Williamson County, Texas

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




map size = 250
founded = March 13, 1848
seat = Georgetown | area_total_sq_mi =1135
area_land_sq_mi =1123
area_water_sq_mi =12
area percentage = 1.05%
census yr = 2007
pop = 373363
density_mi2 =332
web = wilco.org
|

Williamson County (known colloquially as "Willco") is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. In 2000, the population was 249,967 and by the 2007 Census estimated it had grown to 373,363, a 49.4% increase [ [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48491.html State & County QuickFacts, U.S. Census Bureau] ] . Its county seat is GeorgetownGR|6. The county is named for Robert McAlpin Williamson, a leader and veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/WW/fwi42.html Robert McAlpin Williamson Handbook of Texas entry] ] .

Growth

Williamson County has been growing at a fast rate for several years now due to its location just north of Austin. In fact, parts of Austin's city limits extend into southern Williamson County. Most of the growth has been residential but large companies, such as Dell have also become a part of the area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,135 square miles (2,939 km²), of which, 1,123 square miles (2,908 km²) of it is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) of it (1.05%) is water. Western parts of the county are considered to be within the eastern fringes of Texas Hill Country and offer residents and visitors with rolling, open lands and an abundance of Texas Live Oak, Prickly Pear Cactus and Karst topography. Eastern parts of the county consist of flatter, more fertile lands for agriculture but are quickly being developed as the county's population continues to increase and expand out.

Major Highways

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Adjacent counties

*Bell County (north)
*Milam County (northeast)
*Lee County (east)
*Bastrop County (southeast)
*Travis County (south)
*Burnet County (west)

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 249,967 people, 86,766 households, and 66,983 families residing in the county. The population density was 223 people per square mile (86/km²). There were 90,325 housing units at an average density of 80 per square mile (31/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.41% White, 5.12% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American, 2.64% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 7.19% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. 17.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.9% were of German, 9.8% English, 8.8% American and 8.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 86,766 households out of which 43.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.00% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.80% were non-families. 17.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the county, the population was spread out with 30.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 35.60% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 7.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $60,642, and the median income for a family was $66,208. Males had a median income of $43,471 versus $30,558 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,547. About 3.40% of families and 4.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.40% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.

Williamson County Flag

The stars on the flag surrounding the state of Texas represent the thirty-three viable communities identified by Clara Stearns Scarbrough in her 1973 book, Land of Good Water. In 1970, these communities ranged in population from twenty people in Norman's Crossing to more than 10,000 residents in Taylor. It is difficult to establish how many communities exist in Williamson County today, because the determination of "community" is subjective and without set criteria. However, in Williamson County in 2004, there were 11 towns with populations of over 1,000 people and seven towns with populations above 5,000.

Courtesy of the Williamson County Commissioner's Court

Communities

*unincorporated community

Austin is primarily in Travis County and Thorndale is primarily in Milam County. Bartlett lies on the line between Williamson and Bell counties. Cedar Park, Leander, and Round Rock extend into Travis County. Jollyville, Brushy Creek and Serenada are not communities as such but were census-designated places in 2000.

Newspapers

The newspapers that serve Williamson County include the "Round Rock Leader", "Williamson County Sun", "Taylor Daily Press", "Hutto News", "Hill Country News", "Liberty Hill Independent", "Tribune-Progress" and " [http://www.impactnews.com/ Community Impact Newspaper] ". [Ben Trollinger. (2006) Cox to purchase Round Rock Leader, "The Williamson County Sun", October 18, 2006]

Education

The following school districts serve Williamson County:

*Bartlett ISD (partly in Bell County, small portion in Milam County)
*Burnet Consolidated ISD (mostly in Burnet County, small portion in Llano County)
*Coupland ISD (very small portion in Travis County)
*Florence ISD (small portion in Bell County)
*Georgetown ISD
*Granger ISD
*Hutto ISD
*Jarrell ISD
*Leander ISD (partly in Travis County)
*Lexington ISD (mostly in Lee County, very small portion in Milam County)
*Liberty Hill ISD
*Round Rock ISD (small portion in Travis County)
*Taylor ISD
*Thrall ISD
*Thorndale ISD (mostly in Milam County)

References

External links

Government & Non-Profit Sites
* [http://www.wilco.org/ Williamson County government's website]
* [http://www.wcad.org/ Williamson Central Appraisal District web site]
* [http://www.wchm-tx.org/ Williamson County Historical Museum]
* [http://www.wchm-tx.org/communities.htm Williamson County Historical Museum Communities]
* [http://www.wchm-tx.org/photos.htm Williamson County Historical Museum Photos]
*Read [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-5827:330 Robert M. Williamson's entry] in the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-5827 Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas] hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History] .
*Handbook of Texas|id=WW/hcw11|name=Williamson County

Blogs and other sites
* [http://eyeonwilliamson.org/ Eye on Williamson - Liberal political blog]
* [http://www.williamsonrepublic.com/ Williamson Republic conservative political blog]
* [http://www.npsot.org/WilliamsonCounty/ Williamson County chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas]
*Williamson County [http://www.wilcowx.com Weather and Climate Data]