Jim Wells 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 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 38,891. 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 Alice. The county was founded in 1911 and is named for James B. Wells Jr. (1850–1923), for three decades a judge and Democratic Party political boss in South Texas. Jim Wells County comprises the Alice, Texas micropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Corpus Christi- Kingsville-Alice combined statistical area.

Geography

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

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 281 ** Interstate 69C is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 281 in most places. * State Highway 44 * State Highway 141 * State Highway 359 * Farm to Market Road 624 * Farm to Market Road 665 * Farm to Market Road 716 * Farm to Market Road 2295

Adjacent counties

* Live Oak County (north) * San Patricio County (northeast) * Nueces County (east) * Kleberg County (east) * Brooks County (south) * Duval County (west)

Demographics

At the 2000

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 ...

, 39,326 people, 12,961 households and 10,096 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 14,819 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 77.90% White, 0.60% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 118.83% from other races, and 2.43% from two or more races. About 75.71% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 12,961 households, 40.2% had children under 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were not families. About 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.99, and the average family size was 3.45. Age distribution was 31.4% under 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.40 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 $28,843, and the median family income was $32,616. Males had a median income of $30,266 versus $17,190 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 $12,252. About 20.1% of families and 24.1% 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 31.8% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those aged 65 or over.

Government and politics

Located in South Texas, Jim Wells County is part of the oldest Democratic stronghold in the entire United States, a region that has consistently voted for Democrats since the days of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

. The Jim Wells County Democratic Party has maintained its influence in the county despite massive demographic changes due to

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

, the collapse of Jim Crow and poll taxes, and mass immigration from Mexico. The only Republicans to win the county in presidential elections since its creation are Dwight D. Eisenhower in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

in his 1972 landslide and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and 2024. Since 2004, Jim Wells County has become slightly less Democratic than it was during the late twentieth century. Despite this shift, the Democratic nominee won at least 53.77 percent of the county's vote in every presidential election from 1976 through 2016. In 2020, the county ended its streak of Democratic victories when it was won by Donald Trump by a 10% margin. In the 2018 gubernatorial election, Republican Greg Abbott won 52.04% of the vote in Jim Wells County, becoming the first member of his party to win the county in a race for a state office. In the same election, Democrat Beto O'Rourke won the county in the Senate contest with 53.85% of the vote.

1948 U.S. Senate election

Jim Wells County is known as the home of the " Box 13 scandal", the infamous ballot box that gave Lyndon Baines Johnson an 87-vote edge out of 988,295 cast over popular former governor Coke Stevenson in the Democratic primary election. It was later demonstrated that 200 votes, for Johnson, were "stuffed" into the ballot box after the polls closed. Johnson went on to win the election.

Communities

Cities

* Alice (county seat) * Orange Grove * Premont *

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

(mostly in Duval County)

Village

* Pernitas Point (mostly in Live Oak County)

Census-designated places

* Alfred * Alice Acres * Amargosa * Ben Bolt * Coyote Acres * K-Bar Ranch * Loma Linda East * Owl Ranch * Rancho Alegre * Sandia * South La Paloma * Westdale

Former census-designated places

* Alfred-South La Paloma * Owl Ranch-Amargosa

Unincorporated communities

* Bentonville * Casa Blanca * La Gloria * Palito Blanco * Rancho de la Parita * Springfield

Education

School districts in the county include: *

Agua Dulce Independent School District Agua Dulce Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Agua Dulce, Nueces County, Texas, Agua Dulce, Texas (United States, USA). The district serves students in west central Nueces County, Texas, Nueces, a ...

* Alice Independent School District * Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Independent School District * La Gloria Independent School District * Orange Grove Independent School District * Premont Independent School District * San Diego Independent School District Coastal Bend College (formerly Bee County College) is the designated community college for the county.Texas Education Code Sec. 130.167. BEE COUNTY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
The legislation calls it "Bee County College".

References

External links

Jim Wells County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the University of Texas {{coord, 27.73, -98.09, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1911 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1911 Majority-minority counties in Texas Hispanic and Latino American culture in Texas