Uvalde County, Texas

{{Short description|County in Texas, United States}} {{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox U.S. county | county = Uvalde County | state = Texas | seal = | founded = 1850 (created) 1856 (organized) | seat wl = Uvalde | largest city wl = Uvalde | area_total_sq_mi = 1559 | area_land_sq_mi = 1552 | area_water_sq_mi = 6.7 | area percentage = 0.4% | census yr = 2020 | pop = 24564 | pop_est_as_of = 2025 | population_est = 24963 {{increase}} | density_sq_mi = auto | ex image = Uvalde courthouse.jpg | ex image size = 250 | ex image cap = The Uvalde County Courthouse was built in 1928 in neoclassical design. It is the fifth structure used as the county courthouse, having replaced the previous building constructed in 1890. | website = {{Official URL}} | time zone = Central | named for = Juan de Ugalde | district = 23rd }} '''Uvalde County''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-Uvalde.mp3|j|uː|ˈ|v|æ|l|d|i}} {{respell|yoo|VAL|dee}}; {{langx|es|Condado de Uvalde|link=}}) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 24,564.<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/uvaldecountytexas/PST045221|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 27, 2022}}</ref> Its county seat is Uvalde.<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> The county was created in 1850 and organized in 1856.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=Texas: Individual County Chronologies|work=Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|publisher=The Newberry Library|date=2008|access-date=May 27, 2015|archive-date=April 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412140748/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is named for Juan de Ugalde, the Spanish governor of Coahuila. Uvalde County was founded by Reading Wood Black, who also founded the city of Uvalde, Texas. Uvalde County comprises the Uvalde, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.

==History== ===Native Americans=== Artifacts establish human habitation dating back to 7000 B.C. Evidence of a permanent Indian village on the Leona River at a place south of the Fort Inge site is indicated in the written accounts of Fernando del Bosque's exploration in 1675. Comanche, Tonkawa, Seminole and Lipan Apache continued hunting and raiding settlers into the 19th century.<ref name="Uvalde County">{{Handbook of Texas|name=Uvalde County |id=hcu03 |author=Ochoa, Ruben E |retrieved=June 4, 2010 }} Texas State Historical Association</ref>

===Early explorations=== On January 9, 1790, Juan de Ugalde, governor of Coahuila and commandant of the Provincias Internas, led 600 men to a decisive victory over the Apaches near the site of modern Utopia<ref name="Utopia, Texas">{{cite web | title=Utopia, Texas | publisher=Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC. | url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHillCountryTowns/Utopia-Texas.htm | access-date=April 30, 2010}} Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref> at a place known then as Arroyo de la Soledad. In honor of his victory, the canyon area was thereafter called Cañon de Ugalde. French botanist Jean-Louis Berlandier visited the area in the late 1820s. James Bowie guided a group of silver prospectors into the area of north central Uvalde County in the 1830s. A trail used by General Adrián Woll's Mexican Army on its way to attack San Antonio in 1842 crossed the territory of Uvalde County and became the main highway to San Antonio.

===Early settlements=== Fort Inge was established in 1849 to repress Indian depredations on the international border with Mexico, and was served by the Overland Southern Mail.

One of the first settlers to the environs was William Washington Arnett, who arrived in the winter of 1852. The Canyon de Ugalde Land Company, formed by land speculators in San Antonio in 1837, began purchasing headright grants in Uvalde County in the late 1830s. Reading Wood Black,<ref name="A Guide to Reading Wood Black Paper">{{Cite web |title = A Guide to Reading Wood Black Papers | publisher=Texas Archival Resources Online | url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/01073/cah-01073.html | access-date=April 30, 2010}}</ref> who with a partner, Nathan L. Stratton, purchased an undivided league and labor on the Leona River in 1853 at the future site of Uvalde. May 2, 1855, Black hired San Antonio lithographer Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape,<ref name="Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape">{{Handbook of Texas | name=Wilhelm Carl August Thielepape | id=fth41| author=Albrecht, Theodore| retrieved=June 4, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association</ref> and laid out Encina, the town later known as Uvalde.<ref>{{cite web | title=Uvalde, Texas | publisher=Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC. | url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHillCountryTowns/UvaldeTexas/UvaldeTx.htm | access-date=April 30, 2010}} Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref><ref name="History of Uvalde, Texas">{{Cite web| title=History of Uvalde, Texas| publisher=City of Uvalde, TX| url=http://uvaldetx.com/content/history| access-date=April 30, 2010| archive-date=February 12, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212071601/http://uvaldetx.com/content/history| url-status=dead}} City of Uvalde</ref> Waresville settlement by Capt. William Ware in the upper Sabinal Canyon and Patterson Settlement by George W. Patterson, John Leakey, and A. B. Dillard on the Sabinal River coincided with Reading Black's development of the Leona River at Encina.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

