Hays County, Texas

Hays County is a located in the  of. It is part of the. In 2000, its population was 97,589. It is named for, a and  officer. The of the county is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,761 (680 ). 1,756 km² (678 sq mi) of it is land and 5 km² (2 sq mi) of it (0.28%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-35.svg|20px]]
 * [[image:US 290.svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:Texas 21.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Texas 80.svg|20px]]

Adjacent counties

 * (northeast)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 97,589 people, 33,410 households, and 22,150 families residing in the county. The was 56/km² (144/sq mi). There were 35,643 housing units at an average density of 20/km² (53/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 78.92%, 3.68% or , 0.69% , 0.79% , 0.07% , 13.36% from , and 2.49% from two or more races. 29.57% of the population were or  of any race. There were 33,410 households out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.70% were non-families. 21.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 20.50% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 7.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 101.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,006, and the median income for a family was $56,287. Males had a median income of $35,209 versus $27,334 for females. The for the county was $19,931. About 6.40% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the, including 10.30% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over.

Education
In the eastern portion of the county, students in kindergarten through high school grade levels attend  (Hays CISD). The Hays CISD website can be found at hayscisd.net. As of, there are two high schools (Hays & Lehmann), three middle schools (Dahlstrom, Barton and Wallace), and seven elementary schools.

One of the middle schools is Dahlstrom Middle School, located on the outskirts of.

One of the high schools is Hays High School, located between Buda and Kyle. Enrollment for the 2004–2005 school year is approximately 2,000. School days are divided into seven 50 minute periods with 5 minute passing periods. Tardy students are sent to a "tardy room" for the period. The school has recently expanded, with a new building being added between the two older buildings.

Under the Academy@Hays program, students may graduate early from high school. Students are allowed to work at their own accelerated pace, opting out of electives such as and.

Other school districts in Hays county include the and  ISDs.