Martin 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 5,237. 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 Stanton. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1884. It is named for Wylie Martin, an early settler. Martin County is included in the Midland–Odessa combined statistical area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (0.08%) is water. The northern portion of the Spraberry Trend, the second-largest oil field in the United States by 2013 estimated crude oil production, underlies much of the county.

Major highways

* * * * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Dawson County (north) * Howard County (east) * Glasscock County (southeast) * Midland County (south) * Andrews County (west) * Gaines 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, there were 4,746 people, 1,624 households, and 1,256 families 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 . There were 1,894 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 79.01%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.58%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.82% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 16.06% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. 40.56% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 1,624 households, out of which 42.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.30% 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, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.60% were non-families. 21.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.36. In the county, 33.90% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.70% was from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 19.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,836, and the median income for a family was $35,965. Males had a median income of $29,360 versus $19,063 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 $15,647. About 14.90% of families and 18.70% 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 23.90% of those under age 18 and 17.10% of those age 65 or over.

Media

The county is served by a weekly newspaper, local station KKJW (FM), nearby stations KBXJ (FM) and KPET (AM), and the various Midland and Odessa radio and TV stations.

Communities

Cities

* Ackerly (partly in Dawson County) * Midland (mostly in Midland County) * Stanton (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Lenorah *

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

Government and politics

Government

Martin County, like all counties in Texas, is governed by a commissioners' court. This court consists of the county judge (the chairperson of the court), who is elected county-wide, and four commissioners who are elected by the voters in each of four precincts. The Commissioners' Court is the policy-making body for the county; in addition, the county judge is the senior executive and administrative position in the county. The Commissioners' Court sets the county tax rate, adopts the budget, appoints boards and commissions, approves grants and personnel actions, and oversees the administration of county government. Martin County is one of only a few Texas counties where the county and district clerks have been combined into one position. Martin County is represented in the United States Congress as part of Texas's 19th congressional district, represented by Republican Jodey Arrington of Lubbock. Its two senators are

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

and John Cornyn, both Republicans. At the state level, Limestone County is represented in the Texas State Legislature as part of Texas's 82nd House of Representatives district, represented by Republican Tom Craddick of Midland, and Texas Senate, District 31, represented by Republican Kevin Sparks of Midland.

County Commissioners

County Officials

Politics

Martin County, like most other Southern counties, was once deeply Democratic. It continuously gave over 70% of the vote to the Democratic candidate, and only voted twice for Republicans (both during national landslides) between statehood and 1980, after which it swung sharply to the right. Since then, it has followed the rest of West Texas in becoming one of the most loyally Republican areas in the state and has only swung further towards Republicans in the 21st century due to the rapidly liberalizing social policies of the Democratic Party as well as concerns over Democratic climate policy, which is considered unattractive by West Texans due to their predominantly fossil-fuel production based economy.Cohn, Nate (April 24, 2014)
'Demographic Shift: Southern Whites' Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats'
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. In 2024, Republican Donald Trump received 87.6% of the vote, the best a Republican has ever received in the county. Until November 2018, Martin County was one of six entirely dry counties in Texas. During that month, Martin County changed from a dry county to a partially wet county after Stanton residents voted to approve the sale of beer and wine within city limits. Five dry counties remain.

References

External links

Martin County Government’s Website
* {{coord, 32.30, -101.96, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1876 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1876