===County established and growth=== 200px|right|thumb|Uvalde County marker [[File:Hill Country scene in Uvalde County, TX IMG 1875.JPG|200px|right|thumb|A scene of the Texas Hill Country in northern Uvalde County]] [[File:TX Hwy 55 in Uvalde County IMG 1319.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Texas State Highway 55 as it meanders through scenic northwestern Uvalde County near the Nueces River]] In November 1855, Reading Wood Black successfully lobbied the Texas Legislature to organize Uvalde County.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Texas State Historical |title=Black, Reading Wood |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/black-reading-wood#:~:text=successfully%20lobbied%20the%20state%20legislature%20to%20organize%20Uvalde%20County |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref> On May 12, the county was formally organized.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} On June 14, Encina was named county seat.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} The second floor of the courthouse was made into a school, and six school districts were organized for the county in 1858. The San Antonio-El Paso Mail route was extended along the county's main road with a stop at Fort Inge in 1857.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Conflict between Mexicans and Anglos during and after the Mexican War continued in Uvalde County, with the reported lynching of eleven Mexicans near the Nueces River in 1855.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Texas State Historical |title=Uvalde County |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/uvalde-county#:~:text=County,%20with%20the-,reported%20lynching,-of%20eleven%20Mexicans |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref> Laws passed in 1857 prohibited Mexicans from traveling through the county.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Digital History |url=https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=556#:~:text=county,%20Texas,%20in-,September,%201857,-,%20passed%20several%20resolutions |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=www.digitalhistory.uh.edu}}</ref>

Residents of Uvalde County voted 76–16 against secession from the Union. The abandonment of Fort Inge immediately after secession was followed by renewed Indian attacks. Many men in Uvalde County fought for the Confederacy, while some Unionists fled to Mexico to avoid persecution.<ref name="Uvalde Co Military">{{cite web|title=Uvalde Co Military|url=http://www.txgenweb2.org/txuvalde/military.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123092138/http://www.txgenweb2.org/txuvalde/military.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 23, 2008|publisher=Uvalde Co TxGenWeb Project|access-date=June 4, 2010}}</ref>

Uvalde County endured three decades of unrelenting lawlessness after the Civil War. Violence, lawlessness and Confederate-Union conflicts among citizens were so pervasive that armed guards were employed to assist the county tax assessor and collector, and the county had no sheriff for nearly two years. The years immediately following the Civil War were marked by conflicts between Confederates and Unionists returning to live in Uvalde County. Smugglers, cattle rustlers and horse rustlers, and numerous other desperadoes saturated the area, including notorious cattle rustler, J. King Fisher who was appointed Uvalde sheriff in 1881.<ref name="J King Fisher">{{Handbook of Texas | name=J King Fisher | id=ffi20| author=Adams, Paul | retrieved=4 June 2010}} Texas State Historical Association</ref> Willis Newton of The Newton Gang robbed his first train near Uvalde. Jess and Joe Newton retired to Uvalde.<ref name="The Newton Boys">{{Handbook of Texas | name=The Newton Boys | id=jen01| author=Holm, Patricia | retrieved=June 4, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association</ref>

The Uvalde ''Umpire'' began publication in 1878 and the ''Hesparian'' in 1879.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway was built through the county, passing through Sabinal and Uvalde City, in 1881.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

