College Station, Texas

College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States, situated in East-Central Texas in the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. As of the 2020 census, College Station had a population of 120,511. College Station and Bryan make up the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area, the 15th-largest metropolitan area in Texas, with 268,248 people as of 2020.

College Station is home to the main campus of Texas A&M University, the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The city owes its name and existence to the university's location along a railroad. Texas A&M's triple designation as a land-grant university, National Sea Grant College Program, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program reflects the broad scope of the research endeavors it brings to the city, with ongoing projects funded by agencies such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research.

History

College Station's origins date from 1860, when the Houston and Texas Central Railway began to build through the region. Eleven years later, the site was chosen as the location for the proposed Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, a land-grant school. (the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company abandoned the line in 1965), and 10 years later, electric interurban service was established between Texas A&M and the neighboring town of Bryan. with John H. Binney as the first mayor.

Climate

College Station has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa). Winters are mild with periods of low temperatures usually lasting less than two months, while summers are hot and humid.

Snow and ice are rare; most recently, College Station received three to five inches of snowfall on February 15, 2021.

Summers are hot and humid, with occasional showers and thunderstorms being the only real variation in weather.

Districts

Northgate

Northgate is a mixed-use district north of Texas A&M University that features a combination of businesses, restaurants, apartments, churches, and entertainment. It is known for its eclectic mix of restaurants and bars. A large portion of the stores, bars, and restaurants in Northgate are frequented, patronized, and staffed by Texas A&M students.

Live music is a major draw to the Northgate area. Many well-known musicians, especially in the Texas country music scene, initially performed in the Northgate area. Notable names include Robert Earl Keen, Grammy award-winner Lyle Lovett, Dub Miller, and Roger Creager. The district is bisected to the north by Church Street, made famous by the Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett duet "The Front Porch Song".

thumbnail|right|View of the Lofts at Wolf Pen Creek in College Station

Wellborn District

Wellborn became a community in 1867 as a construction camp on the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. The town's name has been attributed to a well at the construction camp, a foreman named E.W. Wellborn, or a landowner named W.W. Willburn. Also in 1867, a post office opened in the community under the name Wellborn Station. In 1870, the name was shortened to Wellborn. On April 14, 2011, the City Council of College Station voted 5–2 to annex Wellborn, thus making the community the Wellborn district. Wellborn is often mispronounced as 'well-born' but is pronounced by locals as 'Well-burn'.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 120,511 people, 42,433 households, and 20,487 families residing in the city.

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+College Station city, Texas – racial and ethnic composition

!Race / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|51,362

|64,060

|style='background: #ffffe6; |70,255

|75.65%

|68.25%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |58.30%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|3,647

|6,161

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,479

|5.37%

|6.56%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.87%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|161

|247

|style='background: #ffffe6; |280

|0.24%

|0.26%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.23%

|Asian alone (NH)

|4,932

|8,518

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,224

|7.26%

|9.08%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.14%

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|36

|style='background: #ffffe6; |117

|0.05%

|0.04%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10%

|Some Other Race alone (NH)

|107

|149

|style='background: #ffffe6; |475

|0.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.39%

|Mixed-race or multiracial (NH)

|886

|1,521

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,324

|1.31%

|1.62%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.59%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|6,759

|13,165

|style='background: #ffffe6; |23,357

|9.96%

|14.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |19.38%

|Total

|67,890

|93,857

|style='background: #ffffe6; |120,511

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

The median age was 22.5 years, 17.1% of residents were under the age of 18, and 6.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.6 males age 18 and over.

There were 42,433 households in College Station, of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.3% were married-couple households, 29.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 76,475 || 63.5%

| Black or African American || 9,788 || 8.1%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 593 || 0.5%

| Asian || 12,317 || 10.2%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 132 || 0.1%

| Some other race || 8,903 || 7.4%

| Two or more races || 12,303 || 10.2%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 23,357 || 19.4%

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 67,890 people, 24,691 households, and 10,370 families resided in the city.

Of the 24,691 households, 21.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.0% were not families. About 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.98. The racial makeup of the city as of 2019 was 77.45% White, 7.74% African American, 0.30% Native American, 10.25% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 6.32% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any ethnicity/nationality were 15.6% of the population.

In the city, the population was distributed as 14.4% under the age of 18, 51.2% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 9.4% from 45 to 64, and 3.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.

Income and poverty

Data from the ACS 1-year estimates indicates that the median income for a household in College Station was $47,632, a decrease from $52,397 reported in the 2020 census. According to Forbes, approximately 28.5% of the population lived below the poverty line in 2021, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those aged 65 or older. The ACS 1-year estimates suggest this percentage may be as high as 30.2%,

Economy

In 2023, the total real gross domestic product (GDP) of the College Station–Bryan area is $15.8 billion, which has been growing steadily since 2020. Anchored by education and research, the region had contributed an estimated $22.3 billion in income to the Texas economy (approximately 1% of state GSP) in fiscal year 2022–23. Texas A&M University is the largest employer in the metro area, with almost 21,000 employees on the main campus.

As of 2025, the local unemployment hovered around 3 to 3.5%, among the lowest in Texas. This rate is largely attributed to the significant role the university plays in the local economy.However, underemployment is an ongoing issue.

Major employers

Texas A&M University System – education – 16,248
Bryan Independent School District – education – 1,952 It is currently the largest taxpayer in College Station and the second-largest in the Brazos Valley, though the anchor stores are free-standing units that are privately owned and taxed separately from the mall proper. Over 75% of retail sales in the Brazos Valley come from sales at the mall's stores.

Education

Local colleges and universities

thumb|[[A&M Consolidated High School]]

Texas A&M University
Texas A&M Health Science Center

Local school districts

Almost all of College Station is within the College Station Independent School District, while small sections are in Bryan Independent School District. College Station ISD operates two high schools: A&M Consolidated High School and College Station High School.

