counties. It was named for George Washington Hockley, the commander of artillery in the Battle of San Jacinto and later Secretary of War of the Republic of Texas.

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 are land and (0.02%) is covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 62/ U.S. Highway 82 * U.S. Highway 84 * U.S. Highway 385 * State Highway 114

Adjacent counties

* Lamb County (north) * Lubbock County (east) * Terry County (south) * Cochran County (west) * Yoakum County (southwest) * Bailey County (northwest) * Hale County (northeast) * Lynn County (southeast)

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, 22,716 people, 7,994 households, and 6,091 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 9,148 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the county was 74.38% White, 3.72% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 18.68% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. About 37.24% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 7,994 households, 38.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.80% were not families, and 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.22. In the county, the population was distributed as 29.10% under the age of 18, 11.80% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,085, and for a family was $35,288. Males had a median income of $29,735 versus $20,671 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 $15,022. About 14.80% of families and 18.90% 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 24.10% of those under age 18 and 12.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Anton * Levelland (county seat) * Ropesville

Towns

* Opdyke West * Smyer * Sundown

Census-designated place

* Whitharral

Unincorporated communities

* Pep * Roundup

Politics

Education

School districts serving the county include: * Anton Independent School District * Frenship Independent School District * Levelland Independent School District * Ropes Independent School District * Smyer Independent School District * Sundown Independent School District * Whiteface Consolidated Independent School District * Whitharral Independent School District The county is in the service area of

South Plains College South Plains College (SPC) is a public community college in Levelland, Texas. It also has five locations in Plainview, at the Reese Technology Center (formerly Reese Air Force Base), in western Lubbock, the Lubbock Downtown Center and th ...

.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.198. SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
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References

External links

*
Hockley County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties

Public domain images of the Llano Estacado
{{authority control 1921 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1921 Majority-minority counties in Texas