Aransas County, Texas

This article is about the county. For other uses, see Aransas.

Aransas County, Texas
The Aransas County Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1872
Named for	Rio Nuestra Senora de Aranzazu
Seat	Rockport
Largest city	Rockport
Area
• Total	528 sq mi (1,368 km2)
• Land	252 sq mi (653 km2)
• Water	276 sq mi (715 km2), 52%
Population
• (2010)	23,158
• Density	92/sq mi (36/km²)
Congressional district	27th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.aransascountytx.gov/main/

Aransas County (/əˈrænzɪs/ ə-RAN-ziss) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,158. Its county seat is Rockport. The county was formed in 1871 from Refugio County and organized the following year. It was named for the Rio Nuestra Senora de Aranzazu, a Spanish outpost in early Texas.

Aransas County is part of the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Aransas County was formed in 1871 from portions of Refugio County. It was named after Rio Nuestra Senora de Aranzazu, a Spanish outpost in early Texas.

The first European to see this land was probably Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, who sailed along the coast of Texas in the summer of 1519 and who also discovered the Aransas Bay.

Hurricane Harvey caused tremendous damage to the county in August 2017.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 528 square miles (1,370 km²), of which 252 square miles (650 km²) is land and 276 square miles (710 km²) (52%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Calhoun County (northeast)
• Gulf of Mexico (southeast)
• Nueces County (south)
• San Patricio County (west)
• Refugio County (northwest)

National protected area

• Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	966		—
1890	1,824		88.8%
1900	1,716		−5.9%
1910	2,106		22.7%
1920	2,064		−2.0%
1930	2,219		7.5%
1940	3,469		56.3%
1950	4,252		22.6%
1960	7,006		64.8%
1970	8,902		27.1%
1980	14,260		60.2%
1990	17,892		25.5%
2000	22,497		25.7%
2010	23,158		2.9%
Est. 2016	25,721		11.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010–2014

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,497 people, 9,132 households, and 6,401 families residing in the county. The population density was 89 people per square mile (34/km²). There were 12,848 housing units at an average density of 51 per square mile (20/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.44% White, 1.43% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 2.77% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.33% from other races, and 2.39% from two or more races. 20.32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,132 households out of which 27.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.90% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.90. As of the 2010 census, there were about 5.9 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 23.20% from 25 to 44, 27.10% from 45 to 64, and 19.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,702, and the median income for a family was $34,915. Males had a median income of $31,597 versus $20,289 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,560. About 15.50% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.00% of those under age 18 and 10.20% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most county residents, including the cities of Rockport and Fulton, are served by the Aransas County Independent School District.

Some residents (including the city of Aransas Pass, which is actually outside of the county) are served by the Aransas Pass Independent School District.

Transportation

Major highways

• State Highway 35
• State Highway 188

Airport

Aransas County Airport is located in Fulton, north of Rockport.

Communities

Cities

• Aransas Pass (partly in San Patricio and Nueces counties)
• Corpus Christi (mostly in Nueces County with small parts in Kleberg and San Patricio counties)
• Rockport (county seat)

Towns

• Fulton

Census-designated places

• Holiday Beach
• Lamar

Ghost towns

• Aransas City

Politics

Presidential Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2016	73.6% 7,740	23.5% 2,465	2.9% 307
2012	70.8% 6,830	28.0% 2,704	1.2% 114
2008	68.5% 6,693	30.7% 3,006	0.8% 79
2004	70.9% 6,569	28.5% 2,640	0.6% 59
2000	65.4% 5,390	32.0% 2,637	2.7% 220
1996	50.7% 3,769	39.8% 2,964	9.5% 707
1992	41.7% 2,826	33.2% 2,246	25.1% 1,698
1988	62.3% 3,858	37.2% 2,305	0.5% 33
1984	71.7% 4,352	28.0% 1,696	0.3% 19
1980	60.8% 3,081	35.5% 1,800	3.7% 187
1976	47.5% 1,985	51.1% 2,136	1.4% 60
1972	70.5% 2,037	29.2% 844	0.3% 9
1968	39.6% 1,076	45.0% 1,222	15.4% 417
1964	28.7% 602	71.0% 1,492	0.3% 7
1960	45.3% 792	54.2% 948	0.5% 8
1956	63.7% 757	35.7% 425	0.6% 7
1952	61.7% 818	38.0% 503	0.3% 4
1948	34.3% 235	61.0% 418	4.7% 32
1944	24.2% 150	73.4% 456	2.4% 15
1940	20.8% 141	79.2% 536
1936	21.7% 60	74.4% 206	4.0% 11
1932	12.7% 39	87.0% 268	0.3% 1
1928	51.4% 161	48.6% 152
1924	27.0% 75	70.1% 195	2.9% 8
1920	25.1% 49	74.9% 146
1916	11.4% 24	84.8% 179	3.8% 8
1912	3.1% 7	83.1% 187	13.8% 31

See also

• List of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Aransas County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Aransas County

External links

• Aransas County government
• Aransas County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Aransas County from the Texas Almanac
• Aransas County from the TXGenWeb Project
• Historic Photographs of Aransas County