Zapata County, Texas

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Zapata County, Texas
The front of the Zapata County Courthouse
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 22, 1858
Named for	Colonel José Antonio de Zapata
Seat	Zapata
Largest community	Zapata
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,058 sq mi (2,740 km²) 998 sq mi (2,585 km²) 60 sq mi (155 km²), 5.6
Population  - (2020)  - Density	13,889
Congressional district	28th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.zapata.tx.us

Zapata County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 13,889. Its county seat is Zapata. The county is named for Colonel José Antonio de Zapata, a rancher in the area who rebelled against Mexico.

Zapata County comprises the Zapata, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The South Texas Oil Boom included wells drilled in Zapata County in the early 1920s through the work of Laredo industrialist Oliver Winfield Killam, a Missouri native who once served as an Oklahoma state legislator. It is east from the Mexico–United States border.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,058 square miles (2,740 km²), of which 998 square miles (2,580 km²) is land and 60 square miles (160 km²) (5.6%) is water. It is located in the Rio Grande Valley, on the shore of Falcon International Reservoir. It was previously linked to Mexico by an international bridge, but this was flooded when the Falcon Dam and reservoir was built. It is now linked to Mexico by the Falcon Dam Port of Entry.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 83
• State Highway 16

Adjacent counties and municipalities

• Webb County (north)
• Jim Hogg County (east)
• Starr County (southeast)
• Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico (west)

National protected area

• Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	1,248		—
1870	1,488		19.2%
1880	3,636		144.4%
1890	3,562		−2.0%
1900	4,760		33.6%
1910	3,809		−20.0%
1920	2,929		−23.1%
1930	2,867		−2.1%
1940	3,916		36.6%
1950	4,405		12.5%
1960	4,393		−0.3%
1970	4,352		−0.9%
1980	6,628		52.3%
1990	9,279		40.0%
2000	12,182		31.3%
2010	14,018		15.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1850–2010 2010–2020

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,182 people, 3,921 households, and 3,164 families residing in the county. Zapata County is estimated to be the eleventh fastest growing county (+15.8%) in the state of Texas since the year 2000 (based on % of population change). The population density was 12 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 6,167 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.07% White, 0.41% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 12.64% from other races, and 2.33% from two or more races. 84.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,921 households, out of which 43.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.20% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.30% were non-families. 17.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.52.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 33.00% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 24.10% from 25 to 44, 18.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,635, and the median income for a family was $26,722. Males had a median income of $26,294 versus $14,579 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,486. About 29.30% of families and 35.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.10% of those under age 18 and 21.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Zapata County in most elections always overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party. However, on three occasions, it gave record-setting margins to Republican presidential nominees when it delivered the highest percentage of the vote of any county in the nation to them. First in 1896 when it gave 96.3% of the vote to William McKinley, though he lost Texas as a whole (30.8%), but won the national election. The second time in 1908, when it went 99.1% to William Howard Taft, despite losing the state to William Jennings Bryan with just 22.4%. The third and final time was in 1912 when it again gave incumbent President Taft 80.9%, but against the state and nation's preference for Democrat victor Woodrow Wilson (Taft only received 9.5% statewide). It voted Republican for President (Warren Harding) in 1920 and then consistently voted Democratic until 2020, when Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden 53%-47%, about the same as the statewide margin.

United States presidential election results for Zapata County, Texas

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,033	52.48%	1,826	47.13%	15	0.39%
2016	1,029	32.75%	2,063	65.66%	50	1.59%
2012	997	28.14%	2,527	71.32%	19	0.54%
2008	919	32.07%	1,939	67.66%	8	0.28%
2004	1,228	42.37%	1,662	57.35%	8	0.28%
2000	953	36.43%	1,638	62.61%	25	0.96%
1996	521	21.27%	1,786	72.90%	143	5.84%
1992	866	26.65%	2,052	63.16%	331	10.19%
1988	958	30.56%	2,171	69.25%	6	0.19%
1984	1,214	43.34%	1,577	56.30%	10	0.36%
1980	874	41.01%	1,218	57.16%	39	1.83%
1976	462	27.47%	1,216	72.29%	4	0.24%
1972	695	47.51%	768	52.49%	0	0.00%
1968	251	20.71%	909	75.00%	52	4.29%
1964	135	11.77%	1,009	87.97%	3	0.26%
1960	260	27.81%	675	72.19%	0	0.00%
1956	637	41.80%	886	58.14%	1	0.07%
1952	526	46.02%	616	53.89%	1	0.09%
1948	414	39.54%	632	60.36%	1	0.10%
1944	43	7.86%	501	91.59%	3	0.55%
1940	495	38.70%	784	61.30%	0	0.00%
1936	34	10.76%	282	89.24%	0	0.00%
1932	24	8.14%	271	91.86%	0	0.00%
1928	19	6.03%	296	93.97%	0	0.00%
1924	197	39.56%	300	60.24%	1	0.20%
1920	98	66.22%	50	33.78%	0	0.00%
1916	214	89.17%	26	10.83%	0	0.00%
1912	199	100.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%

Education

All of Zapata County is a part of the Zapata County Independent School District.

Communities

There are no incorporated areas in Zapata County and hence no municipal governments.

Census-designated places

• Falcon Lake Estates
• Falcon Mesa
• Las Palmas
• Lopeño
• Los Lobos
• Medina
• Morales-Sanchez
• New Falcon
• Ramireno
• San Ygnacio
• Siesta Shores
• Zapata (county seat)

Gallery

19th century Los Corralitos Building relocated from Zapata County to the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock in West Texas

The western side of the Jesus Trevino Rancho building in the San Ygnacio Historic District; note the structural similarity to Los Corralitos Building

A two-story historic residence in San Ygnacio on U.S. Highway 83 business route

Entrance to Zapata County Cemetery from Farm-to-Market Road 496

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Zapata County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Zapata County

External links

• Zapata County from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Current Hang Gliding Records