Rockwall County, Texas

History

Rockwall County was formed in 1873 from portions of Kaufman County. It split off because access to the county seat of Kaufman was inconvenient. It was named for its county seat, Rockwall. Rockwall County also is home to the great rock wall, which is no longer in public view today.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 148.933 sqmi, of which 127.210 sqmi is land and 21.723 sqmi (14.59%) is water. It is the smallest county by area in Texas.

Major highways

• [[Image:I-30 (TX).svg|20px]] Interstate 30
• [[Image:US 67.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 67
• [[Image:Texas 66.svg|20px]] State Highway 66
• [[Image:Texas 205.svg|20px]] State Highway 205
• [[Image:Texas 276.svg|20px]] State Highway 276

Lake

• Lake Ray Hubbard

Adjacent counties

• Collin County (north)
• Hunt County (east)
• Kaufman County (south)
• Dallas County (west)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Rockwall County was $438,970.

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 39,513 estimated households in Rockwall County with an average of 2.94 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $124,917. Approximately 5.1% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Rockwall County has an estimated 70.1% employment rate, with 44.0% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.2% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (81.5%), Spanish (12.1%), Indo-European (2.7%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.9%), and Other (1.8%).

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.

2023 estimate

As of the 2023 estimate, there were 131,307 people and 39,513 households residing in the county. There were 46,258 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 81.9% White (81,542 or 62.1% NH White), 10.5% African American (12,999 or 9.9% NH Black), 0.9% Native American (657 or 0.5% NH Native), 4.0% Asian (4,990 or 3.8% NH Asian), 0.1% Pacific Islander (131 or 0.1% NH Pacific Islander), _% from some other races and 2.5% from two or more races (2,757 or 2.1% NH Multiracial). Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 28,231 or 21.5% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 107,819 people, 36,326 households, and 29,255 families residing in the county. The population density was 847.6 PD/sqmi.

As of the 2020 census, the median age was 37.8 years. 27.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.2 males age 18 and over.

As of the 2020 census, 86.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 13.7% lived in rural areas.

As of the 2020 census, 42.6% of households had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 65.8% were married-couple households, 11.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 18.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

As of the 2020 census, there were 38,219 housing units at an average density of 300.4 /sqmi, of which 5.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 80.8% were owner-occupied and 19.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.5%.

As of the 2020 census, the racial makeup of the county was 69.5% White, 7.8% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 6.2% from some other race, and 12.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 19.1% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 78,337 people, 26,466 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was 616.7 PD/sqmi. There were 27,957 housing units at an average density of 220.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 83.68% White, 5.79% African American, 0.60% Native American, 2.42% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 5.43% from some other races and 2.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 15.92% of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 43,080 people, 14,530 households, and 11,972 families residing in the county. The population density was 334.0 PD/sqmi. There were 15,351 housing units at an average density of 119.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 89.17% White, 3.24% African American, 0.40% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.45% from some other races and 1.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 11.07% of the population.

Communities

Source:

• Dallas (mostly in Dallas County with small parts in Collin, Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall counties)
• Fate
• Heath (small part in Kaufman County)
• McLendon-Chisholm
• Mobile City
• Rockwall (county seat)
• Rowlett (mostly in Dallas County)
• Royse City (partly in Collin and Hunt counties)
• Wylie (mostly in Collin County and a small part in Dallas County)

Education

These school districts serve Rockwall County:

• Rockwall Independent School District (small portion in Kaufman County)
• Royse City Independent School District (small portion in Collin and Hunt Counties)

From 1997 to 2015, the number of non-Hispanic white children in K-12 schools in the county increased by 6,000 as part of a trend of white flight and suburbanization by non-Hispanic white families.

Collin College's official service area includes all of Rockwall County.

Politics

Prior to 1972, Rockwall County was a Democratic stronghold. The 1968 election was highly transitional for the county, with Hubert Humphrey only winning with 39% of the vote due to the strong third-party candidacy of George Wallace. From 1972 on, the county has become a Republican stronghold. George H. W. Bush in 1992 has been the only Republican to fail to win a majority in the county since then, as the strong third-party candidacy of Ross Perot that year led him to a second-place finish in the county over national winner Bill Clinton. However, the county was represented in Congress by a Democrat as late as January 2004, when Representative and Rockwall resident Ralph Hall, a conservative Democrat, switched parties and became a Republican.

In recent years, though, especially as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area continues to grow and spill over into neighboring counties, the county's Republican bent has lessened a bit. Native son George W. Bush received almost 79% of the vote in 2004.

Local government

Rockwall County is divided into four precincts, each represented by a county commissioner.

As of the most recent elections in 2020, all four commissioners are Republicans.

References

References

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25. [https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.130.htm Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.175. COLLIN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.]
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27. (November 5, 2024). "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)".