Texas Population and Demographics

Published: October 1, 2020 11:02 am

Population

Texas is a state in the Southern United States with a population of 27,885,195 and land area of 261,232 square miles. It ranks as the second largest state by population and the 2nd largest state by area.

Race and Ethnicity

According to the most recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, 42.30% of state residents identify as white, 11.70% as Black or African American, 0.20% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 4.60% as Asian, 0.10% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 39.20% as Hispanic or Latino, and 1.80% as some other race or combination of races.

Nationally, some 61.1% of Americans identify as white, 12.3% as Black or African American, 0.7% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 5.4% as Asian, 0.2% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 17.8% as Hispanic or Latino, and 2.6% as some other race or combination of races.

Ancestry

Census respondents are also asked to report ancestry. Some of the most commonly reported ancestries in Texas include German, Irish, English, American, and French. Measured by location quotient -- comparing the state share to the national share -- some of the most highly concentrated ancestries in Texas are Dutch West Indian, Alsatian, and Nigerian.

Native and foreign-born population

An estimated 83.00% of Texas residents are native-born, meaning they were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area, or abroad to a U.S. citizen.

Of the 17.00% of the population that is foreign-born, 36.70% have become naturalized U.S. citizens. Nationwide, 86.5% of Americans are native-born. And of the 13.5% of Americans who are foreign-born, 48.8% have become naturalized U.S. citizens.

Age

The population of Texas is younger than the United States as a whole. The median age in the state is 34.4 years old, 3.5 years less than the national median age of 37.9 years. An estimated 12.00% of the population is 65 years and over, compared to 15.2% of the U.S. population.

Family and household composition

Family and household composition also varies heavily across the United States. In Texas, 50.40% of households are occupied by married-couple families, compared to the 48.3% national figure. Some 5.10% of households are occupied by single male householders, 13.90% by single female householders, and 30.60% by non-family occupants. Nationwide, 4.9% of households are occupied by single male householders, 12.6% by single female householders, and 34.3% by non-family occupants. An estimated 61.90% of heads of household own their homes, compared to the national homeownership rate of 63.8%.

Language spoken

As is the case across the United States, English is the most commonly spoken language in Texas. Of the 25,886,300 people aged 5 and up living in Texas, 86% speak English exclusively, or, if they are multilingual, speak English very well. Though English is the predominantly spoken language in the state, its usage is not as common as it is nationwide, where an average of 91.5% of the 5 and older population only speaks English, or speak it very well.

Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the United States. In Texas, 29.5% of the population aged 5 and older speaks Spanish, the the largest share among all states. Nationwide, 13.3% of all Americans in the same age group speak Spanish.

Marital status

Residents of Texas are more likely to be married than the typical American. Of the 21.8 million Texas residents aged 15 and older, 49% are currently married, compared to 48.1% of Americans nationwide in the same age group. Divorce, meanwhile, is slightly less common in the state than it is nationwide. In Texas, 10.6% of the 15 and older population is divorced, compared to the 10.8% share of the same age group across the U.S. as a whole.

An estimated 32.9% of Texas residents 15 and older have never married, compared to one-third of Americans in the same age group.

Veterans

In Texas, 7.2% of the 18 and over population are veterans -- only slightly below the 7.5% of adult civilians who have served in the military nationwide. Compared to other states, Texas is home to the 10th smallest share of military veterans.

As is the case nationwide, the largest share of veterans living in the state served in the Vietnam era. Of Texas’s 1,474,200 resident veterans, 3% served in World War II, 33.5% served in the Vietnam War, 25% served in the period between the beginning of the Gulf War and 2001, and 24.2% served since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. An additional 99,800 men and women served during the Korean War.

Educational attainment

In Texas, adults are less likely to have a high school education than the typical American adult, and are also less likely to have a four-year college education. Among Texas residents 25 and older, 83.2% have a high school diploma or equivalent, and 29.3% have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 87.7% and 31.5% of adults nationwide, respectively.

Income

Though it is not always the case, incomes tend to rise with educational attainment rates across broad populations -- and Texas is no exception. With a lower than average bachelor’s degree attainment rate, the state also has a slightly lower than average median income. The typical household in Texas earns $59,570 a year, about $700 less than the national median household income of $60,293.

Additionally, Texas has a slightly lower than average concentration of wealthy residents. An estimated 6.9% of households in the state earn $200,000 or more annually, compared to 7.0% of households nationwide.

Poverty

With the slightly lower than average median household income, serious financial hardship is more common in the state than it is nationwide. The poverty rate in Texas stands at 15.5%, while the national poverty rate is 14.1%.

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