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Galveston County, Texas

Galveston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate, the population was 283,987. Its county seat is Galveston. After Hurricane Ike extensively damaged the courthouse and jail in September 2008, the decision was made to temporarily move the county seat and county offices to the mainland communities of Texas City and League City, while repairs were being made. League City is the largest city in Galveston County in terms of population;

between 2000 and 2005 it surpassed Galveston as the county's largest city.

Geography

Galveston County is located on the plains of the Texas Gulf Coast in the southeastern part of the state. The county is bounded on the northeast by Galveston Bay and on the northwest by Clear Creek and Clear Lake. Much of the county covers Galveston Bay, and is bounded to the south by the Galveston Seawall and beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 873 square miles (2,261 km²), of which, 398 square miles (1,032 km²) of it is land and 474 square miles (1,229 km²) of it (54.35%) is water.

Major Highways

Adjacent counties

Harris County (north)
Chambers County (northeast)
Brazoria County (west)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 250,158 people, 94,782 households, and 66,157 families residing in the county. The population density was 628 people per square mile (242/km²). There were 111,733 housing units at an average density of 280 per square mile (108/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 72.69% White, 15.44% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.10% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 7.18% from other races, and 2.08% from two or more races. 17.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 94,782 households out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.40% were married couples living together, 13.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.70% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,419, and the median income for a family was $51,435. Males had a median income of $41,406 versus $28,703 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,568. About 10.10% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.60% of those under age 18 and 10.20% of those age 65 or over.

Congressional and Legislative Representation

United States Congress

Senators		Name	Party	First Elected	Level
	Senate Class 1	Kay Bailey Hutchison	Republican	1993	Senior Senator
	Senate Class 2	John Cornyn	Republican	2002	Junior Senator
Representatives		Name	Party	First Elected	Area(s) of Galveston County Represented
	District 14	Ron Paul	Republican	1996 (also served 1976-1977 and 1979-1985)	Galveston, Dickinson, League City, Kemah, most of Texas City
	District 22	Nick Lampson	Democratic	2006 (also served 1997-2005)	La Marque, Santa Fe, part of Texas City

Texas Legislature

Texas Senate

District		Name	Party	First Elected	Area(s) of Galveston County Represented
	11	Mike Jackson	Republican	1999	Galveston County Mainland and part of Galveston Island
	17	Kyle Janek	Republican	2002	Part of Galveston Island & all of Bolivar Peninsula

Texas House of Representatives

District		Name	Party	First Elected	Area(s) of Galveston County Represented
	23	Craig Eiland	Democrat	1994	Galveston, Jamaica Beach, Texas City, all of Bolivar Peninsula
	24	Larry Taylor	Republican	2002	Hitchcock, La Marque, Santa Fe, Dickinson, League City, Friendswood (Galveston County part), Algoa, Kemah, Clear Lake Shores

Communities

Cities

Villages

Tiki Island

Unincorporated areas

Education

School districts serving Galveston County communities are:

Higher Education

Galveston County is home to Texas A&M University at Galveston and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

Three community colleges also serve the area: College of the Mainland, Galveston College and San Jacinto College.

Public Libraries

The Galveston County Library System operates libraries in most of the larger towns and cities. The Rosenberg Library in Galveston has the distinction of being the oldest public library in Texas and serves as the headquarters for the Galveston County Library System. Its librarian also functions as the Galveston County librarian.

Political organization

The head of a Texas County, as set up in the Texas Constitution, is the County Judge, who sits as the chair of the county's Commissioners Court. As of 2007, this position in Galveston County is held by Judge James D. Yarbrough. The county is split into four geographical divisions called Precincts. Each precinct elects a Commissioner to sit as a representative of their precinct on the commissioners court and also for the oversight of county functions in their area.

Other elected positions in Galveston County include a County Clerk, a District Attorney, a District Clerk, a County Clerk, a Sheriff, nine Constables, a Tax Assessor-Collector, a County Treasurer, and every judge in the county except municipal judges, who are appointed by the officials of their respective cities.

Hospital services

Galveston County is served by a major medical complex in Galveston and a private for-profit hospital in Texas City.

The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston is a 1,200 bed, major medical complex of seven hospitals. The main general care hospital is John Sealy Hospital with other on-campus hospitals specializing in women, children, burn victims, geriatrics and psychiatrics. Currently, UTMB is certified as a Level I Trauma Center and serves as the lead trauma facility for the nine-county region in southeast Texas, including the Greater Houston area. The Mainland Medical Center, 233 bed, private, for-profit, hospital operates in Texas City.

Transportation

Scholes International Airport at Galveston , the county's sole publicly owned airport, is a two-runway airport located on Galveston Island in Galveston; the airport is primarily used for general aviation, offshore energy transportation, and some limited military operations.

Privately-owned airports for private use include:

Creasy Airport is in an unincorporated area
Kami-Kazi Airport is in an unincorporated area

The closest airport with regularly scheduled commercial service is William P. Hobby Airport located in Houston in adjacent Harris County. The closest airport with regularly scheduled international commercial service is George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston in Harris County.

Private heliports for private use include:

University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston has two heliports: one for Ewing Hall and one for its emergency room
Bay Electric Supply Heliport is in League City.
Republic Helicopters Heliport is in an unincorporated area, adjacent to Hitchcock

Rail

All rail traffic is currently industrial-related. Regularly scheduled passenger rail service in Galveston County ceased on April 11, 1967.

Mass transit

The City of Galveston is served by Island Transit, a public transportation agency.

Corrections

The Galveston County Jail is located at 5700 Avenue H in Galveston.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice and University of Texas Medical Branch manage health care facilities for prisoners in Galveston, Galveston County. The facilities include the co-gender Galveston Hospital for prisoners in Galveston and the Young Medical Facility Complex for females in Texas City.