Tarrant County, Texas


Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 U.S. census population of 2,110,640, making it the third-most populous county in Texas and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County, one of 26 counties created out of the Peters Colony, was established in 1849 and organized the next year. It is named after Edward H. Tarrant, a lawyer, politician, and militia leader.
The ancestral homelands of Native American tribes: Caddo, Tonkawa, Comanche, and Cherokee covered Tarrant County. The Native American tribes resisted settlement and fought to defend their land. The Battle of Village Creek is a well-known battle that took place in Tarrant County.
WWW co.tarrant.tx.us

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of, of which is land and, or 4.3%, is water.

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities in multiple counties

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Historical census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Historical communities

Ghost towns

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Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

Race / Ethnicity Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010% 1990% 2000% 2010
[Non-Hispanic or Race (United States Census)|Latino whites|White] alone 857,272895,253937,135904,88473.26%61.90%51.80%42.87%
Black or African American alone 138,302182,713262,522358,64511.82%12.63%14.51%16.99%
Asian alone 28,67652,05783,378127,7832.45%3.60%4.61%6.05%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 4,9215,9717,0377,0330.42%0.41%0.39%0.33%
Pacific Islander alone N/A2,0422,9384,147N/A0.14%0.16%0.20%
Other race alone 1,0531,5402,4918,3210.09%0.11%0.14%0.39%
Mixed race or Multiracial N/A21,35330,55678,920N/A1.48%1.69%3.74%
Hispanic or Latino 139,879285,290482,977620,90711.95%19.73%26.70%29.42%
Total1,170,1031,446,2191,809,0342,110,640100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

Population history

Since the 1850 United States census, Tarrant County has experienced population growth except for the 1870 census; in 1850, the county had a population of 664, growing to 1,170,103 at the 1990 census. By the 2020 census, the county's population grew to 2,110,640. Tarrant County is the second-most populous county in the Metroplex, behind Dallas County.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,110,640. The median age was 35.2 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 49.5% White, 17.4% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 6.1% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 11.9% from some other race, and 14.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 29.4% of the population.
Meanwhile, 42.87% of residents were non-Hispanic white, 29.42% were Hispanic or Latino American of any race, 16.99% were Black or African American, 6.05% were Asian alone, 0.33% were American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.20% were Pacific Islander, 0.39% were some other race, and 3.74% were multiracial.
Its increasing racial and ethnic diversity has reflected growing trends of diversification in Texas.
98.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.2% lived in rural areas.
There were 760,739 households in the county, of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.3% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 808,364 housing units, of which 5.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 58.7% were owner-occupied and 41.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.3%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were about 5.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.

2000 census

In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 71.2% White, 12.8% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 9.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races; 19.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
In 2000, there were 533,864 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.22.
In 2000, 28.1% of the county's population was under the age of 18, 10.0% was from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $46,179, and the median income for a family was $54,068. Males had a median income of $38,486 versus $28,672 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,548. About 8.0% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. According to the 2021 census estimates, the median income for a household in the county was $71,346.

American Community Survey 2023 data

The United States Census Bureau estimated that in 2023, Tarrant County’s population was 2,182,947. It was also estimated that the county's population was 42.2% Non-Hispanic White, 30.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Non-Hispanic Black, 6.2% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 2.2% Multiracial.

Government, courts, and politics

Government

Tarrant County, like all Texas counties, is governed by a Commissioners Court. The court consists of the county judge, who is elected county-wide and presides over the full court, and four commissioners, who are elected in each of the county's four precincts.
In May 2025, when there were two Democrats and two Republicans on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, County Judge Tim O'Hare declared that the ongoing process of redistricting Tarrant County precincts was "purely 100% about partisan politics", as he detailed that "my plan and what I campaigned on openly and publicly, dating as far back as May 2021", is to "pass a map that guarantees, or comes as close as you can to guarantee, three Republican commissioners" in Tarrant County out of four, as O'Hare thought that "Tarrant County would be better served if we have strong Republican leadership".

