Jefferson County, Texas Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Jefferson County, 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 Jefferson County, Texas. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Jefferson County, Texas. The estimated population of Jefferson County, Texas is 256,755 people, with a median age of 36.4.

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

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
256,755
+1.43%
+0.86%
2020
253,136
 -0.47% -
2019
254,340
 -0.34% -
2018
255,210
+0.25%
-
2017
254,574
 - -

Population of Jefferson County, 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
39.1%
41.7%
 -6.24%
Black/African American
33.2%
33.7%
 -1.48%
Native
0.2%
0.2%
 0.00%
Hispanic
21.9%
19.5%
 +12.31%
Asian
3.8%
3.6%
 +5.56%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.1%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
1.7%
1.1%
 +54.55%
Other
0.1%
0.1%
 0.00%

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 Jefferson County, 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 36.4 -0.27% 35.7 +0.85% 37.3 -0.8%
2020 36.5 +0.83% 35.4 +0.28% 37.6 +1.08%
2019 36.2 +0.56% 35.3 +0.28% 37.2 +0.81%
2018 36 0% 35.2 0% 36.9 -0.27%
2017 36 - 35.2 - 37 -

The median age of Jefferson County, 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 17,876 -0.47% 17,203 -3.27% 17,791 16,643
10 to 19 16,300 +7.85% 15,877 +7.96% 17,601 17,159
20 to 29 20,381 -5.73% 17,139 -3.52% 19,238 16,543
30 to 39 19,738 +0.88% 15,761 +2.08% 19,896 16,058
40 to 49 16,368 +2.91% 14,206 +2.22% 16,834 14,505
50 to 59 17,363 -7.05% 16,803 -8.15% 16,142 15,469
60 to 69 12,885 +8.64% 13,176 +7.98% 14,026 14,254
70+ 9,493 +10.56% 14,005 +0.51% 10,536 14,060

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Jefferson County, Texas is $53,613.00.

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 Jefferson County.

  • Under 25
    $27,850.00
  • 25 to 44
    $54,795.00
  • 45 to 64
    $65,480.00
  • 65 and over
    $43,285.00

Average Household Income

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

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Jefferson County, 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 Jefferson County, Texas is currently $75,702.00.

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.

5.41% of households in Jefferson County 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 Jefferson County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    23.36%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    23.32%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    17.23%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    11.69%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    13.03%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    5.96%
  • $200,000 or more
    5.41%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Jefferson County is $28,529.00.

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

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

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Jefferson County 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
    8.48%
  • Bachelor's degree
    24.83%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    12.06%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    51.35%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3.27%

Employment

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

The total population of Jefferson County over the age of 16 is 200,480.

Of those people, a total of 55.90% 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 Jefferson County is 52.60%.

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 12,919 32.40% 9.70%
20 to 24 years 17,077 69.90% 10.20%
25 to 29 years 18,704 71.50% 8.30%
30 to 34 years 18,330 70.20% 4.80%
35 to 44 years 33,721 70.70% 3.90%
45 to 54 years 30,543 69.20% 4.90%
55 to 59 years 16,310 67.20% 4.70%
60 to 64 years 16,042 47.30% 2.80%
65 to 74 years 21,789 23.40% 3.80%
75 years and over 15,045 6.90% 4.30%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Jefferson County. 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 106,381 55.40% 4.60%
Black or African American 65,825 53.90% 6.50%
American Indian and Alaska Native 768 50.40% 0.00%
Asian 7,980 61.00% 8.30%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 136 90.40% 0.00%
Other 7,308 60.60% 8.00%
Two or more races 12,082 64.30% 6.70%
Hispanic or Latino 39,203 56.70% 5.90%
Not Hispanic or Latino 84,566 56.40% 4.40%

Occupations

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

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Jefferson County is 105,395, with median earnings of $38,387.00.

