Cactus is a city in Moore County, Texas, United States, located along U.S. Route 287. The population was 3,057 at the 2020 census.

"Cactus Texas", a song by Waylon Jennings, is a sketch of Cactus from years past.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Cactus is located north of Amarillo and north of Dumas.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Cactus has a semiarid climate, BSk on climate maps.

Economy

JBS USA has a beef plant in Cactus.

Its work force comes largely from an immigrant population.

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the 2020 census, there were 3,057 people, 921 households, and 668 families residing in the city.

There were 1,046 housing units, of which 12.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 38.2% were owner-occupied and 61.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.1%.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census

! Race !! Percent

|-

| White || 13.8%

|-

| Black or African American || 12.4%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 2.6%

|-

| Asian || 11.1%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0.1%

|-

| Some other race || 38.4%

|-

| Two or more races || 21.6%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 72.0%

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+Cactus racial composition<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Race

!Number

!Percentage

|-

|White (NH)

|130

|4.25%

|-

|Black or African American (NH)

|362

|11.84%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)

|3

|0.1%

|-

|Asian (NH)

|328

|10.73%

|-

|Some Other Race (NH)

|15

|0.49%

|-

|Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)

|17

|0.56%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino

|2,202

|72.03%

|-

|Total

|3,057

|

|}

2010 Census

As of the census

Education

The City of Cactus is served by the Dumas Independent School District.

  • Cactus Elementary School
  • Dumas Intermediate School
  • Dumas Junior High School
  • Dumas High School

Tornado

On April 21, 2007, Cactus was hit by an EF2 tornado. In all, 16 tornadoes were reported across the Texas Panhandle on that Saturday evening, including one in Tulia that damaged several businesses and injured three people, but Cactus suffered comparably greater damage. City and Moore County officials, including Cactus City Manager Jeff Jenkins, estimated about one-third of Cactus either was damaged or destroyed. The tornado injured 14 people, said Trooper Wayne Beighle of the Texas Department of Public Safety. "I am shocked no one was killed," said Charles Morehead, a special projects manager for West Texas Gas. Morehead said the devastation in Cactus was akin to that which he saw in Higgins as a child. A tornado swept through the town, killing about 50 people on April 9, 1947. It remains the most destructive tornado in Texas Panhandle history.

See also

  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the meat industry in the United States

References

  • "U.S. Raids 6 Meat Plants in ID Case", article The New York Times by Julia Preston, December 13, 2006