Kleberg County, Texas

Infobox U.S. County
county = Kleberg County
state = Texas

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map size = 250
founded = 1913
seat = Kingsville | area_total_sq_mi =1090
area_land_sq_mi =871
area_water_sq_mi =219
area percentage = 20.12%
census yr = 2000
pop = 31549
density_km2 =14
web = www.co.kleberg.tx.us
|

Kleberg County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 31,549. The county seat is KingsvilleGR|6 and it is part of the Kingsville Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county is named for Robert J. Kleberg, an early settler. Most of the county's land lies within the famed King Ranch, which also extends into neighboring counties.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,090 square miles (2,824 km²), of which, 871 square miles (2,256 km²) of it is land and 219 square miles (568 km²) of it (20.12%) is water.

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

*Nueces County (north)
*Gulf of Mexico (east)
*Kenedy County (south)
*Brooks County (southwest)
*Jim Wells County (west)

National protected area

* Padre Island National Seashore (part)

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 31,549 people, 10,896 households, and 7,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 12,743 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.87% White, 3.70% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 1.47% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 19.00% from other races, and 3.25% from two or more races. 65.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,896 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.10% were married couples living together, 13.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.50% were non-families. 22.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.30% under the age of 18, 15.70% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 19.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 101.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,313, and the median income for a family was $33,055. Males had a median income of $31,179 versus $19,494 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,542. About 21.20% of families and 26.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.50% of those under age 18 and 15.60% of those age 65 or over.

Religious Laws

In 1997 Kleberg County Commissioners unanimously voted to adopt "heaven-o" as the official greeting of the county, instead of "hello" cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20071215085841/http://www.mndaily.com/articles/1997/01/17/2982|title=Texas town says goodbye to 'hello'|publisher=The Minnesota Daily|accessdate=2008-09-07] . Kleberg County residents are now encouraged to use "heaven-o" to acknowledge one another. The reason cited for the change was the fact that hello contains the word hell, although it is not etymologically related.

Cities and towns

*Kingsville
*Corpus Christi(mainly in Nueces County)

Unincorporated Towns

*Riviera
*Ricardo
*Loyola Beach
*Vattmann

References

External links

* [http://www.co.kleberg.tx.us/ Kleberg County government's website]
*Handbook of Texas|id=KK/hck10|name=Kleberg County