Travis County is located in
Central Texas
Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the
fifth-most populous county in
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 ...
. 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 ...
and most populous city is
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
,
the state's capital. The county was established in 1840 and is named in honor of
William Barret Travis, the commander of the
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
forces at the
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...
. Travis County is part of the Austin–
Round Rock
Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
The city stra ...
–
Georgetown Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along the
Balcones Fault, the boundary between the
Edwards Plateau to the west and the
Blackland Prairie to the east.
History
Indigenous and Spanish periods
Evidence of habitation of the
Balcones Escarpment region of Texas can be traced to at least 11,000 years ago. Two of the oldest
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
archeological sites in Texas, the
Levi Rock Shelter and
Smith Rock Shelter, are in southwest and southeast Travis County, respectively. Several hundred years before
European settlers arrived, a variety of
nomadic
Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
Native American tribes inhabited the area. These
indigenous peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
fished and hunted along the creeks, including present-day
Barton Springs,
which proved to be a reliable campsite.
At the time of the first permanent settlement of the area, the
Tonkawa
The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...
tribe was the most common, with the
Comanche
The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...
s and
Lipan Apaches also frequenting the area.
The region (along with all of modern Texas) was claimed by the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
in the 1600s, but at the time no attempt was made to settle the area (or even to explore it fully). In 1691
Domingo Terán de los Ríos made an inspection tour through East Texas that likely took him through Travis Country. The first European settlers in the area were a group of Spanish
friars who arrived from East Texas in July 1730. They established three temporary
missions,
La Purísima Concepción,
San Francisco de los Neches, and
San José de los Nazonis, on a site by the
Colorado River
The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
near
Barton Springs. The friars found conditions undesirable and relocated to the
San Antonio River
The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...
within a year of their arrival.
Mexican period
In 1821
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
won its independence from Spain, and the new government enacted
laws encouraging colonists to settle the Texas frontier by granting them land and reduced taxation. Over the next decade, thousands of foreign immigrants (primarily from the United States) moved into Texas; in particular, American
empresario Stephen F. Austin established one of his colonies near what is now
Bastrop, Texas (in future Travis County) in 1827. Josiah and Mathias Wilbarger, Reuben Hornsby, Jacob M. Harrell, and John F. Webber were early settlers who moved into the area in the early 1830s.
Republican period
In 1836 Texas
declared and
won its independence from Mexico, forming a new Republic of Texas. After Texas Vice President
Mirabeau B. Lamar visited
central Texas
Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...
during a
buffalo-hunting expedition between 1837 and 1838, he proposed that the republic's capital (then located in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
) be relocated to a site on the north bank of the
Colorado River
The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
. In 1839 the site was officially chosen as the republic's new capital and given the name
Waterloo; shortly thereafter the city's name was changed to
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
in honor of
Stephen F. Austin. A new county was also established the following year, of which Austin would be the seat; the county was named Travis County, after
William B. Travis. Though the Republic's capital moved briefly back to Houston during the events surrounding the
Texas Archive War, by 1845 Austin was again the capital, and it became the capital of the new State of Texas when Texas was
annexed
Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...
by the United States later that year.
Civil War and beyond
In 1861 Travis County was one of the few Texas counties to vote against
secession
Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
from the Union. Since the majority of the state did favor secession, Travis County then became a part of the
Confederacy for the duration of the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. After the Confederacy's defeat, Texas was fully readmitted to the Union in 1870.
From the end of the Civil War to the early twenty-first century, Travis County has experienced steady, rapid population growth (averaging more than a 36% increase every decade from 1870 to 2010), driven largely by the growth of Austin and its suburbs; it is now the fifth most populous county in Texas, after
Harris (Houston),
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 ...
,
Tarrant (
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
) and
Bexar (
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
) counties.
Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.2% of the territory) is water.
Travis County is located in the southern part of
central Texas
Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...
, between
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
and
Dallas–Fort Worth. The county's
geographical center lies two miles northwest of downtown Austin at 30°18' north latitude and 97°45' west longitude.
Travis County straddles the
Balcones Fault, the boundary between the
Edwards Plateau to the west and the Texas Coastal Plain to the east. The western part of the county is characterized by the
karst topography
Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
of the
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...
, while the eastern part exhibits the fertile plains and farmlands of the
Blackland Prairie. The
Colorado River
The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
meanders through the county from west to east, forming a series of man-made lakes (
Lake Travis
Lake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. It is named in honor of William B. Travis.
Serving principally as a flood-control reservoir, Lake Travis' historical minimum to maximum water height cha ...
,
Lake Austin, and
Lady Bird Lake
Lady Bird Lake (formerly, and still colloquially referred to as Town Lake) is a river-like reservoir on the Colorado River (Texas), Colorado River in Austin, Texas, United States. The City of Austin created the reservoir in 1960 as a cooling pon ...
).
Springs
The
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
karst geology of the western and southwestern parts of Travis County gives rise to numerous
caverns and
springs, some of which have provided shelter and water for humans in the region for thousands of years. Notable springs in the county include
Barton Springs,
Deep Eddy and
Hamilton Pool.
Major highways
Travis County is crossed by
Interstate Highway 35, US Highways
183
Year 183 ( CLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 936 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...
and
290, and
Texas Highway 71. IH-35 leads northward to
Waco and
Dallas–Fort Worth and southward to
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
. US-183 leads northward through
Cedar Park to
Lampasas
Lampasas ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census.
Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area.
History
For his ...
and southward to
Lockhart. US-290 leads westward to
Fredericksburg and eastward to
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. TX-71 leads westward to
Marble Falls and eastward to
Bastrop.
Other major highways within the county include
Texas Highway Loop 1 (the "Mopac Expressway"), which runs from north to south through the center of the county, and
Texas Highway 45, which forms parts of an incomplete
highway loop around Austin.
Texas Highway 130 (constructed as an alternative to IH-35 for long-distance traffic wishing to avoid Austin and San Antonio) also runs from north to south through the sparsely populated eastern part of the county.
Railroads
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's
Austin station is located in downtown
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
and is served by the ''
Texas Eagle
The ''Texas Eagle'' is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, t ...
'' which runs daily between
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, continuing on to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
several times a week.
Travis County is served by the
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
Railroad and the
Austin Western Railroad.
Adjacent counties
*
Williamson County (north)
*
Bastrop County (southeast)
*
Caldwell County (south)
*
Hays County (southwest)
*
Blanco County (west)
*
Burnet County (northwest)
Protected areas
*
Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
Balcones Canyonlands is a national wildlife refuge located in the Texas Hill Country to the northwest of Lago Vista, Texas. The refuge was formed in 1992 to conserve habitat for two endangered songbirds, the golden-cheeked warbler (''Setoph ...
(part)
Demographics
According to 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 2010, there were 1,024,266 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 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 335,881 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 68.21% White, 9.26% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 4.47% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 14.56% other races, and 2.85% from two or more races. 28.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. English is the sole language spoken at home by 71.42% of the population age 5 or over, while 22.35% speak
Spanish, and a
Chinese language
Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...
(including
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
,
Taiwanese, and
Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
) is spoken by 1.05%. As of the 2010 census, there were about 11.1
same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.
According to 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 812,280 people, of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.60% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.70% were non-families. 30.10% of all households were composed of individuals, and 4.40% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.15. 12.0% were of
German, 7.7%
English, 6.6%
Irish and 5.5%
American ancestry according to
Census 2000
The population's age distribution was 23.80% under the age of 18, 14.70% from 18 to 24, 36.50% from 25 to 44, 18.20% from 45 to 64, and 6.70% age 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.50 males.
Government and Politics

Like other Texas counties, Travis County is governed by a
Commissioners' Court
Commissioners' court, or in Arkansas a quorum court, is the governing body of county government in three US states: Arkansas, Texas and Missouri. It is similar in function to a board of county commissioners. A similar system was in place in the ...
composed of the
county judge and four county commissioners. The court levies county taxes and sets the budgets for county officials and agencies. The judge and commissioners are elected for four-year terms (the judge at-large, and the commissioners from geographic precincts). The other major county-wide official is the
county clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...
, who maintains the county's records, administers
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
s, and oversees legal documentation (such as property
deed
A deed is a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially concerning the ownership of property or legal rights. Specifically, in common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right ...
s,
marriage license
A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictions ...
s and
assumed name certificates). The clerk is also elected at-large for a four-year term.
The
Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse is located in
downtown Austin
Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas, United States. The area of the district is bound by Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Austin), Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north, Inte ...
