Rockwall 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 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, the population was 107,819, and was estimated to be 137,044 in 2024. 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 Rockwall. The county and city are named for a wall-like subterranean rock formation that runs throughout the county. Rockwall County is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area. It was one of the top 25 fastest-growing counties in the U.S. in 2009. Rockwall County is listed as the wealthiest county in Texas and the 17th-wealthiest in the United States by median household income. Cities in Rockwall County include Rockwall,

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

, Royse City,

Fate Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predeterminism, predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words wiktionary ...

, McClendon-Chisholm, Mobile City, and part of Rowlett.

History

Rockwall County was formed in 1873 from portions of Kaufman County. It split off because access to the county seat of Kaufman was inconvenient. It was named for its county seat, Rockwall. Rockwall County also is home to the great rock wall, which is no longer in public view today.

Geography

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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (14.59%) is water. It is the 254th largest county in Texas by total area. It is the smallest county by area in Texas.

Major highways

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a major Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels 366.76 miles from Interstate 20, I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas ...

* U.S. Highway 67 * State Highway 66 * State Highway 205 * State Highway 276

Lake

* Lake Ray Hubbard

Adjacent counties

* Collin County (north) * Hunt County (east) * Kaufman County (south) * Dallas County (west)

Demographics

As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Rockwall County was $438,970. As of the 2023

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there are 39,513 estimated households in Rockwall County with an average of 2.94 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $124,917. Approximately 5.1% of the county's population lives at or 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 ...

. Rockwall County has an estimated 70.1% employment rate, with 44.0% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.2% holding a high school diploma. The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (81.5%), Spanish (12.1%), Indo-European (2.7%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.9%), and Other (1.8%). The median age in the county was 37.6 years. Rockwall County, Texas – racial and ethnic composition

2023 estimate

As of the 2023 estimate, there were 131,307 people and 39,513 households residing in the county. There were 46,258 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 81.9% White ''(81,542 or 62.1% NH White)'', 10.5% African American ''(12,999 or 9.9% NH Black)'', 0.9% Native American ''(657 or 0.5% NH Native)'', 4.0% Asian ''(4,990 or 3.8% NH Asian)'', 0.1% Pacific Islander ''(131 or 0.1% NH Pacific Islander)'', _% from some other races and 2.5% from two or more races (2,757 or 2.1% NH Multiracial). Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 28,231 or 21.5% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 107,819 people, 36,326 households, and 29,255 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 38,219 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 69.48%

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 ...

, 7.79%

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 ...

, 0.83% Native American, 3.13% Asian, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 6.21% from some other races and 12.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 19.07% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 78,337 people, 26,466 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 27,957 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 83.68%

, 5.79%

, 0.60% Native American, 2.42% Asian, 0.07%

, 5.43% from some other races and 2.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 15.92% of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 43,080 people, 14,530 households, and 11,972 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,351 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.17%

, 3.24%

, 0.40% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.05%

, 4.45% from some other races and 1.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 11.07% of the population.

Communities

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

(mostly in Dallas County with small parts in Collin, Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall counties) *

Garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. In contemporary times ...

(mostly in Dallas County with a small part in Collin County) *

(small part in Kaufman County) * McLendon-Chisholm * Mobile City * Rockwall (county seat) * Rowlett (mostly in Dallas County) * Royse City (partly in Collin and Hunt counties) * Wylie (mostly in Collin County and a small part in Dallas County)

Education

These school districts serve Rockwall County: * Rockwall Independent School District (small portion in Kaufman County) *

Royse City Independent School District Royse City Independent School District is a public school district based in Royse City, Texas, Royse City, Texas (United States, USA). The district lies in eastern Rockwall County, Texas, Rockwall County, and extends into parts of Collin County ...

(small portion in Collin and Hunt Counties) From 1997 to 2015, the number of non-Hispanic white children in K-12 schools in the county increased by 6,000 as part of a trend of

white flight The white flight, also known as white exodus, is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the Racism ...

and suburbanization by non-Hispanic white families. Collin College's official service area includes all of Rockwall County.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.175. COLLIN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
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Politics

Prior to 1972, Rockwall County was a Democratic stronghold. The 1968 election was highly transitional for the county, with Hubert Humphrey only winning with 39% of the vote due to the strong third-party candidacy of

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

. From 1972 on, the county has become a Republican stronghold.

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

in 1992 has been the only Republican to fail to win a majority in the county since then, as the strong third-party candidacy of

Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot ( ; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an Independent politician ...

that year led him to a second-place finish in the county over national winner

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. However, the county was represented in Congress by a Democrat as late as January 2004, when Representative and Rockwall resident Ralph Hall, a conservative Democrat, switched parties and became a Republican. In recent years, though, especially as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area continues to grow and spill over into neighboring counties, the county's Republican bent has lessened a bit. Native son

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

received almost 79% of the vote in 2004.

Local government

Rockwall County is divided into four precincts, each represented by a

county commissioner A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the County (United States)#County government, county government in some U.S. state, states of ...

. As of the most recent elections in 2020, all four commissioners are Republicans.

References

External links

Rockwall County government's website
* {{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex 1873 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1873