William M. Landrum introduced Angora goats to the area in the 1880s. By the turn of the century, goats outnumbered cattle.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Texas State Historical |title=Goat Ranching |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/goat-ranching#:~:text=This%20trend%20was%20accentuated%20in%201884%20when%20William%20M.%20Landrum,%20a%20leading%20Angora%20raiser%20in%20California,%20moved%20his%20herd%20of%20thoroughbred%20goats%20to%20Uvalde%20County. |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref>

Old West lawman Pat Garrett lived in the county from 1891 to 1900.<ref name="Pat Garrett Historical Marker">{{Cite web | title=Pat Garrett Historical Marker | publisher=Texas Historical Markers | url=http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5463003953 | access-date=April 30, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314204616/http://www.9key.com/markers/marker_detail.asp?atlas_number=5463003953 | archive-date=March 14, 2012 }}</ref>

By 1905 the Southern Pacific Railroad had established railheads in Uvalde, Knippa, and Sabinal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Texas State Historical |title=Uvalde County |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/uvalde-county#:~:text=By%201905%20the%20Southern%20Pacific%20had%20established%20railheads%20in%20Uvalde,%20Knippa,%20and%20Sabinal |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref>

The local bee industry developed a product that received first place in the 1900 Paris World's Fair.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to the City of Uvalde |url=https://www.uvaldetx.gov/main_street/uvalde_honey_festival.php#:~:text=Legend%20has%20it,%20that%20during%20the%201905%20World%E2%80%99s%20Fair,%20Uvalde%20was%20honored%20as%20the%20Honey%20Capital%20of%20the%20World. |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=www.uvaldetx.gov |language=en}}</ref>

Garner State Park built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and opened in 1941. Garner Army Air Field the same year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Texas State Historical |title=Garner Army Air Field |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/garner-army-air-field |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref>

The National Fish Hatchery, completed in 1937, produced a million catfish, largemouth bass and sunfish in the 1970s.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Approximately $45 million was generated by farming in Uvalde County in 1974.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In January 1989 Uvalde County withdrew from the Edwards Underground Water District.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In 1990 Uvalde County had a population of 23,340, with 60% identified as Hispanic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Texas State Historical |title=Uvalde County |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/uvalde-county#:~:text=In%201990%20Uvalde%20County%20had%20a%20population%20of%2023,340,%20with%2060%20percent%20identified%20as%20Hispanic. |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref>

===Desegregation=== From the Mexican Revolution in 1910, immigrant labor force cleared large tracts of land and dug ditches as irrigation spread throughout the county. The Uvalde and Northern Railway to Camp Wood, the Asphalt Beltway Railway in 1921, and the expansion of the asphalt mines in far southwestern Uvalde County at Blewett and Dabney were completed with the help of Mexican labor. By 1960 Mexican Americans made up one half of Uvalde County's 16,015 population. Seasonal migrant workers continued to move to Uvalde and Sabinal during the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ochoa |first=Ruben E. |date=September 29, 2020 |title=Uvalde County |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/uvalde-county |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref>

The Alien Land Laws of 1891, 1892 and 1921 prohibited ownership of Texas land by non-citizen residents.<ref name="Alien Land Law">{{Handbook of Texas | name=Alien Land Law | id=mla01| author= | retrieved=4 June 2010}} Texas State Historical Association</ref> The laws were repealed in 1965 by the Fifty-ninth Texas Legislature.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} These and other discriminatory deed restrictions had limited Tejanos in the purchase of town lots in the county.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Efforts to gain civil rights for Hispanics in Uvalde County began with the establishment of the Tomas Valle Post of the American Legion.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} County churches maintained segregated places of worship until an integrated Catholic church emerged in Uvalde in 1965.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The Mexican American Youth Organization formed in Uvalde City in 1968 and eventually led to a 6-week walkout by more than 600 Mexican-American students an on April 14, 1970.<ref name="No Apologies, No Regrets">{{cite journal|last=Santos|first=Alfredo Rodriguez|title=No Apologies, No Regrets|journal=La Voz de Austin |date=July–August 2009|pages=10|url=http://www.lavoznewspapers.com/La_Voz_de_Austin_July_August_2009_inter.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.lavoznewspapers.com/La_Voz_de_Austin_July_August_2009_inter.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Mexican American Youth Organization">{{Handbook of Texas | name="Mexican American Youth Organization | id=wem01| author=Acosta, Teresa Palomo | retrieved=June 4, 2010}} Texas State Historical Association</ref> The Texas Rangers and the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to requests by the school board to help control the volatile situation. Senator Walter F. Mondale, chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity, went to Uvalde on July 30, 1970, and criticized city officials in an interview published in the Uvalde Leader News. <ref name="About Us">{{cite web|title=About Us |url=http://www.uvaldecounty.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=55|publisher=Uvalde Co, Tx|access-date=June 4, 2010}}</ref>