County services

The JPS Health Network operates the John Peter Smith Hospital and health centers.
Countywide law enforcement is provided by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and Tarrant County Constable's Office. All cities in the county provide their own police services, with three exceptions: Westlake contracts service from the Keller Police Department, and Haslet and Edgecliff Village contract service from the Sheriff's Office. DFW Airport, the Tarrant County Hospital District, and the Tarrant Regional Water District also provide their own police forces.
Since the disbandment of the North Tarrant County Fire Department, no countywide firefighting services exist. All municipalities provide their own fire departments. Most cities also operate their own ambulances, with two notable exceptions: Fort Worth and 14 other Tarrant County cities are served by the Metropolitan Area EMS Authority, a governmental administrative agency established under an interlocal operating agreement and operating as MedStar Mobile Health, while the city of Arlington contracts paramedic apparatus from private entity American Medical Response.
Fire and EMS protection in unincorporated portions of Tarrant County is governed by the Tarrant County Emergency Services District #1, which administers contracts with 17 fire departments and has mutual aid agreements with eight additional fire departments.
CareFlite air ambulance services operate from Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.
As of 2021, Tarrant County was the largest county by population in the United States with no public defender.

Politics

Since the 1950s, Tarrant County has been very conservative for an urban county, and is one of the most populous Republican-leaning counties in the nation. However, it elected Democrat Jim Wright to 17 terms as U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House, and Wright was succeeded by fellow Democrat Pete Geren. The county has become more competitive since the 2010s, and has voted to the left of Texas as a whole.
Beginning in 2016, the Democratic Party rebounded to represent a larger portion of the political profile and made huge gains in Tarrant County, concentrated in several areas throughout the county: eastern Euless, Grand Prairie and eastern and southern Arlington, northern and western areas of Mansfield, large portions of Fort Worth, particularly the area surrounding the Stockyards and Meacham Airport, southern and eastern Fort Worth, especially in dense metro areas and along I-35W, and Forest Hill.
Republicans are dominant in many of the rural areas of the county, downtown and western Fort Worth and north of Loop 820, and almost all suburban areas including Benbrook, rural Mansfield areas and western Arlington, Haltom City, Mid-Cities, and the northern suburbs. Tarrant County has consistently voted Republican in gubernatorial elections since 1994.
The county has leaned Republican in United States Senate races since Democrat Lloyd Bentsen's 1988 victory, but in 2018 and 2024 Democratic U.S. Senate candidates carried Tarrant, though both lost statewide to incumbent Ted Cruz.
Joe Biden carried the county with 49.3% in the 2020 presidential election, the first win for a Democratic presidential ticket in Tarrant County since Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and the closest such race in the county since at least 1912. Biden's margin over Trump was 1,826 votes; the next closest margin was in 1976, when Republican Gerald Ford carried Tarrant by 2,146 votes over Democrat Jimmy Carter. Many other suburban Texas counties, including Tarrant's immediate neighbors Denton and Collin, as well as those around Houston and Austin, showed similar trends between 2016 and 2020. However, in the 2024 election Tarrant County moved back in the Republican column, supporting Trump over Kamala Harris, 51.8% to 46.7%. This was still to the left of the state as a whole, which voted for Trump 56.1% to 42.4% in 2024.
From the 1893 beginning of U.S. House District 12, there have been two Republicans in 127 years elected to the U.S. House for the western half of Tarrant County; from the 1875 inception of U.S. House District 6, there have been three Republicans in 145 years elected to the U.S. House for the eastern portion of Tarrant County, including former congressman and senator Phil Gramm's election as both a Democrat and a Republican after he switched parties in 1983 to run for re-election. The first Republican elected to the State Senate from Tarrant County since Reconstruction was Betty Andujar in 1972.

Education

Colleges and universities

Under the Texas Education Code, Tarrant County is the entire official service area of Tarrant County College.
Universities in Tarrant County include:

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools in Texas are organized into independent school districts and charter schools. Tarrant County is also home to dozens of private high schools and nearly 100 lower-level private schools.

Independent school districts

Those serving the county include:
Masonic Home Independent School District formerly served a part of the county. In 2005 it merged into FWISD.

Charter schools

Private schools

Transportation

Major highways

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Airports

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is partially in the cities of Grapevine and Euless in Tarrant County and Irving in Dallas County.
Alliance Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located north of the central business district of Fort Worth on Interstate-35W. Billed as the world's first purely industrial airport, it was developed in a joint venture between the City of Fort Worth, the Federal Aviation Administration and Hillwood Development Company, a real estate development company owned by H. Ross Perot Jr. Alliance Airport has 9600' and 8200' runways.
Fort Worth Meacham International Airport is located at the intersection of Interstate 820 and U.S. Business Highway 287 in northwest Fort Worth, 5 miles from the downtown business district. Meacham International Airport has two parallel runways.
Fort Worth Spinks Airport is located 14 miles south of the downtown business district. The airport is located at the intersection of Interstate-35W and HWY 1187 and serves as a reliever airport for Fort Worth Meacham International Airport and Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport.