Kaufman was founded as "Kings Fort", named after Dr. William P. King who established the fort in 1840 after purchasing of land where the city is now located. The community was renamed "Kingsboro" after five years of growth. In 1852, Kingsboro was renamed "Kaufman" after the newly formed Kaufman County, which in turn was named after David S. Kaufman. Kaufman was the first place that Bonnie Parker, of Bonnie and Clyde fame, was incarcerated. Nearby Camp Kaufman was used as a German POW camp during World War II.
As of 2010 Kaufman had a population of 6,703. The median age was 32. The ethnic and racial composition of the population was 55.4% non-Hispanic white, 9.4% non-Hispanic black, 0.9% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 13.6% reporting some other race and 3.5% from two or more races. 32.6% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the census of 2000, there were 6,490 people, 2,179 households, and 1,579 families residing in the city. The population density was 977.9 people per square mile. There were 2,310 housing units at an average density of 348.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 47.83% White, 12.87% African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 15.92% from other races, and 2.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.74% of the population. There were 2,179 households, out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.39. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.4% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,250, and the median income for a family was $38,983. Males had a median income of $29,637 versus $23,695 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,024. About 12.4% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.
operates the Legacy Academy, a 6-12 charter school, in Kaufman. In addition, Kaufman Christian School, a church-run school with classes from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade, also serves the area.
Adelaida and Macario Cuellar, founders of El Chico restaurants, opened their first cafe in Kaufman. It was relocated to the Oak Lawn section of Dallas in 1940 and renamed El Chico.
Ted Healy, comedian, actor and discoverer of The Three Stooges; born in Kaufman in 1896