A 1970 class action lawsuit was filed by Genoveva Morales on behalf of her children against the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.<ref name="Morales v Shannon">{{cite web|title=Morales v Shannon |url=http://maldef.org/education/litigation/morales_v_shannon/|publisher=MALDEF|access-date=June 4, 2010}}</ref>

In 1975, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that Uvalde C.I.S.D. in Texas had failed to desegregate its school system in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1976, the Court ordered Uvalde C.I.S.D. to comply. In 2007, Uvalde C.I.S.D. sought to dismiss the desegregation order. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) opposed. On September 15, 2008, a settlement was reached.<ref name="Plaintiffs' Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss: Morales v Shannon">{{cite web|title=Plaintiffs' Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss: Morales v Shannon|url=http://maldef.org/education/litigation/6.1.6_PsResponseinOppositiontoDsMotionDismiss.pdf|publisher=MALDEF|access-date=4 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126194029/http://maldef.org/education/litigation/6.1.6_PsResponseinOppositiontoDsMotionDismiss.pdf|archive-date=November 26, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Consent Order and Settlement Agreement: Morales v Shannon">{{cite web|title=Consent Order and Settlement Agreement: Morales v Shannon|url=http://maldef.org/education/litigation/6.1.6_SIGNEDConsentOrderSettlementAgreement.pdf|publisher=MALDEF|access-date=June 4, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126194008/http://maldef.org/education/litigation/6.1.6_SIGNEDConsentOrderSettlementAgreement.pdf|archive-date=November 26, 2010}}</ref><ref name="MALDEF Settles Historic School Desegregation Case">{{cite news|last=Rodriguez|first=Laura|title=MALDEF Settles Historic School Desegregation Case|url=http://maldef.org/news/releases/texas_deseg_091608/|newspaper=MALDEF|date=September 16, 2008}}</ref>

===2017 church bus crash=== On March 29, 2017, thirteen senior citizens from the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels in Comal County who had completed a retreat at Alto Frio Baptist Encampment near Leakey in Real County were killed when Jack D. Young, the 20-year-old driver of a pickup, crashed into the church minivan on U.S. Highway 83 inside Uvalde County near Garner State Park. One person survived the crash in critical condition. The collision was one of the deadliest in memory in Uvalde County.<ref>"Speed a factor in deaths: It's not known if people on bus were using seat belts", ''San Antonio Express-News'', March 31, 2017, pp. 1, A10.</ref>

Young, who worked on his father's ranch and at a golf course and had no criminal record, told a witness, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," and said that he had been on his cell phone at the time of the crash. Jody Kuchler, a welder from Leakey who saw the accident, said that the driver of the church vehicle moved over to try to avoid Young's incoming pickup but was blocked by the presence of a guard rail.<ref>Zeke McCormack, "Death Truck: Witness: Pickup driver said he was on phone", ''San Antonio Express-News'', April 1, 2017, pp. 1, A8.</ref>