Women in Jefferson County, Texas earning approximately 65.60% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 105,395 $38,387.00
Male 56,245 $46,247.00
Female 49,150 $30,332.00

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 7,629 $65,392.00
Business and Financial 2,725 $64,464.00
Computer and Mathematical 1,031 $95,399.00
Architecture and Engineering 2,349 $90,984.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 873 $85,511.00
Community and Social Service 1,942 $45,596.00
Legal 975 $95,989.00
Educational and Library 6,085 $46,911.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 830 $31,452.00
Healthcare Practitioners 5,458 $62,911.00
Healthcare Support 4,592 $21,630.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 1,933 $39,260.00
Law Enforcement 2,391 $46,007.00
Food Preparation and Serving 6,451 $14,183.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 4,231 $20,717.00
Personal Care and Service 2,460 $18,420.00
Sales 12,204 $25,749.00
Office and Administrative Support 9,972 $34,560.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 387 $21,277.00
Construction and Extraction 11,372 $43,502.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 3,377 $53,781.00
Production 8,285 $52,198.00
Transportation and Material Moving 3,747 $37,035.00

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 4,607 $79,963.00 3,022 $48,393.00
Business and Financial 1,226 $74,202.00 1,499 $56,570.00
Computer and Mathematical 854 $97,447.00 177 $85,923.00
Architecture and Engineering 1,771 $90,186.00 578 $111,111.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 537 $79,212.00 336 $88,984.00
Community and Social Service 465 $43,991.00 1,477 $46,342.00
Legal 445 $156,655.00 530 $76,100.00
Educational and Library 1,500 $54,457.00 4,585 $44,968.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 310 $35,392.00 520 $30,648.00
Healthcare Practitioners 1,280 $117,045.00 4,178 $54,859.00
Healthcare Support 503 $16,442.00 4,089 $21,959.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 1,105 $44,540.00 828 $32,356.00
Law Enforcement 1,527 $53,828.00 864 $42,060.00
Food Preparation and Serving 2,662 $18,997.00 3,789 $12,960.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 2,130 $26,583.00 2,101 $15,830.00
Personal Care and Service 493 $21,354.00 1,967 $17,125.00
Sales 5,939 $36,428.00 6,265 $19,163.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,956 $52,917.00 8,016 $32,703.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 346 $21,500.00 41 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 10,561 $43,278.00 811 $49,336.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 3,230 $53,835.00 147 $46,771.00
Production 6,791 $54,588.00 1,494 $29,007.00
Transportation and Material Moving 2,899 $42,485.00 848 $25,094.00

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 92,751 households in Jefferson County, with an average household size of 2.6 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 59,549 families in Jefferson County with an average family size of 3.29 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 39,990 4,004 15,555 33,202
Average Household Size 3.32 3.36 3.5 1.23
Total Families 39,990 4,004 15,555 0
Average Household Size 3.3 3.01 3.32 0

Poverty

Of the 59,549 families in Jefferson County, 14.60% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Jefferson County:

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 108,335 housing units in Jefferson County, Texas.

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

Total Percentage
Occupied 92,751 85.61%
Vacant 15,584 14.39%

30.93% of the total 108,335 housing units in Jefferson County are rental units. This is approximately 33,503 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 57,183 are occupied by the owner - or 52.78% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Jefferson County is $918.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Jefferson County 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
    2,065
  • Less than $500
    5,166
  • $500 to $999
    14,817
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    10,714
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    2,205
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    379
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    44
  • $3,000 or more
    178

Property Value

The median value of a property in Jefferson County is $129,600.00.

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

  • Less than $50,000
    8,346
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    13,469
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    11,231
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    9,079
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    8,964
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    5,008
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    865
  • $1,000,000 or more
    221

Property Age

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

  • 1939 or earlier
    4,534
  • 1940 to 1949
    5,426
  • 1950 to 1959
    14,190
  • 1960 to 1969
    20,447
  • 1970 to 1979
    18,440
  • 1980 to 1989
    12,550
  • 1990 to 1999
    10,902
  • 2000 to 2009
    12,360
  • 2010 to 2013
    9,068
  • 2014 or later
    418

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 Jefferson County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    6,783
  • 1 vehicle available
    33,754
  • 2 vehicles available
    35,146
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    17,068

Commuting to Work

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

20.7 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Jefferson County.

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
    2,236
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    11,613
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    17,339
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    21,555
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    22,080
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    4,334
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    12,262
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    930
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    1,062
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    2,588
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    4,263
  • 90 or more minutes
    1,288

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Jefferson County, 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.

Places in Jefferson County, Texas

We have data for 17 places in Jefferson County, Texas. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.