Austin County

Austin County, Texas

Austin County, Texas

Austin County Courthouse, Austin County, Texas. Photograph by Larry D. Moore.
Austin County, Texas

Austin County, Texas

Map of Austin County, Texas. Map Credit: Robert Plocheck.

Austin County, in southeastern Texas thirty-five miles west of Houston, is bordered on the north by Washington County, on the east by Waller and Fort Bend counties, on the south by Wharton County, and on the West by Colorado and Fayette counties. Bellville, the county seat and second largest town, is fifty miles west-northwest of Houston. The county's center point is 29°55' north latitude, 96°18' west longitude. State Highway 36 is the major north-south thoroughfare, while State Highway 159, U.S. Highway 90, and Interstate 10 span the county east and west. The county is also served by two major railways: the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe.

Austin County covers 656 square miles on the boundary between the Post Oak Savannah and the Coastal Prairie regions of Texas. The terrain varies from rolling hills in the northern, western, and central sections to a nearly level coastal prairie in the south. Elevations range from 460 feet above sea level in the northwest to 120 feet in the southeast. Most of the area lies within the drainage basin of the Brazos River, which forms the eastern border of the county. The margins of the western and southern sections of the county are drained by the San Bernard River, which forms much of the county's western border. The northwestern portion of the county lies in a zone of blackland prairie surfaced by dark clays and grayish-brown sandy and clay loams. The heavily wooded central section of the county is covered by light-colored sandy loams and sands not suited to agriculture, while the southern prairies are surfaced by dark clay loams and lighter colored sandy loams. Stream bottoms consist of very fertile dark reddish brown alluvium. From southwest to northeast across the sandy soils of the county's midsection stretches a five-mile-wide band of oak-hickory forest. North of this timber belt, on the rolling blackland that covers almost half the county's surface, is a "mosaic" zone of interspersed forest and prairie. In the south the coastal prairie exhibits wide expanses of open grassland fringed by stands of oak and elm. Although the timber and grassland were almost equal in extent during the nineteenth century, the woodland has been reduced in the twentieth century by advancing urbanization; yet between one-fourth and one-third of the county remains heavily wooded. In addition to the predominant post oaks, the county's hardwood forests include such species as hickory, live oak, blackjack oak, elm, hackberry, black walnut, sycamore, and mesquite. A number of creeks, the largest of which include Mill, Piney, and Allens, flow southeastward athwart the timber belt to the Brazos; the bottoms of many of these streams are mantled by thick stands of water oak, pecan, and cottonwood. Mill Creek, with its picturesque, broad, wooded valley, was called palmetto by the Spanish, in commemoration of a species of dwarf palm that once grew on its lower course (see TEXAS PALM). North of the timber belt the most abundant types of prairie grass include Indian grass, tall bunchgrass, and buffalo grass, while on the coastal prairie the dominant species are marsh and salt grasses, bluestems, and coarse grasses.

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Charles Christopher Jackson | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Austin County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

70 ft – 463 ft

Size

Land area does not include water surface area, whereas total area does

  • Land Area: 646.5 mi²
  • Total Area: 656.4 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 39.7°F
July mean maximum: 93.2°F

Rainfall, 2019

41.8 inches

Population Count, 2019

30,032

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

13,616

Unemployment, 2019

7.4%

Property Values, 2019

$6,346,953,623 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$50,702 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$336,600,428 USD

Wages, 2019

$147,793,647 USD

Austin County

Highlighted:
  • Austin County
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Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
Town
Town
Town 4,108 (2021) Yes
Town
Town 125 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town 510 (2021) Yes
Town
Town 50 (2009) Yes
Town 150 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 200 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 125 (2009) Yes
Town 200 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 900 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town 273 (2021) Yes
Town 957 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 170 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 200 (2009) Yes
Town 125 (2009) Yes
Town 391 (2021) Yes
Town 414 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 150 (2009) Yes
Town 60 (2009) Yes
Town 60 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 775 (2009) Yes
Town
Town
Town 100 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 688 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town 6,775 (2021) Yes
Town 25 (2009) Yes
Town 300 (2009) Yes
Town
Town 210 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town 1,296 (2021) Yes
Town
Town 300 (2009) Yes
Town 65 (2009) Yes

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