===2022 school shooting=== {{Further|Robb Elementary School shooting}} On May 24, 2022, 19 children and two teachers were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-elementary-school-reports-active-shooter-campus/story?id=84940951 |title=At least 19 children, 2 adults dead after shooting at Texas elementary school |last1=Osborne |first1=Mark |last2=Deliso |first2=Meredith |date=May 24, 2022 |website=ABC News |access-date=May 24, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524181927/https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-elementary-school-reports-active-shooter-campus/story?id=84940951 |url-status=live }}</ref> The shooter, Salvador Rolando Ramos, had shot his grandmother before driving to Robb Elementary School, where he entered the building without opposition. Local officers, believing the shooter to be barricaded safely inside the school, stood outside waiting for further instruction. Video shows local officers forcing parents behind police tape, pinning them down and threatening to tase them, preventing them from trying to save their children's lives.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-05-27 |title=On-scene commander decided not to try to breach classrooms in Texas elementary school shooting, official says |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2022/05/27/on-scene-commander-decided-not-to-try-to-breach-classrooms-in-elementary-school-shooting-official-says/ |access-date=2024-04-27 |work=Orange County Register |publisher=CNN Wire Service |language=en-US}}</ref> After an hour, the killer was shot by BORTAC agents.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/25/us/uvalde-texas-elementary-school-shooting-wednesday/index.html |title=Uvalde school shooter was in school for up to an hour before law enforcement broke into room where he was barricaded and killed him |publisher=CNN |last1=Chapman |first1=Isabelle |last2=Medina |first2=Daniel A. |last3=Chavez |first3=Nicole |last4=Andone |first4=Dakin |last5=Wolfe |first5=Elizabeth |date=May 25, 2022 |accessdate=May 25, 2022 |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525092338/https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/25/us/uvalde-texas-elementary-school-shooting-wednesday/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Geography== According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|1559|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|1552|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|6.7|sqmi}} (0.4%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 11, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref>

===Major highways=== * 20px U.S. Highway 83 * 20px U.S. Highway 90 * 20px State Highway 55 * 20px State Highway 127

===Adjacent counties=== {{div col}} * Real County (north) * Bandera County (northeast) * Medina County (east) * Frio County (southeast) * Zavala County (south) * Maverick County (southwest) * Kinney County (west) * Edwards County (northwest) {{div col end}}

==Demographics== {{US Census population |1860= 506 |1870= 851 |1880= 2541 |1890= 3804 |1900= 4647 |1910= 11233 |1920= 10769 |1930= 12945 |1940= 13246 |1950= 16015 |1960= 16814 |1970= 17348 |1980= 22441 |1990= 23340 |2000= 25926 |2010= 26405 |2020= 24564 |estyear=2025 |estimate=24963 |estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2025">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html|title=County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2025|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 16, 2026}}</ref> {{increase}} |align-fn=center |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census by Decade|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=}}</ref> 1850–2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010|publisher=Texas Almanac|access-date=May 11, 2015}}</ref> 2010–2020<ref name="QF"/> | align = right }}

===Racial and ethnic composition=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+'''Uvalde County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition''' {{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}} !Race / Ethnicity (''NH = Non-Hispanic'') !Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Uvalde County, Texas |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=050XX00US48463&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}</ref> !Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Uvalde County, Texas |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US48463&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}</ref> !{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Uvalde County, Texas |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US48463&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}</ref> !% 2000 !% 2010 !{{partial|% 2020}} |- |White alone (NH) |8,471 |7,666 |style='background: #ffffe6; |6,613 |32.67% |29.03% |style='background: #ffffe6; |26.92% |- |Black or African American alone (NH) |66 |110 |style='background: #ffffe6; |107 |0.25% |0.42% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.44% |- |Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) |58 |62 |style='background: #ffffe6; |25 |0.22% |0.23% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10% |- |Asian alone (NH) |87 |116 |style='background: #ffffe6; |158 |0.34% |0.44% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.64% |- |Pacific Islander alone (NH) |2 |6 |style='background: #ffffe6; |6 |0.01% |0.02% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02% |- |Other race alone (NH) |11 |35 |style='background: #ffffe6; |66 |0.04% |0.13% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27% |- |Mixed race or Multiracial alone (NH) |142 |111 |style='background: #ffffe6; |272 |0.55% |0.42% |style='background: #ffffe6; |1.11% |- |Hispanic or Latino (any race) |17,089 |18,299 |style='background: #ffffe6; |17,317 |65.91% |69.30% |style='background: #ffffe6; |70.50% |- |'''Total''' |'''25,296''' |'''26,405''' |style='background: #ffffe6; |'''24,564''' |'''100.00%''' |'''100.00%''' |style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%''' |}

