Jefferson County is a county in the Coastal Plain or Gulf Prairie region of Southeast Texas. The Neches River forms its northeastern boundary. The county was named for U.S. president Thomas Jefferson. Texas later became part of the US.
Jefferson County is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area and has the highest population of the four-county MSA. As of the 2020 census, the population was 256,526. Jefferson County has the highest percentage of African Americans in the state of Texas.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (21%) is water.
Jefferson County is on the plains of the Texas Gulf Coast in the southeastern part of the state. It is bounded on the north by Pine Island Bayou, on the northeast by the Neches River, and on the east by Sabine Lake and the mouth of the Sabine River, a natural outlet called Sabine Pass. The southern part of the county is largely marshland, much of which is within Sea Rim State Park, reaching the storm-battered beach at the Gulf of Mexico.
Adjacent counties and parishes
- Hardin County (north)
- Orange County (northeast)
- Chambers County (southwest)
- Liberty County (northwest)
- Cameron Parish, Louisiana (east)
National protected areas
- Big Thicket National Preserve (part)
- McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge
- Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge
Communities
Cities
- Beaumont (county seat and largest municipality)
- Bevil Oaks
- China
- Groves
- Nederland
- Nome
- Port Arthur (small part in Orange County)
- Port Neches
- Taylor Landing
Census-designated places
- Beauxart Gardens
- Central Gardens
- Fannett
- Hamshire
Unincorporated areas
- Cheek
- Dowling
- LaBelle
- Viterbo