. The county courthouse holds civil and criminal
trial court
A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...
s and other functions of county government. , the county's
probate court
A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...
s are in the process of being moved from the county courthouse into Austin's
1936 United States Courthouse, which was acquired by the county in 2016.
Corrections
The Travis County Jail and the Travis County Criminal Justice Center are located in Downtown Austin. The Travis County Correctional Complex is located in an unincorporated area in Travis County, next to
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
The
Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Travis County State Jail, a state jail for men, in eastern
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
.
Politics
Travis County is one of the most consistently Democratic counties in Texas, having voted for the Democratic presidential nominee all but five times since 1932. The only exceptions have been the Republican landslide years of 1952, 1956, 1972 and 1984, when
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
,
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 ...
and
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
each won over 400 electoral votes, and 2000, when the Republican nominee was incumbent Texas Governor
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 ...
. In 2005 Travis County was the only county in Texas to vote against the
Proposition 2 state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, with slightly under 60% of voters being against it.
In 2020, Travis County backed Democrat
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
with nearly 72% of the vote, his strongest showing in the state and the best showing for any presidential candidate in the county since 1948. While
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
in 2024 lost some ground since
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 ...
, her performance of 68% made Travis County the most Democratic of all Texas counties in that election. This was partly due to the Republican shift in all majority-Hispanic counties in south and west Texas, many of which held this record in the past.
The county's Democratic bent is not limited to the presidential level, as all of the county-level officials are Democrats. The county is home to
UT Austin, with Democrats generally doing very well in counties with universities. In addition, the majority of the county is represented by Democrats in the
US Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
,
Texas Senate
The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas.
The Senate ...
, and
Texas House.
United States Congress
*Pete Sessions previously represented the Dallas-based
32nd District. He was defeated by
Colin Allred in the
2018 midterm elections. In 2020, he won the Central-Texas-based 17th District seat to replace outgoing Congressman
Bill Flores.
Texas Senate
State Senators serve four year terms with no term limits.
Texas House of Representatives
State Representatives serve two year terms with no term limits.
3rd Court of Appeals
In addition to Travis, the 3rd Court of Appeals hears cases from 23 other counties across Central Texas:
Bastrop,
Bell
A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
,
Blanco
Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to:
People
*Blanco (surname) Fictional characters
*Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
*Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge''
*Graboid#El Blanco, ...
,
Burnet,
Caldwell,
Coke,
Comal,
Concho,
Fayette,
Hays,
Irion,
Lampasas
Lampasas ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census.
Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area.
History
For his ...
,
Lee,
Llano,
McColluch,
Milam,
Mills,
Runnels,
San Saba,
Schleicher,
Sterling,
Tom Green, and
Williamson.
All 24 counties in the district vote for justices. Justices serve six year terms in at-large seats with no term limits, besides a mandatory retirement age of 75 years old.
Following the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats flipped the majority on the 3rd Court of Appeals.
Since 2022, all elected 3rd Court of Appeals judges are members of the
Democratic Party.
State District Courts
Judges serve a 4-year term, with no
term limits
A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...
.
As of January 2025, all elected Travis County State District Court judges are members of the
Democratic Party.
County government
As of January 2025, all county elected officials are members of the
Democratic Party.
*won a special election to complete an unexpired term
**court created in 2023
***office created in 2023, vacancies filled in special elections in May 2024
Austin Community College, Board of Trustees
The board governing the
Austin Community College district, which Travis County is a part of alongside
Hays,
Caldwell, and
Blanco
Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to:
People
*Blanco (surname) Fictional characters
*Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
*Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge''
*Graboid#El Blanco, ...
counties, as well as portions of
Williamson,
Bastrop,
Guadalupe,
Lee, and
Fayette counties. Members are elected in nonpartisan elections and serve six year terms.
*won a special election to complete an unexpired term
Economy
As of 2017, Travis County had a
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 ...
of $68,350 per year, and a
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 ...
of $38,820 per year. 13.9% of the population lived below the
poverty level
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 ...
.
The county's largest employers are governments (the State of Texas, the US Federal Government, Travis County and the City of Austin) and public education bodies. Other major employers are concentrated in industries relating to
semiconductors
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping levels ...
,
software engineering
Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining Application software, software applications. It involves applying engineering design process, engineering principl ...
and
healthcare
Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
.
