Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton.
Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. It is located in the Gulf Coast region of Texas.
Regionally, parts of the county are within the extreme southernmost fringe of the regions locally known as Southeast Texas. Brazoria County is among a number of counties that are part of the region known as the Texas Coastal Bend. Its county seat is Angleton, and its largest city is Pearland. Brazoria County, like Brazos County farther upriver, takes its name from the Brazos River. It served as the first settlement area for Anglo-Texas, when the Old Three Hundred emigrated from the United States in 1821. The county also includes what was once Columbia and Velasco, Texas, early capital cities of the Republic of Texas. The highest point in Brazoria County is Shelton's Shack, located near the Dow Chemical Plant B Truck Control Center, measuring 342 ft above sea level.
History Brazoria County takes its name from the Brazos River, which flows through it. Anglo-Texas began in Brazoria County when the first of Stephen F. Austin's authorized 300 American settlers arrived at the mouth of the Brazos in 1821. Many of the events leading to the Texas Revolution developed in Brazoria County. In 1832, Brazoria was organized as a separate municipal district by the Mexican government, so became one of Texas original counties at independence in 1836.
An early resident of Brazoria County, Joel Walter Robison, fought in the Texas Revolution and later represented Fayette County in the Texas House of Representatives.
Stephen F. Austin's original burial place is located at a church cemetery, Gulf Prairie Cemetery, in the town of Jones Creek, on what was his brother-in-law's Peach Point Plantation. His remains were exhumed in 1910 and brought to be reinterred at the state capital in Austin. The town of West Columbia served as the first capital of Texas, dating back to prerevolutionary days.
The Hastings Oil Field was discovered by the Stanolind Oil and Gas Company in 1934. Production was from a depth of , associated with a salt dome structure. Total production by 1954 was about 242 million barrels.
Lake Jackson is a community developed beginning in the early 1940s to provide housing to workers at a new Dow Chemical Company plant in nearby Freeport. The county has elements of both rural and suburban communities, as it is part of greater Houston.
On June 2, 2016, the flooding of the Brazos River required evacuations for portions of Brazoria County.
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (16%) are covered by water.
Adjacent counties Harris County (north) Galveston County (northeast) Gulf of Mexico (southeast) Matagorda County (southwest) Wharton County (west) Fort Bend County (northwest)
National protected areas Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Communities Cities
Alvin Angleton (county seat) Brazoria Brookside Village Clute Danbury Freeport Iowa Colony Lake Jackson Liverpool Manvel Oyster Creek Pearland (small parts in Harris and Fort Bend counties) Richwood Sandy Point Surfside Beach Sweeny West Columbia
Towns Holiday Lakes Quintana
Villages Bailey's Prairie Bonney Hillcrest Jones Creek
Census-designated places Damon East Columbia Rosharon Wild Peach Village
Unincorporated communities
Amsterdam Anchor Brazosport Bryan Beach Chenango China Grove Chocolate Bayou Danciger English Four Corners Hinkle's Ferry Lochridge Old Ocean Otey Ryan Acres Silverlake Snipe Turtle Cove
Ghost towns Hasima Hastings Lake Barbara Mims Oakland Perry's Landing Velasco
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 372,031 and a median age of 36.9 years; 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older.
For every 100 females there were 100.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.5 males age 18 and over.
77.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 22.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 127,464 households in the county, of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.5% were married-couple households, 16.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 141,493 housing units, of which 9.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 72.8% were owner-occupied and 27.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 15.4%.
The racial makeup of the county was 51.1% White, 14.8% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 7.1% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 11.3% from some other race, and 14.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 31.0% of the population.
