Mitchell County, Texas

Mitchell County
Mitchell County
County
	The Mitchell County Courthouse in Colorado City
	Location within the U.S. state of Texas
	Texas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 32°18′N 100°55′W / 32.3°N 100.92°W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1881
Seat	Colorado City
Largest city	Colorado City
Area
• Total	916 sq mi (2,370 km2)
• Land	911 sq mi (2,360 km2)
• Water	4.8 sq mi (12 km2) 0.5%
Population (2020)
• Total	8,990
• Density	9.8/sq mi (3.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	19th

Mitchell County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,990.^[1] Its county seat is Colorado City.^[2] The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1881.^[3] It is named for Asa and Eli Mitchell, two early settlers and soldiers in the Texas Revolution.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 916 square miles (2,370 km²), of which 911 sq mi (2,360 km²) are land and 4.8 sq mi (12 km²) (0.5%) are covered by water.^[4] Mitchell County contains two reservoirs, Lake Colorado City and Lake Champion.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Scurry County (north)
Fisher County (northeast)
Nolan County (east)
Coke County (southeast)
Sterling County (south)
Howard County (west)
Borden County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	117	—
1890	2,059	1,659.8%
1900	2,855	38.7%
1910	8,956	213.7%
1920	7,527	−16.0%
1930	14,183	88.4%
1940	12,477	−12.0%
1950	14,357	15.1%
1960	11,255	−21.6%
1970	9,073	−19.4%
1980	9,088	0.2%
1990	8,016	−11.8%
2000	9,698	21.0%
2010	9,403	−3.0%
2020	8,990	−4.4%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5] 1850–2010^[6] 2010^[7] 2020^[8]

**Mitchell County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
*Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010^[7]	Pop 2020^[8]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	4,753	4,328	50.55%	48.14%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,043	925	11.09%	10.29%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	44	34	0.47%	0.38%
Asian alone (NH)	27	54	0.29%	0.60%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	1	0.00%	0.01%
Other race alone (NH)	10	11	0.11%	0.12%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	45	183	0.48%	2.04%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	3,481	3,454	37.02%	38.42%
Total	9,403	8,990	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census^[9] of 2000, 9,698 people, 2,837 households, and 1,997 families resided in the county. The population density was 11 people per square mile (4.2 people/km²). The 4,168 housing units averaged five per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 74.52% White, 12.81% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 10.19% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races; 31.03% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,837 households, 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were not families; 27.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was distributed as 19.80% under the age of 18, 11.50% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 159.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 174.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,399, and for a family was $31,481. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $20,221 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,043. About 15.00% of families and 17.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.90% of those under age 18 and 20.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Ghost towns

Politics

United States presidential election results for Mitchell County, Texas^[10]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,170	84.14%	397	15.39%	12	0.47%
2016	1,780	81.06%	354	16.12%	62	2.82%
2012	1,756	75.82%	538	23.23%	22	0.95%
2008	1,815	74.66%	586	24.11%	30	1.23%
2004	1,912	74.75%	639	24.98%	7	0.27%
2000	1,708	66.36%	837	32.52%	29	1.13%
1996	949	39.46%	1,213	50.44%	243	10.10%
1992	1,128	36.47%	1,353	43.74%	612	19.79%
1988	1,596	47.27%	1,773	52.52%	7	0.21%
1984	2,007	59.79%	1,332	39.68%	18	0.54%
1980	1,455	49.73%	1,446	49.42%	25	0.85%
1976	1,058	37.73%	1,730	61.70%	16	0.57%
1972	1,790	71.83%	699	28.05%	3	0.12%
1968	893	29.96%	1,589	53.30%	499	16.74%
1964	737	23.33%	2,420	76.61%	2	0.06%
1960	1,208	36.06%	2,131	63.61%	11	0.33%
1956	1,091	36.59%	1,891	63.41%	0	0.00%
1952	1,417	40.95%	2,031	58.70%	12	0.35%
1948	230	9.26%	2,181	87.80%	73	2.94%
1944	218	8.47%	2,215	86.09%	140	5.44%
1940	251	9.45%	2,401	90.37%	5	0.19%
1936	192	8.61%	2,035	91.21%	4	0.18%
1932	148	9.02%	1,490	90.85%	2	0.12%
1928	1,099	59.57%	746	40.43%	0	0.00%
1924	169	11.69%	1,242	85.89%	35	2.42%
1920	89	10.47%	694	81.65%	67	7.88%
1916	39	4.23%	803	87.00%	81	8.78%
1912	19	2.69%	573	81.05%	115	16.27%