The Republic of Texas achieved its independence from Mexico in 1836, the same year as the famous siege of the Alamo in which pioneers Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett were slain. The "Lone Star State" was the 28th state to join the Union, admitted in 1845. The name Texas is a Spanish name, which comes from an Indian word meaning "friends" or "allies." Texas is the second-largest state in the Union in area, after Alaska. Although it has a wild, frontier history, today Texas is a major producer of oil and has important centers of industry and finance. A Texas state historian has said that the state flower, the bluebonnet, "is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland."
State Flower: Bluebonnet
State Motto: Friendship
State Nickname: Lone Star State
State Bird: Mockingbird
Land area, 2000 (square miles): 261,797
Length: 790 miles
Width: 660 miles
10 largest cities, 2010:
- Houston, 2,099,451
- San Antonio, 1,327,407
- Dallas, 1,197,816
- Austin, 790,390
- Fort Worth, 741,206
- El Paso, 649,121
- Arlington, 365,438
- Corpus Christi, 305,215
- Plano, 259,841
- Laredo, 236,091
Geographic Center: 15 miles northeast of Brady
Geographic Center County: McCulloch
Highest Point: 8,749 ft. — Guadelupe Peak
Lowest Point: sea level — Gulf of Mexico
Number of counties: 254
State forests: 5 (7,609 ac.)
State parks: 120
Persons per square mile, 2010: 96
Population, 2010: 25,145,561
Population, percent change, 2000 to 2010: 20.60%
Population, 2000: 20,851,818
Persons under 5 years old, percent, 2009: 8.40%
Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2009: 27.80%
Persons 65 years old and over, percent, 2009: 10.20%
Female persons, percent, 2009: 50.10%
White persons, percent, 2010 (a): 70.40%
Black persons, percent, 2010 (a): 11.80%
American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2010 (a): 0.70%
Asian persons, percent, 2010 (a): 3.80%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2010 (a): 0.10%
Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2010: 2.70%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2010 (b): 37.60%
White persons not Hispanic, persons, 2010: 45.30%
Living in same house 1 year ago, pct 1 yr old & over, 2005-2009: 80.80%
Foreign born persons, percent, 2005-2009: 15.80%
Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2005-2009: 33.60%
High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2005-2009: 79.30%
Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2005-2009: 25.40%
Veterans, 2005-2009: 1,621,077
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2005-2009: 24.7
Housing units, 2009: 9,724,220
Homeownership rate, 2005-2009: 64.70%
Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2005-2009: 24.30%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2005-2009: $118,900
Households, 2005-2009: 8,269,046
Persons per household, 2005-2009: 2.81
Per capita money income in past 12 months (2009 dollars) 2005-2009: $24,318
Median household income, 2009: $48,286
Persons below poverty level, percent, 2009: 17.10%
(a) Includes persons reporting only one race.
(b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories.
D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information
F: Fewer than 100 firms
FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data
NA: Not available
S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards
X: Not applicable
Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown
GDP Data — Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
Population and Economic Data — US Census Bureau
Government Data — Congress.Org
