Lavaca 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 20,337. 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 Hallettsville. The county was created in 1846. It is named for the Lavaca River, which curves its way southeast through Moulton and Hallettsville before reaching the coast at

Matagorda Bay Matagorda Bay () is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, east-southeast of San Antonio, south-southwest of Houston, and south-southea ...

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 (0.08%) is covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 77 *
U.S. Highway 77 Alternate *
U.S. Highway 90 Alternate * State Highway 95 * State Highway 111

Adjacent counties

* Fayette County (north) * Colorado County (northeast) * Jackson County (southeast) * Victoria County (south) * DeWitt County (southwest) * Gonzales County (northwest)

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, 19,210 people, 7,669 households, and 5,391 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 9,657 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.86% White, 6.79% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 4.86% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. About 11.36% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of descent, 27.0% were of

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

, 24.1%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 9.1% American, and 5.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000; 86.3% spoke English, 7.7%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, 4.6%

and 1.2%

as their first language. In terms of ancestry in 2016, 32.8% were of German, 30.7% were of Czech, 10.8% were of Irish, 5.4% were of English, 3.4% were of American, and 2.2% were French. Of the 7,669 households, 30.0% had children under 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were not families. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44, and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the age distribution was 24.2% under 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 23.50% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 21.80% who were 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.10 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 88.50 males. The median income for a household was $29,132, and for a family was $36,760. Males had a median income of $26,988 versus $17,537 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 $16,398. About 10.20% of families and 13.20% 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 15.20% of those under age 18 and 18.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Communities

Cities

* Hallettsville (county seat) * Shiner * Yoakum (partly in DeWitt County)

Town

* Moulton

Unincorporated communities

* Breslau * Sweet Home * Speaks * Sublime

Politics

Lavaca County is a very conservative county and has been getting more conservative since 1992. The last Democrat to win the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Donald Trump carried it substantially in the 2020 presidential election. His margin was over 70% against Joe Biden.

References

External links

Lavaca County website
* * https://web.archive.org/web/20101205061757/http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/freelavaca.htm {{authority control 1846 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1846 Czech-American culture in Texas