LEE County, TX

Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,478. Its county seat is Giddings. The county is named for General Robert E. Lee.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is 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, there were 15,657 people, 5,663 households, and 4,150 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 6,851 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 76.59% White, 12.08% Black or African American, 0.46% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 8.87% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. 18.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 35.5% were of German and 8.3% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 80.1% spoke English, 14.4% Spanish and 5.1% German as their first language.

There were 5,663 households, out of which 35.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.00% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.80% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 101.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,280, and the median income for a family was $42,073. Males had a median income of $30,635 versus $21,611 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,163. About 9.70% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.70% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.

As of the 2010 census, Lee County has a similar ethnic makeup relative to the overall United States.

Politics

Lee County was historically Democratic, although less so than the majority of Texas as it was somewhat allied with the isolated Republican German-American Unionist stronghold centred upon Gillespie and Kendall Counties. It nonetheless voted Democratic in every election up to 1976 except the landslide Republican triumphs of 1956 and 1972, plus the heavily war-influenced elections of 1916 and 1940 when its German-American population was suspicious of the Democratic Party's position towards Germany.

Since 1980, like all of the rural white South, Lee County has become powerfully Republican. No Democratic presidential candidate has won a majority in the county since Jimmy Carter in 1976, although during the drought- and farm crisis-dominated 1988 election Michael Dukakis won a fourteen-vote plurality. In the past five elections the GOP candidate has always passed two-thirds of the county's vote and Donald Trump exceeded three-quarters in 2016.

Government and infrastructure

The Texas Youth Commission operates the Giddings State School in unincorporated Lee County, near Giddings.

Economy

the Giddings State School, a Texas Youth Commission facility, was Lee County's largest employer.

Communities

City

Town

Unincorporated communities

Education

School districts:

Most of Lee County is assigned to Blinn Junior College District. Austin Community College is the designated community college for portions of Lee County in Elgin ISD.