Students living in the portion of Bryan ISD located in the City of College Station are zoned for Stephen F. Austin Middle School, and Bryan High School.

Media

Television stations

Two full power local commercial television stations included CBS affiliate KBTX-TV (which also includes subchannels affiliated with CW and Telemundo) and MyNetworkTV affiliate KYLE-TV, which also airs Fox programming (via Waco-based KWKT-TV) on its second digital subchannel. Low power television stations KAGS-LD and KRHD-CD respectively air programming from NBC (via Temple-based KCEN-TV) and ABC (via Waco-based KXXV). PBS member station KAMU, which is owned by Texas A&M University, is also based in College Station.

Radio stations

College Station is part of the Bryan-College Station Arbitron market #238.

Newspapers

The Bryan-College Station Eagle (city newspaper)
The Battalion (Texas A&M University newspaper)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Mass transit

The Brazos Transit District (formerly Brazos Valley Transit Authority) provides public bus transportation in the Bryan/College Station area.
Texas A&M Transportation Services provides bus transportation throughout College Station and Bryan for students, faculty, and staff of Texas A&M University and Blinn College. On Texas A&M football game days, the department provides additional park-and-ride service to and from Kyle Field.
Starline Travel offers weekend service from Texas A&M's campus to downtown Houston, with additional Houston service for Aggie game days and additional service to Dallas during major A&M breaks.
Groundshuttle provides daily shuttles to and from Houston airports (Hobby and Bush).
FlixBus provides service to Fort Worth and Houston.

Major roads

State Highway 6: Earl Rudder Freeway (East Bypass)
State Highway 6 Business: Texas Avenue
State Highway 30: Harvey Road
State Highway 40: William D. Fitch Parkway
State Highway 47: Riverside Parkway

State Highway 308: College Avenue
Farm to Market Road 60: University Drive / Raymond Stotzer Parkway
Farm to Market Road 2154: Wellborn Road
Farm to Market Road 2347: George Bush Drive
Farm to Market Road 2818: Harvey Mitchell Parkway (West Bypass)
Farm to Market Road 159: Rock Prairie Road

Railroads

Union Pacific Railroad line: Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), over former tracks of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which operated the Sunbeam passenger train to 1957. Amtrak ran a section of the Texas Eagle over that route from 1988 to 1995.

Airport

thumb|[[Easterwood Airport]]

Easterwood Airport, owned by Texas A&M, is located southwest of the center of College Station and has flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

thumb

Tallest Buildings

Honcho - 23 stories. (Under Construction)
The Verve - 21 stories. (Under Construction)
The Penny - 19 stories. (Under Construction)
Aspire Reserve - 19 stories. (Under Construction)
Rev Northgate - 19 stories.
The Rise at Northgate - 18 stories.
Ion College Station - 16 stories.
David G. Eller O&M - 15 stories.
Rudder Tower - 11 stories.
Hilton Hotel - 11 stories.
American Momentum Bank - 10 stories.

Notable people

The following people have lived or are currently living in College Station:

George Bass, archaeologist, called the "Father of underwater archaeology"
David Bereit, anti-abortion activist
Matthew Berry, ESPN fantasy sport analyst and son of College Station mayor Nancy Berry
Norman Borlaug, "The Man Who Saved a Billion Lives", agronomist, humanitarian, and Nobel laureate who has been called "the father of the Green Revolution"
Alex Caruso, professional NBA basketball player
John David Crow, late athletic director at Texas A&M University; former football player and coach
Saagar Enjeti, journalist, podcast host and political commentator
Larry Fedora, former head football coach of the University of North Carolina
Lafayette L. Foster, 5th president of Texas A&M University, 28th speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
Robert Gates, former Texas A&M University president and former Secretary of Defense
Kristy Hawkins, IFBB professional bodybuilder
Kyle Kacal, member of the Texas House of Representatives from College Station since 2013
Robert Earl Keen, singer-songwriter
David Konderla, Roman Catholic bishop of Tulsa
Arnold Krammer, historian at Texas A&M University, 1974–retirement in 2015
David M. Lee, physics professor at TAMU, 1996 Nobel laureate in Physics
R. Bowen Loftin, physicist, former president of Texas A&M University
Lyle Lovett, singer-songwriter
Seth McKinney, former NFL football player and now owner of Crossfit Aggieland in College Station
Ilan Mitchell-Smith, actor, starring in Weird Science, Journey to the Center of the Earth, among others; professor of English at California State University, Long Beach
John N. Raney, member of the Texas House of Representatives from College Station since 2011, owner of Aggieland Book Store since 1969
Rico Rodriguez, actor, known for his role of Manny Delgado in the ABC sitcom Modern Family
Thomas Sadoski, award-winning actor, starring in HBO's The Newsroom, among others
Brek Shea, soccer player, member of FC Dallas and the United States Men's National Soccer Team
R. C. Slocum, former Texas A&M University head football coach (1989–2002)
Bjarne Stroustrup, computer scientist, designer, and original implementor of C++; Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University; AT&T Fellow
Tiffany Thornton, actress, starring in Disney Channel's Sonny With a Chance
Garrett Wareing, actor
Eleanor Joyce Toliver-Williams, the first certified, African-American, female Federal Aviation Administration controller
Alok Vaid-Menon, performance artist and LGBTQ rights activist
Martha Wells, author, winner of four Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards and three Locus Awards
Christine Wormuth, 25th United States Secretary of the Army
Patrick Zurek, Roman Catholic bishop of Amarillo, founding pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish

Notes

References

External links

Bryan-College Station Visitors & Convention Bureau
Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce