Tarrant County, Texas

Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 U.S. census population of 2,110,640, making it the third-most populous county in Texas and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat and largest city is Fort Worth. Tarrant County, one of 26 counties created out of the Peters Colony, was established in 1849 and organized the next year. It is named after Edward H. Tarrant, a lawyer, politician, and militia leader.

The ancestral homelands of Native American tribes: Caddo, Tonkawa, Comanche, and Cherokee covered Tarrant County. The Native American tribes resisted settlement and fought to defend their land. The Battle of Village Creek is a well-known battle that took place in Tarrant County.

Geography

thumb|[[United States Geological Survey|USGS map of Tarrant County, 1894]]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and , or 4.3%, is water.

Adjacent counties

Denton County (north)
Dallas County (east)
Ellis County (southeast)
Johnson County (south)
Parker County (west)
Wise County (northwest)

Communities

Cities in multiple counties

Azle (partly in Parker County)
Burleson (mostly in Johnson County)
Crowley (small part in Johnson County)
Fort Worth (county seat and largest city; has small parts in Denton, Johnson, Parker and Wise counties)
Grand Prairie (partly in Dallas County and a small part in Ellis County)
Grapevine (small part in Dallas, and part of Grapevine Lake in Denton County)
Haslet (small part in Denton County)
Mansfield (small parts in Ellis and Johnson counties)
Newark (mostly in Wise County)
Reno (almost entirely in Parker County)
Roanoke (almost entirely in Denton County)
Southlake (small part in Denton County)

Cities

Arlington
Bedford
Blue Mound
Colleyville
Dalworthington Gardens
Euless
Everman
Forest Hill
Haltom City
Hurst
Keller
Kennedale
Lake Worth
North Richland Hills
Pelican Bay
Richland Hills
River Oaks
Saginaw
Sansom Park
Watauga
Westworth Village
White Settlement

Towns

Benbrook
Edgecliff Village
Flower Mound (mostly in Denton County)
Lakeside
Pantego
Trophy Club (mostly in Denton County)
Westlake (small part in Denton County)
Westover Hills

Census-designated places

Briar (partly in Wise and Parker counties)
Pecan Acres (small part in Wise County)
Rendon

Historical census-designated places

Eagle Mountain

Unincorporated communities

Alliance (partly in Denton County)
Avondale
Boss
Eagle Acres
Lake Crest Estates
Lake Forest
Lake Shore Estates

Historical communities

Birdville
Bisbee
Bransford
Center Point
Ederville
Garden Acres
Handley
Johnsons Station

Ghost towns

Birds
Dido
Minters Chapel

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

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

|+Tarrant County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|679,883

|857,272

|895,253

|937,135

|style='background: #ffffe6; |904,884

|78.98%

|73.26%

|61.90%

|51.80%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |42.87%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|100,537

|138,302

|182,713

|262,522

|style='background: #ffffe6; |358,645

|11.68%

|11.82%

|12.63%

|14.51%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |16.99%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|3,050

|4,921

|5,971

|7,037

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,033

|0.35%

|0.42%

|0.41%

|0.39%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.33%

|Asian alone (NH)

|6,465

|28,676

|52,057

|83,378

|style='background: #ffffe6; |127,783

|0.75%

|2.45%

|3.60%

|4.61%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.05%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|2,042

|2,938

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,147

|0.14%

|0.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.20%

|Other race alone (NH)

|3,313

|1,053

|1,540

|2,491

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8,321

|0.38%

|0.09%

|0.11%

|0.14%

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

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|21,353

|30,556

|style='background: #ffffe6; |78,920

|1.48%

|1.69%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.74%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|67,632

|139,879

|285,290

|482,977

|style='background: #ffffe6; |620,907

|7.86%

|11.95%

|19.73%

|26.70%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |29.42%

|Total

|860,880

|1,170,103

|1,446,219

|1,809,034

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,110,640

|100.00%

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

Population history

Since the 1850 United States census, Tarrant County has experienced population growth except for the 1870 census; in 1850, the county had a population of 664, growing to 1,170,103 at the 1990 census. By the 2020 census, the county's population grew to 2,110,640.

The racial makeup of the county was 49.5% White, 17.4% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 6.1% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 11.9% from some other race, and 14.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 29.4% of the population.

98.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 760,739 households in the county, of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.3% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2000 census

In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 71.2% White, 12.8% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 9.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races; 19.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000, there were 533,864 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.22.

In 2000, 28.1% of the county's population was under the age of 18, 10.0% was from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $46,179, and the median income for a family was $54,068. Males had a median income of $38,486 versus $28,672 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,548. About 8.0% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. According to the 2021 census estimates, the median income for a household in the county was $71,346.

American Community Survey 2023 data

The United States Census Bureau estimated that in 2023, Tarrant County’s population was 2,182,947. It was also estimated that the county's population was 42.2% Non-Hispanic White, 30.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Non-Hispanic Black, 6.2% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 2.2% Multiracial.

{| class="wikitable"

|Total

|Population

|Percentage

|Non-Hispanic White

|920,289

|42.2%

|Hispanic or Latino

|665,936

|30.5%

|Non-Hispanic Black

|401,239

|18.4%

|Asian

|134,804

|6.2%

|Native American

|7,771

|0.4%

|Pacific Islander

|4,428

|0.2%

|Non-Hispanic Multiracial

|48,480

|2.2%

Government, courts, and politics

Government

Tarrant County, like all Texas counties, is governed by a Commissioners Court. The court consists of the county judge, who is elected county-wide and presides over the full court, and four commissioners, who are elected in each of the county's four precincts.

In May 2025, when there were two Democrats and two Republicans on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, County Judge Tim O'Hare declared that the ongoing process of redistricting Tarrant County precincts was "purely 100% about partisan politics", as he detailed that "my plan and what I campaigned on openly and publicly, dating as far back as May 2021", is to "pass a map that guarantees, or comes as close as you can to guarantee, three Republican commissioners" in Tarrant County out of four, as O'Hare thought that "Tarrant County would be better served if we have strong Republican leadership".

County Judge and Commissioners

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom" | Office

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom" | Name

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom" | Party

| style="background:red" | 

| County Judge

| Tim O'Hare

|Republican

| style="background:blue" | 

| County Commissioner, Precinct 1

| Roderick Miles

|Democratic

| style="background:blue" | 

| County Commissioner, Precinct 2

| Alisa Simmons

|Democratic

| style="background:red" | 

| County Commissioner, Precinct 3

| Matt Krause

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

| County Commissioner, Precinct 4

|Manny Ramirez

|Republican

County officials

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom" | Office

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom" | Name

! style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom" | Party

| style="background:red" | 

| Criminal District Attorney

| Phil Sorrells

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

| District Clerk

| Thomas A. Wilder

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Clerk

| Mary Louise Nicholson

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

| Sheriff

| Bill E. Waybourn

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

| Tax Assessor-Collector

| Rick Barnes

| Republican

Constables

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |Office

!Name

!Party

| style="background:red" | 

|Constable, Precinct 1

|Dale Clark

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|Constable, Precinct 2

|David Woodruff

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|Constable, Precinct 3

|Darrell Huffman

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|Constable, Precinct 4

|Joe D. "Jody" Johnson

|Republican

| style="background:blue" | 

|Constable, Precinct 5

|Pedro Munoz

|Democratic

| style="background:red" | 

|Constable, Precinct 6

|Jon H. Siegel

|Republican

| style="background:blue" | 

|Constable, Precinct 7

|Sandra Lee

|Democratic

| style="background:blue" | 

|Constable, Precinct 8

|Michael R. Campbell

|Democratic

County services

The JPS Health Network (Tarrant County Hospital District) operates the John Peter Smith Hospital and health centers.

Countywide law enforcement is provided by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and Tarrant County Constable's Office. All cities in the county provide their own police services, with three exceptions: Westlake contracts service from the Keller Police Department, and Haslet and Edgecliff Village contract service from the Sheriff's Office. DFW Airport, the Tarrant County Hospital District, and the Tarrant Regional Water District also provide their own police forces.

Since the disbandment of the North Tarrant County Fire Department, no countywide firefighting services exist. All municipalities provide their own fire departments. Most cities also operate their own ambulances, with two notable exceptions: Fort Worth and 14 other Tarrant County cities are served by the Metropolitan Area EMS Authority (MAEMSA), a governmental administrative agency established under an interlocal operating agreement and operating as MedStar Mobile Health, while the city of Arlington contracts paramedic apparatus from private entity American Medical Response.

Fire and EMS protection in unincorporated portions of Tarrant County is governed by the Tarrant County Emergency Services District #1, which administers contracts with 17 fire departments (including 10 with EMS response) and has mutual aid agreements with eight additional fire departments.

CareFlite air ambulance services operate from Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.

As of 2021, Tarrant County was the largest county by population in the United States with no public defender.

Courts

Justices of the Peace

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |Office

!Name

!Party

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 1

|David Cook

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 2

|Carey F. Walker

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 3

|Bob McCoy

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 4

|Deborah Nekhom

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 5

|Brad Clark

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 6

|Randi Hartin

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 7

|Eric Starnes

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 8

|Charles L. "Chuck" Vanover

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 9

|Brian Bolton

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|County Criminal Court No. 10

|Trent Loftin

|Republican

County civil courts

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |Office

!Name

!Party

| style="background:red" | 

|Criminal District Court No. 1

|Elizabeth H. Beach

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|Criminal District Court No. 2

|Wayne Salvant

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|Criminal District Court No. 3

|Douglas Allen

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|Criminal District Court No. 4

|Andy Porter

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|213th District Court

|Chris Wolfe

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|297th District Court

|David C. Hagerman

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|371st District Court

|Ryan Hill

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|372nd District Court

|Julie Lugo

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|396th District Court

|George Gallagher

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|432nd District Court

|Ruben Gonzalez Jr.

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|485th District Court

|Steven Jumes

|Republican

Civil district courts

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |Office

!Name

!Party

| style="background:red" | 

|17th District Court

|Melody Wilkinson

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|48th District Court

|Chris Taylor

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|67th District Court

|Don Cosby

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|96th District Court

|J. Patrick Gallagher

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|141st District Court

|John P. Chupp

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|153rd District Court

|Susan Heygood McCoy

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|236th District Court

|Tom Lowe

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|342nd District Court

|Kimberly Fitzpatrick

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|348th District Court

|Megan Fahey

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|352nd District Court

|Josh Burgess

|Republican

Family district courts

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |Office

!Name

!Party

| style="background:red" | 

|231st District Court

|Jesus "Jesse" Nevarez Jr.

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|233rd District Court

|Kenneth Newell

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|322nd District Court

|James Munford

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|324th District Court

|Beth Poulos

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|325th District Court

|Cynthia Terry

|Republican

| style="background:red" | 

|360th District Court

|Patricia Baca Bennett

|Republican

Juvenile district court

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |Office

!Name

Republicans are dominant in many of the rural areas of the county, downtown and western Fort Worth and north of Loop 820, and almost all suburban areas including Benbrook, rural Mansfield areas and western Arlington, Haltom City, Mid-Cities (Hurst, Euless, and Bedford), and the northern suburbs.

The county has leaned Republican in United States Senate races since Democrat Lloyd Bentsen's 1988 victory, but in 2018 and 2024 Democratic U.S. Senate candidates carried Tarrant, though both lost statewide to incumbent Ted Cruz.

Joe Biden carried the county with 49.3% (to Donald Trump's 49.1%) in the 2020 presidential election, the first win for a Democratic presidential ticket in Tarrant County since Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and the closest such race in the county since at least 1912. Biden's margin over Trump was 1,826 votes; the next closest margin was in 1976, when Republican Gerald Ford carried Tarrant by 2,146 votes over Democrat Jimmy Carter. Many other suburban Texas counties, including Tarrant's immediate neighbors Denton and Collin, as well as those around Houston and Austin, showed similar trends between 2016 and 2020. However, in the 2024 election Tarrant County moved back in the Republican column, supporting Trump over Kamala Harris, 51.8% to 46.7%. This was still to the left of the state as a whole, which voted for Trump 56.1% to 42.4% in 2024.