===2020 census===

As of the 2020 census, there were 24,564 people, 8,624 households, and 6,206 families residing in the county. The median age was 37.3 years, with 24.8% of residents under the age of 18 and 18.2% aged 65 years or older. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.8 males age 18 and over.<ref name="Census2020DP">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dp?get=NAME,DP1_0021P,DP1_0024P,DP1_0025C,DP1_0049C,DP1_0045C,DP1_0069C,DP1_0073C,DP1_0125P,DP1_0126P,DP1_0129P,DP1_0133P,DP1_0137P,DP1_0138P,DP1_0139P,DP1_0141P,DP1_0142P,DP1_0143P,DP1_0145P,DP1_0146P,DP1_0147C,DP1_0148C,DP1_0149C,DP1_0156C,DP1_0157C,DP1_0158C,DP1_0159P,DP1_0160P&for=county%3A463&in=state%3A48|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=January 11, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

The racial makeup of the county was 51.2% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 16.3% from some other race, and 30.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 70.5% of the population.<ref name="Census2020PL">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=NAME,P1_001N,P1_003N,P1_004N,P1_005N,P1_006N,P1_007N,P1_008N,P1_009N,P2_001N,P2_002N,H1_001N,H1_002N&for=county%3A463&in=state%3A48|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=January 11, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

64.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 35.2% lived in rural areas.<ref name="Census2020DHC">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dhc?get=NAME,P2_002N,P2_003N&for=county%3A463&in=state%3A48|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2023|access-date=January 11, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

There were 8,624 households in the county, of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.7% were married-couple households, 16.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.<ref name="Census2020DP"/>

There were 10,034 housing units, of which 14.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 69.5% were owner-occupied and 30.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.9%.<ref name="Census2020DP"/>

===2000 census===

As of the census<ref name="GR8">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 25,926 people, 8,559 households, and 6,641 families residing in the county. The population density was {{convert|17|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|}}. There were 10,166 housing units at an average density of {{convert|6|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 75.68% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.68% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 19.65% from other races, and 3.16% from two or more races. 65.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,559 households, out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.42.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 31.4% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 20% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,164, and the median income for a family was $30,671. Males had a median income of $25,135 versus $16,486 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,557. About 19.90% of families and 24.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over. ==Communities== ===Cities=== * Sabinal * Uvalde (county seat)