Education
K-12 education
Travis County is served by a number of public school districts; the largest is
Austin Independent School District, serving most of Austin. Other districts wholly or mainly located in Travis County include
Eanes ISD,
Lake Travis ISD,
Lago Vista ISD,
Leander ISD,
Del Valle ISD,
Manor ISD, and
Pflugerville ISD. Parts of
Elgin ISD,
Coupland ISD,
Hutto ISD,
Round Rock ISD,
Marble Falls ISD,
Johnson City ISD,
Dripping Springs ISD and
Hays Consolidated ISD also cross into Travis County.
State-operated schools include:
*
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
*
Texas School for the Deaf
Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) is a state-operated primary and secondary school for deaf children in Austin, Texas. Opened in 1857 "in an old frame house, three log cabins, and a smokehouse", it is the oldest continually-operated public school i ...
Texas Blind, Deaf, and Orphan School was formerly in operation for black students pre-desegregation.
Colleges and universities
The largest university in Travis County is the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
. Other universities include
St. Edward's University,
Huston–Tillotson University
Huston–Tillotson University (HT) is a private historically black university in Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1875, it was the first institution of higher learning in Austin. The university is affiliated with the United Methodis ...
, and
Concordia University Texas
Concordia University Texas is a private university in Austin, Texas, United States. The university offers undergraduate, Graduate school, graduate, and online degrees as well as an adult degree program for part-time and returning students.
Conc ...
.
Under Texas law
Austin Community College District (ACC) is the designated
community college
A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...
for most of the county. However, areas in Marble Falls ISD are zoned to
Central Texas College District.
Healthcare
Central Health, a
hospital district, was established in 2004.
Brackenridge Hospital was originally built as the City-County Hospital in 1884 but Travis County ended its share of the ownership in 1907.
In 2017 Brackenridge was replaced by the
Dell Seton Medical Center.
Communities
Cities (multiple counties)
*
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
(county seat) (small parts in
Hays and
Williamson counties)
*
Cedar Park (mostly in
Williamson County)
*
Elgin (mostly in
Bastrop County)
*
Leander (mostly in
Williamson County)
*
Mustang Ridge (small parts in
Caldwell and
Bastrop counties)
*
Pflugerville (small part in
Williamson County)
*
Round Rock
Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
The city stra ...
(mostly in
Williamson County)
Cities
*
Bee Cave
*
Creedmoor
*
Jonestown
The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...
*
Lago Vista
*
Lakeway
*
Manor
*
Rollingwood
*
Sunset Valley
*
West Lake Hills
Villages
*
Briarcliff
*
Point Venture
*
San Leanna
*
The Hills
*
Volente
*
Webberville
Census-designated places
*
Barton Creek
*
Garfield
''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...
*
Hornsby Bend
*
Hudson Bend
*
Lost Creek
*
Manchaca
*
Shady Hollow
*
Steiner Ranch
*
Wells Branch
Unincorporated communities
*
Bluff Springs
*
Carl
*
Carlson
*
Cedar Valley
*
Cele
*
Colton
*
Del Valle
*
Dessau
Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...
*
Dunlap
*
Elroy
*
Littig
*
Lund
Lund (, ;["Lund"](_blank)
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...
*
Marshall Ford
*
McNeil
*
Moore's Crossing
*
New Sweden
New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...
*
Pilot Knob
*
Round Mountain
*
Spicewood
Spicewood is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Travis County, Texas, Travis County and partially in Burnet County, Texas, Burnet County, Texas, United States. According to the Texas Almanac, the community had an est ...
*
Three Points
*
Turnersville
Ghost towns
*
Daffan
*
Decker
*
Maha
Maha and MAHA may refer to:
* Maha (name), an Arabic feminine given name
* ''Maha'' (film), an Indian Tamil-language thriller film
* MaHa, Nepali comedy duo, Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya
* Make America Healthy Again (MAHA), th ...
*
Manda
*
Montopolis
*
Nameless
*
New Katy
Austin neighborhoods
*
Anderson Mill
*
Four Points
*
Jollyville
*
Kincheonville
*
Merrilltown
*
Oak Hill
*
Onion Creek
*
Pleasant Hill
*
Tanglewood Forest
*
Windemere
*
Waters Park
See also
*
Austin Bat Cave (non-profit educational org)
*
List of museums in Central Texas
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Travis County, Texas
*
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Travis County
References
External links
Travis County Government website*
{{coord, 30.33, -97.78, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX, display=title
1840 establishments in the Republic of Texas
Populated places established in 1840
Greater Austin
Texas Hill Country
Majority-minority counties in Texas