From the 1893 beginning of U.S. House District 12, there have been two Republicans in 127 years elected to the U.S. House for the western half of Tarrant County; from the 1875 inception of U.S. House District 6, there have been three Republicans in 145 years elected to the U.S. House for the eastern portion of Tarrant County, including former congressman and senator Phil Gramm's election as both a Democrat and a Republican after he switched parties in 1983 to run for re-election. The first Republican elected to the State Senate from Tarrant County since Reconstruction was Betty Andujar in 1972.

State Board of Education members

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |District

!Name

!Party

|bgcolor=red| 

|District 11

|Patricia Hardy

|Republican

|bgcolor=blue| 

|District 13

|Erika Beltran

|Democratic

State Representatives

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="2" |District

!Name

Universities in Tarrant County include:

University of Texas at Arlington
Texas Christian University (Fort Worth)
Texas A&M University School of Law (Fort Worth)
Texas Wesleyan University (Fort Worth)
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth)

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools in Texas are organized into independent school districts and charter schools. Tarrant County is also home to dozens of private high schools and nearly 100 lower-level private schools.

Independent school districts

Those serving the county include:

Arlington Independent School District
Birdville Independent School District
Carroll Independent School District
Castleberry Independent School District
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District
Everman Independent School District
Fort Worth Independent School District
Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District (most)
Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District
Keller Independent School District
Kennedale Independent School District
Lake Worth Independent School District
White Settlement Independent School District
Aledo Independent School District (partial)
Azle Independent School District (partial)
Burleson Independent School District (partial)
Crowley Independent School District (partial)
Godley Independent School District (partial)
Lewisville Independent School District (partial)
Mansfield Independent School District (partial)
Northwest Independent School District (partial)

Masonic Home Independent School District formerly served a part of the county. In 2005 it merged into FWISD.

Charter schools

Arlington Classics Academy
Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
IDEA Public Schools
Harmony Public Schools
Newman International Academy
Texas School of the Arts
Treetops School International
Uplift Education (partial)
Westlake Academy
Great Hearts

Private schools

Colleyville Covenant Christian Academy
Fort Worth Christian School
Fort Worth Country Day School
Lake Country Christian School
Nolan Catholic High School
The Oakridge School
Southwest Christian School
Temple Christian School
Trinity Valley School

Transportation

Major highways

thumb|C. H. Rogers' Road Map of Tarrant County, 1920

Airports

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is partially in the cities of Grapevine and Euless in Tarrant County and Irving in Dallas County.

Fort Worth Alliance Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located north of the central business district of Fort Worth on Interstate-35W. Billed as the world's first purely industrial airport, it was developed in a joint venture between the City of Fort Worth, the Federal Aviation Administration and Hillwood Development Company, a real estate development company owned by H. Ross Perot Jr. Alliance Airport has 9600' and 8200' runways.

Fort Worth Meacham International Airport is located at the intersection of Interstate 820 and U.S. Business Highway 287 in northwest Fort Worth, 5 miles from the downtown business district. Meacham International Airport has two parallel runways.

Fort Worth Spinks Airport is located 14 miles south of the downtown business district. The airport is located at the intersection of Interstate-35W and HWY 1187 and serves as a reliever airport for Fort Worth Meacham International Airport and Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport.

References

External links

Tarrant County profile from The County Information Project

Geography

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities in multiple counties

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Historical census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Historical communities

Ghost towns

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

Population history

2000 census

American Community Survey 2023 data

Government, courts, and politics

Government

County Judge and Commissioners

County officials

Constables

County services

Courts

Justices of the Peace

County civil courts

Civil district courts

Family district courts

Juvenile district court

State Board of Education members

State Representatives

Primary and secondary schools

Independent school districts

Charter schools

Private schools

Transportation

Major highways

Airports

See also

References

External links