Prairie View is a city in

Waller County, Texas Waller County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,794. Its county seat is Hempstead. The county was named for Edwin Waller, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and first mayor ...

, United States, situated on the northwestern edge of the metropolitan area. The population was 8,184 at the 2020 census.

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two lan ...

, the second-oldest public university in Texas, is based in the city.

Geography

Prairie View is located at (30.082131, –95.991788). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of 7.2 square miles (18.7 km), all land. The city is bisected by US 290 and is neighbored by Hempstead to the west, Waller to the east, and Pine Island to the south.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,184 people, 1,031 households, and 353 families residing in the city. 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 4,410 people, 694 households, and 360 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 834 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 3.47%

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 ...

, 93.51%

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 ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 1.36% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races.

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 were 2.65% of the population. There were 694 households, out of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.1% 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, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.0% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.21. In the city, the population was spread out, with 9.1% under the age of 18, 68.2% from 18 to 24, 10.3% from 25 to 44, 6.5% from 45 to 64, and 5.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males. The

median 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 unde ...

for a household in the city was $24,805, and the median income for a family was $36,071. Males had a median income of $25,882 versus $21,161 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 city was $8,219. About 13.2% of families and 24.4% 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 18.2% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The City of Prairie View was established in 1969 with the motto: "Productive, United, Indomitable." The city is operated by a mayor-council government of the strong-mayor format. The format functions with the Mayor serving as both Chair of the City Council and Chief Executive of the city's administration. At present the city's mayor is David Allen. The city practices zoning to control land use and improve quality of life. The city has hired Butler Planning Services (BPS) to develop a

Geographic Information System A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and Geographic information system software, software that store, manage, Spatial analysis, analyze, edit, output, and Cartographic design, visualize Geographic data ...

(GIS) which will aid the city staff in mapping the community. The city is also considering a partnership with BPS and another planning firm, IPS Group, to develop a new Comprehensive Plan.

County, state, and federal representation

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

Prairie View Post Office is located at 21212 Farm to Market Road 1098 Loop.

Education

Colleges and universities

Prairie View is home to

. The university was established in 1876 as a

historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

under the Morill Land-Grant Acts, making it the first public institution of higher learning in Texas to educate African-Americans. Prairie View A&M grants both graduate and undergraduate degrees in more than 50 majors and is classified as a Doctoral/Research University by the Carnegie Foundation. As of fall 2022, Prairie View A&M is the largest

HBCU Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

in the state and one of the largest in the country with nearly 9,500 students, approximately 83% Black/African-American. Blinn College is the designated community college for residents of the Waller Independent School District. Blinn operates the Waller-Harris County Campus.

Primary and secondary schools

The City of Prairie View is served by the Waller Independent School District. Schools serving Prairie View include: * Waller High School (''Unincorporated Harris County'') * most of Prairie View is zoned t
Wayne C. Schultz Junior High School
(''Unincorporated Harris County''), while portions south of Business 290 are zoned t
Waller Junior High School
( Waller)
Herman T. Jones Elementary School
(Prairie View)

Transportation

Greyhound Bus Lines serves the Prairie View Station at Unco Food Store.

Parks and recreation

In September 2018 a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

complex in Prairie View was scheduled to open. It was established by

Pakistani American Pakistani Americans () are citizens of the United States who have full or partial ancestry from Pakistan, or more simply, Pakistanis in America. They can be from different ethnic groups in Pakistan like Punjabi or Muhajir. The term may also re ...

Tanweer Ahmed.

Sister cities

Prairie View's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

are: * Aseseeso, Ghana * Guachené, Colombia * Manta, Colombia *

Pabellón de Arteaga Pabellón de Arteaga is a city in the Mexico, Mexican state of Aguascalientes. It stands at in the central part of the state. The city serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of Pabellón de Arteaga (municipality), Pabellón de Arteaga. ...

, Mexico * Punta Gorda, Belize

References

External links

City of Prairie View official website

Prairie View A&M University's official website

KPVU Radio official website

Handbook of Texas Online
{{authority control Cities in Waller County, Texas Cities in Texas Greater Houston