Harris County, Texas
Encyclopedia : H : HA : HAR : Harris County, Texas
Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of 2000 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 3.4 million (though a 2005 estimate placed the population at almost 3.7 million), making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston6.
Harris County is named for John Richardson Harris, an early settler of the area.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,604 km² (1,778 mi²). 4,478 km² (1,729 mi²) of it is land and 127 km² (49 mi²) of it (2.75%) is water.Adjacent counties
- Montgomery County (north)
- Liberty County (northeast)
- Chambers County (east)
- Galveston County (southeast)
- Brazoria County (south)
- Fort Bend County (southwest)
- Waller County (northwest)
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 3,400,578 people, 1,205,516 households, and 834,217 families residing in the county, making it the largest county by population in Texas. The population density was 759/km² (1,967/mi²). There were 1,298,130 housing units at an average density of 290/km² (751/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 58.73% White, 18.49% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American, 5.14% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 14.18% from other races, and 2.96% from two or more races. 32.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 1,205,516 households out of which 37.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were married couples living together, 13.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.38.
In the county, the population was spread out with 29.00% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 33.40% from 25 to 44, 19.80% from 45 to 64, and 7.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,598, and the median income for a family was $49,004. Males had a median income of $37,361 versus $28,941 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,435. About 12.10% of families and 14.97% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.60% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
Unincorporated areas
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Education
Several school districts serve Harris County communities.
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Harris County operates its own public library system, the Harris County Public Library.
In addition, Houston has the Houston Public Library, a city-controlled public library system.
The cities of Baytown, Bellaire, and Pasadena have their own city-controlled libraries.
Political Organization
The head of a Texas County, as set up in the Texas Constitution, is the County Judge, who sits as the chair of the county's Commissioner's Court. As of 2006, this position in Harris County is held by Judge Robert Eckels. The county is split into 4 geographical divisions called Precincts. Each precinct elects a Commissioner to sit as a representative of their precinct on the commissioner's court and also for the oversight of county functions in their area.
Other elected positions in Harris County include a County Attorney, a County Clerk, a District Attorney, a District Clerk, a Sheriff, 8 Constables, a Tax Assessor-Collector, a County Treasurer, and every judge in the county except municipal judges, who are appointed by the officials of their repsective cities.
External links
- [Harris County government’s website]
- [The Handbook of Texas Online: Harris County]
- [Account of the early days of Harris County, 1824 - 1838] from [Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas] by John Henry Brown, hosted by [The Portal to Texas History]
| State of Texas Texas Topics | History | Republic of Texas | Geography | Government | Politics | Economy | Texans |
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| Capital | Austin |
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Regions | Arklatex | Big Bend | Brazos Valley | Central Texas | Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex | Deep East Texas | East Texas | Edwards Plateau | Galveston Bay | Golden Triangle | Greater Houston | North Texas | Northeast Texas | Permian Basin | Piney Woods | Rio Grande Valley | Texas Hill Country | Texas Panhandle | Llano Estacado | Southeast Texas | South Texas | West Texas |
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Metropolitan areas | Abilene | Amarillo | Austin–Round Rock | Beaumont–Port Arthur | Brownsville–Harlingen | Bryan–College Station | Corpus Christi | Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington | El Paso | Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown | Killeen–Temple | Laredo | Longview–Marshall | Lubbock | McAllen–Edinburg–Mission | Midland–Odessa | San Angelo | San Antonio | Sherman–Denison | Texarkana | Tyler | Victoria | Waco | Wichita Falls See also: List of Texas counties |
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