Galveston County, Texas

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Galveston County, TX

Galveston County is a county in the state of Texas in the United States of America (USA). It has a total area of 874 sq mi (2,264 km2), with land occupying 378 sq mi (979 km2), and water occupying 495 sq mi (1,282 km2)

History

Galveston County was formally established under the Republic of Texas on May 15, 1838 and joined the United States of America in 29 December 1845. During this time, Galveston County was the leading producer of cotton.

On August 27, 1900, a storm was detected out in the Atlantic. On September 3, the storm reached the Gulf of Mexico before intensifying over the course of the next 5 days. On September 8, the storm escalated into a category 4 hurricane and made landfall on Galveston shores. There were multiple warnings of the hurricane approaching in that time, but the most of the 40,000 population ignored the warning. This lead to one of the United States’ deadliest natural disasters, claiming an estimate of 6000 lives. Galveston’s low-lying city was not able to withstand the strong winds and water. Many homes and businesses were demolished in the hurricane, including the port that gave Galveston’s dominance in the cotton trade and industry. After the hurricane, the country’s status as a shipping hub was lost to Houston in a span of a few years.

In the early 20th century after the hurricane, Galveston became a gambling, illegal alcohol trading and prostitution hub. This was further fuelled by loose regulations and the booming oil industry in Texas, where the wealthy often patronised such establishments.

Tourism took a hit in 1950 when enforcement and laws were tightened. This resulted in the closing of gambling, illegal alcohol and prostitution establishments. New opportunities opened when NASA’s Johnson Space Centre decided to establish their presence near Clear Lake and Harris Country. This made many people leave the Galveston island, which caused the economy to deteriorate. Fortunately, tourism today has rebounded for both mainland and Galveston island and the state is now known to be an industrious city.

Economy

The economy of Galveston County, Texas consists of approximately 150,643 people under employment. The largest industry in the county is Healthcare & Social Assistance at 22,631 people, followed by Educational Services at 14,254 people. The top 3 highest paying industries are Management of Enterprises at $185,046, Mining, Quarrying, Oil and Gas Extraction at $83,932, and Utilities at $65,074.

Households in Galveston County earn more than the median annual income in the United States of America with a median of $69,190. The country’s income inequality of 0.49 is also higher than the national average. Men in Galveston County earn 1.44 times higher than the average income of $44,197 made by women.

Diversity According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2015 census, the county has a population of 322,225 people, with 94.8% of them being citizens. The population comprises of various ethnic compositions with 57.7% being White residents, 24% being Hispanic residents, 12.7% being Black residents, 2.61% being Asian residents, and the remaining from mixed or other ethnicities.

Aside the English language, foreign languages are also spoken by the people in Galveston Country in the states of Texas. The most common foreign languages include Spanish (with an estimated 44,934 speakers), Vietnamese (with an estimated 2,035 speakers), and French (with an estimated 1,225 speakers). In comparison to other places in the United States of America, the country in Texas has a relatively high number of Urdu, Vietnamese and Spanish speakers, at an estimate of 811, 2,035, and 44,934 speakers, respectively.

Education

The largest universities in Galveston County defined by number of graduates are The University of Texas Medical Branch at 1,195 graduates (54.4%), College of the Mainland at 564 graduates (25.7%), and Galveston College at 437 graduates (19.9%). Popular
majors taken up by registered students in universities are General Studies at 260 graduates (11.8%), Registered Nursing at 83 graduates (3.78%), and Chemical Technology at 78 graduates (3.55%).

Health and Safety

In Galveston County, men and women within the ages of 6 to 17 are most likely to have healthcare coverage that includes insurance, Medicare coverage, and state and county level health and safety. For every 67 patients within the county, there is 1 primary clinician to tend to their medical needs. Other clinician to patient ratios include 41 patients to 1 dentist and 96 to 1 mental health specialist.

Housing and Living

The median property value is $174,700 at Galveston County in the states of Texas. This median property value is 0.9 times smaller than the national average of $194,500. Home ownership rates within the county are at 67.7%, which is higher than the national average of 63%. A majority of the citizens living in Galveston Country commute by driving alone, and have an average commute time of 27.5 minutes. Each household owns an average of 2 cars – approximately the same amount as the average of all other American households.