Racial and ethnic composition +Brazoria County, Texas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980 Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)132,332139,683158,052166,674161,83378.03%72.86%65.37%53.22%43.50%Black or African American alone (NH)13,01315,42520,18336,88053,6687.67%8.05%8.35%11.78%14.43%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)5126878281,0131,0220.30%0.36%0.34%0.32%0.27%Asian alone (NH)7581,8374,77617,01326,2310.45%0.96%1.98%5.43%7.05%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census5458129xx0.02%0.02%0.03%Other race alone (NH)2932782154721,3740.17%0.15%0.09%0.15%0.37%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2,5964,41312,572xx1.07%1.41%3.38%Hispanic or Latino (any race)22,67933,79755,06386,643115,20213.37%17.63%22.78%27.67%30.97%Total169,587191,707241,767313,166372,031 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
In the late 1800s, the county was majority black as many were former slaves who had worked on plantations in the county. In 1882, it had 8,219 black people and 3,642 white people. However, after Jim Crow laws were cemented, many African-Americans moved to Houston and the county became majority white.
Since the 2020 U.S. census, due to the growth of ethnic minorities in Pearland, the county is now majority minority.
2010 census According to the 2010 United States census, 313,166 people were living in the county; by 2020, its population grew to 372,031.
By 2010, 70.1% were White, 12.1% African American, 5.5% Asian, 0.6% Native American, 9.2% of some other race, and 2.6% of more than one race; about 27.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).
2000 census As of the census of 2000, 241,767 people, 81,954 households, and 63,104 families resided in the county. The population density was . The 90,628 housing units averaged .
Of the 81,955 households in 2000, 40.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.20% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.00% were not families. About 19.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82, and the average family size was 3.23.
In the county, the age distribution was 28.60% under 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 8.80% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 107 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.4 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,632, and for a family was $55,282. Males had a median income of $42,193 versus $27,728 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,021. About 8.1% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.
In 2000, the racial makeup of the county was 77.09% White, 8.50% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 2.00% Asian, 9.66% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. About 22.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. About 12.1% were of German, 11.2% American, and 7.2% English ancestry according to 2000's census; about 79.0% spoke only English at home, while 18.1% spoke Spanish.
Government and politics
Elected officials Nathan Haller, a black man, was the elected representative for the county from 1892 to 1897. After Jim Crow laws were imposed, black residents were suppressed politically until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2022 most major government officials were white.
United States Congress Senators Name Party First Elected Level Senate Class 1 John Cornyn Republican 2002 Senior Senator Senate Class 2 Ted Cruz Republican 2012 Junior Senator Representatives Name Party First Elected Area(s) of Brazoria County Represented District 14 Randy Weber Republican 2012 Central and southern areas (Alvin), Lake Jackson, Angleton, Freeport), also part of (Galveston County) District 22 Troy Nehls Republican 2020 Northern areas (Pearland), Northwest areas (Manvel), also parts of Harris and Galveston counties
Texas Legislature
Texas Senate District Name Party First Elected Area(s) of Brazoria County Represented 11 Mayes Middleton Republican 1999 Northern and central areas 17 Joan Huffman Republican 2008 Southern areas, Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula (Galveston County)
Texas House of Representatives District Name Party First Elected Area(s) of Brazoria County Represented 25 Cody Vasut Republican 2020 Lake Jackson, Angleton, Freeport 29 Ed Thompson Republican 2008 Pearland, Alvin, Manvel
Pearland native Kyle Kacal, a Republican from College Station, holds the District 12 state House seat based in Brazos and four neighboring counties.
County officials Office Name Party County Judge L. M. “Matt” Sebesta, Jr. Republican County Commissioner, Precinct 1 Jay Burridge Republican County Commissioner, Precinct 2 Ryan Cade Republican County Commissioner, Precinct 3 Stacy L. Adams Republican County Commissioner, Precinct 4 David Linder Republican County Attorney B. D. Griffin Republican County Clerk Joyce HudmanRepublican District Attorney Tom SelleckRepublican District Clerk Cassandra TignerRepublican Sheriff Bo Stallman Republican Tax Assessor-Collector Kristin Bulanek Republican Treasurer Angela Dees Republican
Law enforcement and jails
The Brazoria County Sheriff's Office is the oldest law enforcement agency in the State of Texas, established by the Republic of Texas in March 1836. Among its duties include running the Brazoria County Jail, located at 3602 County Road 45 in unincorporated central Brazoria County, north of Angleton."Sheriff's Office ." Brazoria County. Accessed September 13, 2008.