===Census-designated places=== * Knippa * Utopia * Uvalde Estates

===Unincorporated community=== * Concan

==Politics== In contrast to the rest of heavily Hispanic South Texas, Uvalde County is typically a Republican stronghold. The last Democrat to win it on the presidential level was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. {{PresHead|place=Uvalde County, Texas|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://results.texas-election.com/contestdetails?officeID=1001&officeName=PRESIDENT%2FVICE-PRESIDENT&officeType=FEDERAL%20OFFICES&from=race|title=PRESIDENT/VICE-PRESIDENT|last=Nelson|first=Jane|author-link=Jane Nelson|date=November 5, 2024|work=Secretary of State of Texas|access-date=January 28, 2026}}</ref>}}  {{PresRow|1912|Democratic|53|601|120|Texas}} {{PresRow|1916|Democratic|92|728|14|Texas}} {{PresRow|1920|Democratic|237|743|41|Texas}} {{PresRow|1924|Democratic|351|1,312|52|Texas}} {{PresRow|1928|Republican|1,224|747|0|Texas}} {{PresRow|1932|Democratic|422|1,759|5|Texas}} {{PresRow|1936|Democratic|354|1,743|1|Texas}} {{PresRow|1940|Democratic|556|1,871|6|Texas}} {{PresRow|1944|Democratic|856|1,322|178|Texas}} {{PresRow|1948|Democratic|866|1,550|129|Texas}} {{PresRow|1952|Republican|2,805|1,230|9|Texas}} {{PresRow|1956|Republican|2,449|994|20|Texas}} {{PresRow|1960|Republican|2,214|1,324|14|Texas}} {{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,963|2,358|5|Texas}} {{PresRow|1968|Republican|2,252|1,736|771|Texas}} {{PresRow|1972|Republican|3,883|1,438|6|Texas}} {{PresRow|1976|Republican|3,103|2,299|47|Texas}} {{PresRow|1980|Republican|3,887|2,402|77|Texas}} {{PresRow|1984|Republican|4,790|2,482|15|Texas}} {{PresRow|1988|Republican|4,266|3,684|51|Texas}} {{PresRow|1992|Republican|3,635|3,482|1,426|Texas}} {{PresRow|1996|Republican|3,494|3,397|442|Texas}} {{PresRow|2000|Republican|4,855|3,436|129|Texas}} {{PresRow|2004|Republican|5,148|3,298|37|Texas}} {{PresRow|2008|Republican|4,590|4,126|50|Texas}} {{PresRow|2012|Republican|4,529|3,825|81|Texas}} {{PresRow|2016|Republican|4,835|3,867|262|Texas}} {{PresRow|2020|Republican|6,174|4,073|97|Texas}} {{PresRow|2024|Republican|6,482|3,218|72|Texas}} {{PresFoot}} {{U.S. SenHead|place=Uvalde County, Texas|Seat=1|source=<ref>{{cite news |title=2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)|website=Commonwealth of Texas by county |date=November 5, 2024 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/texas-senate-results}}</ref>}}  {{U.S. SenRow|2024|Republican|5,848|3,493|278|Texas}} {{U.S. SenFoot}} {{U.S. SenHead|place=Uvalde County, Texas|Seat=2|source=<ref>{{cite news |title=2020 Senate Election (Official Returns)|website=NBCNews.com|date=November 3, 2020|access-date=April 10, 2026 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-elections/texas-senate-results}}</ref>}}  {{U.S. SenRow|2020|Republican|5,968|3,821|293|Texas}} {{U.S. SenFoot}} {{T.X. GovHead|place=Uvalde County|Seat=|source=}}  {{T.X. GovRow|2022|Republican|4,779|3,048|119}} {{T.X. GovFoot}}

==Education== School districts within the county include:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48463_uvalde/DC20SD_C48463.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48463_uvalde/DC20SD_C48463.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Uvalde County, TX|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=June 26, 2022}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48463_uvalde/DC20SD_C48463_SD2MS.txt Text list]</ref> * Knippa Independent School District * Leakey Independent School District * Nueces Canyon Consolidated Independent School District * Sabinal Independent School District * Utopia Independent School District * Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District

Southwest Texas Junior College, the designated community college for the whole county under the Texas Education Code,<ref>[https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.130.htm Texas Education Code: Sec. 130.200. SOUTHWEST TEXAS JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.]</ref> has a campus next to Uvalde on the site of Garner Field.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.swtjc.edu/about/locations-and-maps/uvalde.html|title=Uvalde|publisher=Southwest Texas Junior College|accessdate=May 27, 2022|quote=2401 Garner Field Road, Uvalde, TX 78801|archive-date=September 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926222839/https://www.swtjc.edu/about/locations-and-maps/uvalde.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Garner Field facility also houses a campus of Sul Ross State University.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sulross.edu/the-uvalde-campus/|title=Uvalde Campus|publisher=Sul Ross State University|accessdate=May 27, 2022|quote=Uvalde Campus 2623 Garner Field Road Uvalde, TX 7880|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527234815/https://www.sulross.edu/the-uvalde-campus/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * Welder, F.A. and R.D. Reeves. (1964). ''Geology and ground-water resources of Uvalde County, Texas'' [U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1584]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

==External links== {{Commons category}}

* {{Official website}} * {{Handbook of Texas|id=hcu03|name=Uvalde County}} * [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-25256:1 ''Inventory of the county archives of Texas : Uvalde County, no. 232''], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History] * [http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kincaid/index.html Texas Beyond History, Kincaid Shelter] * [http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48463 ''Uvalde County Profile'' from the Texas Association of Counties] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915144831/http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48463 |date=September 15, 2015 }}

{{Geographic Location |Centre = Uvalde County, Texas |North = Real County |Northeast = Bandera County |East = Medina County |Southeast = |South = Zavala County |Southwest = |West = Kinney County |Northwest = Edwards County }}

{{Coord|29.35|-99.76|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990}}

Category:Uvalde County, Texas Category:1856 establishments in Texas Category:Populated places established in 1856