Rockwall County was formed in 1873 from portions of Kaufman County. It split off because access to the county seat of Kaufman was inconvenient. It was named for its county seat, Rockwall. Rockwall county also is home to the great rock wall which is no longer in public view today.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of, of which is land and is water. It is the smallest county by area in Texas.
As of the census of 2000, there were 43,080 people, 14,530 households, and 11,972 families residing in the county. The population density was 334 people per square mile. There were 15,351 housing units at an average density of 119 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 89.17% White, 3.24% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.45% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. 11.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 14,530 households out of which 44.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.00% were married couplesliving together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.60% were non-families. 14.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.23. In the county, the population was spread out with 30.10% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 8.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $65,164, and the median income for a family was $71,448. Males had a median income of $49,636 versus $32,410 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,573. About 3.80% of families and 4.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.60% of those under age 18 and 4.10% of those age 65 or over. Rockwall County was ranked the sixth fastest-growing county in the nation by the US Census Bureau from 2000 to 2010, adding 35,257 people.
Education
The following school districts serve Rockwall County:
From circa 1997 and 2015 the number of non-Hispanic white children in K-12 schools in the county increased by 6,000 as part of a trend of white flight and suburbanization by non-Hispanic white families.
Prior to 1972, Rockwall County was a Democratic Party stronghold. The 1968 election was highly transitional for the county with Hubert Humphrey only winning with 39% of the vote thanks to the strong third-party candidacy of George Wallace. From 1972 on, the county has become a Republican stronghold. George H.W. Bush in 1992 has been the only Republican to fail to win a majority in the county since then, as the strong third-party candidacy of Ross Perot that year led him to a second-place finish in the county over national winner Bill Clinton. However, the county was represented in Congress by a Democrat as late as January 2004, when Representative & Rockwall resident Ralph Hall, a conservative Democrat, switched parties and became a Republican.
