Ballinger is a city in Runnels County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,243 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Runnels County. Ballinger calls itself "The Greatest Little Town in Texas."

Ballinger is the birthplace of former nationally syndicated entertainment columnist Lane Crockett (born 1942, who was primarily affiliated with the Shreveport Times. He has been called the "prince of performance critics."

George E. "Buddy" West, a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Odessa who served from 1993—2008, was born in Ballinger in 1936.

Ballinger is also known as the home of the 2003 3A High School Girls Cross Country State Champions.

Geography

Ballinger is located at (31.740907, -99.953832).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.7 km²), of which, 3.3 square miles (8.7 km²) of it is land and 0.30% is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,243 people, 1,578 households, and 1,093 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,266.7 people per square mile (489.0/km²). There were 1,879 housing units at an average density of 560.9/sq mi (216.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.68% White, 2.14% African American, 0.71% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 14.52% from other races, and 2.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.28% of the population.

There were 1,578 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,129, and the median income for a family was $31,393. Males had a median income of $24,207 versus $18,951 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,917. About 14.3% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 25.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

• Ballinger, Texas - official website

• Entry for William P. Ballinger, for whom Ballinger was named, from the Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas published 1880, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.