ELLIS County, TX

Ellis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2020, its population was estimated to be 192,455. The county seat is Waxahachie. The county was founded in 1849 and organized the next year. It is named for Richard Ellis, president of the convention that produced the Texas Declaration of Independence.

Ellis County is included in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (1.7%) are covered by water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 census

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 can be of any race.

2000 Census

As of the census of 2000, 111,360 people, 37,020 households, and 29,653 families resided in the county. The population density was 118 people per square mile (46/km²). The 39,071 housing units averaged 42 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.63% White, 8.64% African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 7.92% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. About 18.42% of the population was Hispanic or Latinos of any race.

Of the 37,020 households, 42.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% were married couples living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.90% were not families. About 16.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.31.

A Williams Institute analysis of 2010 census data found about 3.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households were in the county.

In the county, the age distribution was 30.20% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 9.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,350, and for a family was $55,358. Males had a median income of $37,613 versus $26,612 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,212. About 6.80% of families and 8.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.10% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Ellis is a staunchly Republican county in presidential elections. The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976, and since 2000, Republican presidential candidates have won with more than 66% of the vote.

Law enforcement

The Ellis County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement services to the county. The current sheriff is Brad Norman. The agency also operates the Ellis County Jail in Waxahachie.

Media

Ellis County is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth television media market in North Texas. Stations in the market are KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, KFWD-TV, and KDTX-TV.

The county is home to one local radio station KBEC 1390 AM and 99.1 FM. The station has been in continuous operation since 1955 and is the oldest Family owned radio station in Texas. A weekly newspaper, the Ellis County Press, is based in Ferris and published Thursdays. The Waxahachie Daily Light and Waxahachie Sun are published biweekly; other weekly newspapers are The Ennis News and Midlothian Mirror.

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

Cities

Towns

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Notable people