Jefferson County, TX

County

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2024 Population

253,878

US Senator

John Cornyn

Republican Party

US Senator

Ted Cruz

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

0.27% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

19.5%

3.86% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$60,026

0.154% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$169,500

6.2% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

103,897

0.0713% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Jefferson County, TX reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

92.5% of the residents in Jefferson County, TX are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Jefferson County, TX are Lamar University (5,676 degrees awarded in 2023), Lamar Institute of Technology (1,092 degrees), and Lamar State College-Port Arthur (650 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Jefferson County, TX was $169,500, and the homeownership rate was 62.5%.

Most people in Jefferson County, TX drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 21.2 minutes. The average car ownership in Jefferson County, TX was 2 cars per household.

Jefferson County, TX borders Cameron Parish, LA, Chambers County, TX, Hardin County, TX, Liberty County, TX, and Orange County, TX.

About the photo: Spindletop Well Replica, Beaumont, TX

Photo by Roy Luck

United States Texas Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX

Population & Diversity

Jefferson County, TX is home to a population of 254k people, from which 92.5% are citizens. As of 2024, 12.1% of Jefferson County, TX residents were born outside of the country (30.8k people).

In 2024, there were 1.11 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (92.2k people) in Jefferson County, TX than any other race or ethnicity. There were 83.1k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 28.2k Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

92.5%

2024 Citizenship

92.4%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 92.5% of Jefferson County, TX residents were US citizens, which is lower than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Jefferson County, TX was 92.4%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Jefferson County, TX compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Jefferson County, TX

White (Non-Hispanic)
92.2k ± 793
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
83.1k ± 838
Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
28.2k ± 2.23k

24.1%

Hispanic Population

61.2k people

24.1% of the people in Jefferson County, TX are hispanic (61.2k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Jefferson County, TX as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Texas.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
2,397,739 ± 36,447 people
India
325,248 ± 13,925 people
El Salvador
221,729 ± 11,517 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Texas was Mexico, the natal country of 2,397,739 Texas residents, followed by India with 325,248 and El Salvador with 221,729.

Foreign-Born Population

12.1%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

30.8k people

12.1%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

30.8k people

As of 2024, 12.1% of Jefferson County, TX residents (30.8k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Jefferson County, TX was 12.1%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Jefferson County, TX compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
3,496 ± 440
Gulf War (2001-)
3,076 ± 514
Gulf War (1990s)
2,262 ± 376

Jefferson County, TX has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.14 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Jefferson County, TX.

Economy

The economy of Jefferson County, TX employs 104k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Jefferson County, TX were Health Care & Social Assistance (13,846 people), Construction (12,349 people), and Manufacturing (10,783 people), and the highest paying industries were Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($94,552), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($90,163), and Management of Companies & Enterprises ($82,643).

Employment

Occupations

104k

2024 Value

± 2,949

0.0713%

1 Year growth

± 4.01%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Jefferson County, TX grew at a rate of 0.0713%, from 104k employees to 104k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Jefferson County, TX, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (10,506 people), Sales & Related Occupations (9,875 people), and Construction & Extraction Occupations (9,161 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Jefferson County, TX.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Texas.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Texas (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

104k

2024 Value

± 2,949

0.0713%

1 Year growth

± 4.01%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Jefferson County, TX grew at a rate of 0.0713%, from 104k employees to 104k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Jefferson County, TX, are Health Care & Social Assistance (13,846 people), Construction (12,349 people), and Manufacturing (10,783 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Jefferson County, TX, though some of these residents may live in Jefferson County, TX and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$52,061

Median earning men ± $1,493

$35,969

Median earning women ± $1,303

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($91,096), Manufacturing ($79,554), and Public Administration ($65,849).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($59,388), Manufacturing ($56,935), and Public Administration ($52,422).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Texas.

Y-Axis

4.59%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 13.8M people employed in Texas. This represents a 4.59% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 9.63%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Texas.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

422
Retail Trade
400
Health Care and Social Assistance
341
Other Services (except Public Administration)

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$1.54M
Manufacturing
$1.03M
Construction
$758k
Health Care and Social Assistance

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Texas went to Donald J. Trump with 56.1% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (42.5%), followed by Jill Stein (0.726%).

John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are the senators currently representing the state of Texas. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Texas is currently represented by 38 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Jefferson County, TX. Showing the available data for Texas.

2024 Election Results

Donald J. Trump (56.1%)
Republican Party
Kamala Harris (42.5%)
Democratic Party
Jill Stein (0.726%)
Green Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Texas went to Donald J. Trump with 56.1% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (42.5%), followed by Jill Stein (0.726%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Texas for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Texas

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Texas.

John Cornyn

Senator from Texas

Assumed office on December 2, 2002
Phil Gramm resigned (effective November 30, 2002) a few weeks before the expiration of his term in hopes that his successor, fellow Republican John Cornyn, could gain seniority over other newly elected senators. However, Cornyn did not gain additional seniority due to a 1980 Rules Committee policy.

