Hill County, Texas


Hill County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35,089. Its county seat is Hillsboro. The county is named for George Washington Hill, secretary of war and secretary of the navy under the Republic of Texas. Hill County is part of Central Texas, though not included in Texas Hill Country.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Major highways

As of the census of 2000, there were 32,321 people, 12,204 households, and 8,725 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile. There were 14,624 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 84.16% White, 7.40% Black or African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 6.02% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 13.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 12,204 households out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.50% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.07.
A Williams Institute analysis of 2010 census data found there were about 3.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.90% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 24.90% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $31,600, and the median income for a family was $37,791. Males had a median income of $29,438 versus $20,765 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,514. About 11.90% of families and 15.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.70% of those under age 18 and 14.60% of those age 65 or over.

Media

Serving Hill County exclusively are media outlets KHBR Radio - 1560 AM and The Reporter newspaper.
Hill County is currently listed as part of the Dallas-Fort Worth DMA. Local media outlets include: KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, and KFWD-TV, although it is located in Central Texas and a neighboring county of the Waco metropolitan area. All of the Waco/Temple/Killeen market stations also provide coverage for Hill County. They include: KCEN-TV, KWTX-TV, KXXV-TV, KDYW, and KWKT-TV. Northland Cable Television continues to offer all of the above stations in Hillsboro.

Communities

Cities

Hill County, like most of the rural South, is currently overwhelmingly Republican. The last Democrat to carry Hill County was Bill Clinton in 1992. Before this, like most of Texas, Hill County was solidly Democratic: up to 1979 the county had voted Republican only against Catholic Al Smith in 1928 and against the extremely liberal George McGovern in 1972.