Texas Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Texas, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Texas. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Texas. The estimated population of Texas is 28,862,581 people, with a median age of 35.

We can look at the total population in Texas over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
28,862,581
+0.79%
+5.26%
2020
28,635,442
+1.33%
-
2019
28,260,856
+1.35%
-
2018
27,885,195
+1.7%
-
2017
27,419,612
 - -

Population of Texas by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
40.7%
42.9%
 -5.13%
Black/African American
11.8%
11.7%
 +0.85%
Native
0.2%
0.2%
 0.00%
Hispanic
39.8%
38.9%
 +2.31%
Asian
5%
4.5%
 +11.11%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.1%
0.1%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.3%
1.6%
 +43.75%
Other
0.3%
0.1%
 +200.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Texas by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 35 +0.57% 34.2 +0.88% 35.8 0%
2020 34.8 +0.58% 33.9 +0.59% 35.8 +0.56%
2019 34.6 +0.58% 33.7 +0.6% 35.6 +0.56%
2018 34.4 +0.29% 33.5 +0.6% 35.4 +0.28%
2017 34.3 - 33.3 - 35.3 -

The median age of Texas gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 2,043,777 +0.02% 1,964,962 -0.42% 2,044,080 1,956,834
10 to 19 2,034,700 +6.94% 1,937,492 +7.19% 2,179,629 2,080,689
20 to 29 2,052,790 +1.26% 1,946,887 +2.48% 2,078,152 1,995,184
30 to 39 1,940,298 +7.56% 1,913,656 +6.7% 2,091,194 2,044,809
40 to 49 1,784,558 +6.4% 1,804,365 +3.87% 1,901,409 1,875,074
50 to 59 1,663,784 +2.98% 1,713,880 +0.63% 1,713,784 1,724,493
60 to 69 1,197,159 +12.85% 1,320,173 +10.37% 1,358,532 1,462,356
70+ 899,911 +13.9% 1,201,220 +9.99% 1,031,391 1,324,971

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Texas is $67,321.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Texas.

  • Under 25
    $35,115.00
  • 25 to 44
    $72,082.00
  • 45 to 64
    $80,762.00
  • 65 and over
    $49,599.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Texas, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Texas, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Texas is currently $94,115.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

8.75% of households in Texas are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Texas against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    17.17%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    20.24%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    17.26%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    12.67%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    16.22%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    7.69%
  • $200,000 or more
    8.75%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Texas is $34,255.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Texas by the total population of Texas.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Texas, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Texas to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    14.35%
  • Bachelor's degree
    35.74%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    11.24%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    35.33%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3.34%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Texas that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Texas over the age of 16 is 22,261,181.

Of those people, a total of 65.10% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Texas is 61.20%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 1,659,832 34.50% 15.90%
20 to 24 years 1,981,880 73.50% 9.50%
25 to 29 years 2,091,456 81.50% 6.00%
30 to 34 years 2,088,573 81.90% 4.80%
35 to 44 years 3,979,307 81.70% 4.20%
45 to 54 years 3,575,796 80.70% 3.90%
55 to 59 years 1,707,087 72.90% 4.00%
60 to 64 years 1,556,452 59.00% 3.80%
65 to 74 years 2,233,217 28.50% 4.20%
75 years and over 1,387,581 8.00% 3.60%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Texas. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 14,566,295 64.20% 4.60%
Black or African American 2,700,986 66.70% 8.40%
American Indian and Alaska Native 117,916 67.00% 5.80%
Asian 1,152,898 67.20% 4.20%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 20,005 66.60% 4.30%
Other 1,521,071 67.40% 5.70%
Two or more races 2,182,010 66.30% 7.00%
Hispanic or Latino 8,223,598 66.70% 5.60%
Not Hispanic or Latino 9,730,833 63.00% 4.30%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Texas as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Texas is 13,618,630, with median earnings of $40,463.00.

Women in Texas earning approximately 71.30% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 13,618,630 $40,463.00
Male 7,414,563 $46,901.00
Female 6,204,067 $33,439.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,455,300 $75,594.00
Business and Financial 765,251 $66,779.00
Computer and Mathematical 447,558 $85,014.00
Architecture and Engineering 293,972 $90,732.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 109,597 $64,318.00
Community and Social Service 198,444 $44,145.00
Legal 135,370 $82,472.00
Educational and Library 865,912 $50,074.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 223,101 $40,902.00
Healthcare Practitioners 750,864 $63,284.00
Healthcare Support 400,634 $21,591.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 149,599 $32,751.00
Law Enforcement 149,176 $56,754.00
Food Preparation and Serving 735,003 $15,882.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 497,544 $20,921.00
Personal Care and Service 330,600 $19,032.00
Sales 1,411,135 $31,656.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,516,782 $33,852.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 54,073 $28,116.00
Construction and Extraction 912,718 $37,066.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 462,723 $44,753.00
Production 672,181 $37,793.00
Transportation and Material Moving 563,437 $41,700.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 885,092 $87,846.00 570,208 $61,823.00
Business and Financial 354,803 $79,376.00 410,448 $58,893.00
Computer and Mathematical 338,239 $89,163.00 109,319 $74,142.00
Architecture and Engineering 248,177 $93,709.00 45,795 $78,187.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 64,630 $70,221.00 44,967 $56,949.00
Community and Social Service 69,550 $46,856.00 128,894 $43,186.00
Legal 62,638 $126,244.00 72,732 $65,411.00
Educational and Library 232,340 $55,796.00 633,572 $46,771.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 114,356 $47,402.00 108,745 $34,395.00
Healthcare Practitioners 199,409 $80,410.00 551,455 $59,256.00
Healthcare Support 56,048 $23,922.00 344,586 $21,275.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 110,055 $37,728.00 39,544 $25,896.00
Law Enforcement 116,300 $62,643.00 32,876 $44,352.00
Food Preparation and Serving 331,192 $17,473.00 403,811 $14,964.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 270,692 $25,277.00 226,852 $16,904.00
Personal Care and Service 79,418 $24,602.00 251,182 $17,518.00
Sales 720,319 $45,166.00 690,816 $22,241.00
Office and Administrative Support 406,167 $36,840.00 1,110,615 $33,048.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 45,240 $30,202.00 8,833 $20,378.00
Construction and Extraction 885,280 $37,351.00 27,438 $30,166.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 443,949 $45,168.00 18,774 $35,692.00
Production 507,909 $42,969.00 164,272 $25,713.00
Transportation and Material Moving 486,184 $44,039.00 77,253 $26,285.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 10,239,341 households in Texas, with an average household size of 2.76 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 7,055,810 families in Texas with an average family size of 3.36 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 5,120,567 533,034 1,402,209 3,183,531
Average Household Size 3.43 3.37 3.53 1.26
Total Families 5,120,567 533,034 1,402,209 0
Average Household Size 3.4 3 3.33 0

Poverty

Of the 7,055,810 families in Texas, 10.70% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Texas:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 11,433,880 housing units in Texas.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 10,239,341 89.55%
Vacant 1,194,539 10.45%

32.08% of the total 11,433,880 housing units in Texas are rental units. This is approximately 3,667,459 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 6,391,061 are occupied by the owner - or 55.90% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Texas is $1,146.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Texas that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    180,821
  • Less than $500
    198,728
  • $500 to $999
    1,152,735
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    1,407,813
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    616,163
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    196,141
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    50,594
  • $3,000 or more
    45,285

Property Value

The median value of a property in Texas is $202,600.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Texas that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    494,763
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    822,676
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    852,167
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    984,283
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,428,156
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    1,204,743
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    483,338
  • $1,000,000 or more
    120,935

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Texas. The chart below shows the number of properties in Texas that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    380,957
  • 1940 to 1949
    348,819
  • 1950 to 1959
    841,347
  • 1960 to 1969
    979,599
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,643,368
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,798,169
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,673,976
  • 2000 to 2009
    2,105,392
  • 2010 to 2013
    1,622,470
  • 2014 or later
    39,783

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Texas that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    533,515
  • 1 vehicle available
    3,275,965
  • 2 vehicles available
    4,112,337
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    2,317,524

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Texas get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Texas that commute to work in a particular way.

26.6 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Texas.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    311,953
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    1,099,436
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    1,604,159
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    1,902,138
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    1,768,479
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    779,722
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    1,828,741
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    377,052
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    483,768
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    1,070,380
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    726,004
  • 90 or more minutes
    281,817

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Texas in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Counties in Texas

We have data for 254 counties in Texas. Click on a county below to see more information about the demographics of that county, with links to cities and towns within that county.

Zip Codes in Texas

If you want to find out more about the population and demographics of specific zip codes in Texas, click on the links below.