Ted Cruz

Senator from Texas

Assumed office on January 3, 2013

John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are the senators currently representing Texas.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Texas over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

Education

In 2023, universities in Jefferson County, TX awarded 7,543 degrees. The student population of Jefferson County, TX in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 10,174 male students and 16,518 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Jefferson County, TX are White (3,184 and 45%), Black or African American (1,804 and 25.5%), Hispanic or Latino (1,681 and 23.7%), and Asian (221 and 3.12%).

The largest universities in Jefferson County, TX by number of degrees awarded are Lamar University (5,676 and 75.2%), Lamar Institute of Technology (1,092 and 14.5%), and Lamar State College-Port Arthur (650 and 8.62%).

The most popular majors in Jefferson County, TX are General Educational Leadership & Administration (1,441 and 19.1%), General Business Administration & Management (574 and 7.61%), and Counseling Psychology (514 and 6.81%).

The median tuition cost in Jefferson County, TX for a public four year colleges is $6,228 for in-state students and $16,020 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2023 in Jefferson County, TX, the percentage of applicants admitted was 85.7%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 25%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 26,692 (38.1% men and 61.9% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 26,692 students enrolled in Jefferson County, TX, 38.1% men and 61.9% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 9,259 records, of which 62.8% were women and 37.2% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Business Administration & Management
424 degrees awarded
General Educational Leadership & Administration
1,008 degrees awarded
Counseling Psychology
514 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Masters Degree recipients in Jefferson County, TX was General Business Administration & Management with 424 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Masters Degree from schools in Jefferson County, TX according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Lamar University
5,676 degrees awarded
Lamar Institute of Technology
1,092 degrees awarded
Lamar State College-Port Arthur
650 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Lamar University with 5,676 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 2,615 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Jefferson County, TX, which is 0.531 times less than the 4,928 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 3,184 degrees mean that there were 1.76 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 1,804 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Public, 4-year or above ($6,228) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($2,676) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($1,694) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Jefferson County, TX was $169,500 in 2024, which is 0.509 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $159,600 to $169,500, a 6.2% increase. The homeownership rate in Jefferson County, TX is 62.5%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Jefferson County, TX have an average commute time of 21.2 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Jefferson County, TX is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 15% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Jefferson County, TX. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 0.77%.

Housing

Property

$169,500

Median Property Value 2024

±$4,123

$59,256

Median Property Taxes

±$1,910

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Jefferson County, TX the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Jefferson County, TX compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

62.5%

Homeownership

2024

64.3%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 62.5% of the housing units in Jefferson County, TX were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 61.8%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Jefferson County, TX compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$60,026

Median Household Income

± $1,694

94.8k

Number of Households

± 2,595

In 2024, the median household income of the 94.8k households in Jefferson County, TX grew to $60,026 from the previous year's value of $59,934.

The following chart displays the households in Jefferson County, TX distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Jefferson County, TX is from Texas.

0.475

2023 Wage GINI in Texas

0.476

2022 Wage GINI in Texas

In 2023, the income inequality in Texas was 0.475 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.208% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Texas was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Texas in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Texas across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (85.7%)
Carpooled (7.81%)
Worked At Home (3.39%)

In 2024, 85.7% of workers in Jefferson County, TX drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (7.81%) and those who worked at home (3.39%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

21.2 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Jefferson County, TX have a shorter commute time (21.2 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.75% of the workforce in Jefferson County, TX have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Jefferson County, TX compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Jefferson County, TX distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Jefferson County, TX have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 15% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Jefferson County, TX. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 0.77%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

19.5% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Jefferson County, TX (46.4k out of 238k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 35 - 44 and then Females 18 - 24.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Jefferson County, TX is Black, followed by Hispanic and White.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 23.6% of the children was living in poverty in Jefferson County, TX. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 8.1%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 707 in Jefferson County, TX. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator grew 69.9 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

79.4% of the population of Jefferson County, TX has health coverage, with 37.6% on employee plans, 18.5% on Medicaid, 12.4% on Medicare, 9.73% on non-group plans, and 1.25% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Jefferson County, TX see 2,097 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,097 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1539 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 721 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.2% were men and 50.8% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

2,097 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Jefferson County, TX

Primary care physicians in Jefferson County, TX see an average of 2,097 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,097 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Jefferson County, TX in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 27.2% under 18 years, 21% between 18 and 34 years, 36.1% between 35 and 64 years, and 15.7% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.2% were men and 50.8% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

20.6%

Uninsured

37.6%

Employer Coverage

18.5%

Medicaid

12.4%

Medicare

9.73%

Non-Group

1.25%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Jefferson County, TX declined by 3.43% from 21.3% to 20.6%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Jefferson County, TX changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 71.6 in Jefferson County, TX.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Jefferson County, TX.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 38.1% in Jefferson County, TX.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Jefferson County, TX.