Lamar County, TX

County

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2024 Population

50,669

US Senator

John Cornyn

Republican Party

US Senator

Ted Cruz

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

39.7

0.75% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

19%

1.4% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$61,880

1.24% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$200,700

14.4% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

22,948

0.438% 1-year decline

About

None of the households in Lamar 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.

98.1% of the residents in Lamar County, TX are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Lamar County, TX are Paris Junior College (1,674 degrees awarded in 2023).

In 2024, the median property value in Lamar County, TX was $200,700, and the homeownership rate was 66.1%.

Most people in Lamar County, TX drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 19.4 minutes. The average car ownership in Lamar County, TX was 2 cars per household.

Lamar County, TX borders Bryan County, OK, Choctaw County, OK, Delta County, TX, Fannin County, TX, and Red River County, TX.

United States Texas Paris, TX

Population & Diversity

Lamar County, TX is home to a population of 50.7k people, from which 98.1% are citizens. As of 2024, 4.5% of Lamar County, TX residents were born outside of the country (2.28k people).

In 2024, there were 5.94 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (36.1k people) in Lamar County, TX than any other race or ethnicity. There were 6.09k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 1.94k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.1%

2024 Citizenship

98%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 98.1% of Lamar County, TX residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Lamar County, TX was 98%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Lamar County, TX

White (Non-Hispanic)
36.1k ± 229
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
6.09k ± 432
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
1.94k ± 348

9.61%

Hispanic Population

4.87k people

9.61% of the people in Lamar County, TX are hispanic (4.87k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Lamar 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

4.5%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

2.28k people

4.4%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

2.22k people

As of 2024, 4.5% of Lamar County, TX residents (2.28k 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 Lamar County, TX was 4.4%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
902 ± 343
Vietnam
809 ± 198
Gulf War (1990s)
372 ± 187

Lamar County, TX has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.11 times greater than any other conflict.

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

Economy

The economy of Lamar County, TX employs 22.9k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Lamar County, TX were Health Care & Social Assistance (3,704 people), Retail Trade (3,010 people), and Educational Services (2,614 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($85,878), Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($73,676), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($62,188).

Employment

Occupations

22.9k

2024 Value

± 1,288

−0.438%

1 Year decline

± 7.88%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Lamar County, TX declined at a rate of −0.438%, from 23k employees to 22.9k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Lamar County, TX, are Management Occupations (2,995 people), Sales & Related Occupations (2,344 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (2,177 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Lamar 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

22.9k

2024 Value

± 1,288

−0.438%

1 Year decline

± 7.88%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Lamar County, TX declined at a rate of −0.438%, from 23k employees to 22.9k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Lamar County, TX, are Health Care & Social Assistance (3,704 people), Retail Trade (3,010 people), and Educational Services (2,614 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Lamar County, TX, though some of these residents may live in Lamar County, TX and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$47,145

Median earning men ± $2,983

$33,540

Median earning women ± $1,617

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($63,194), Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($57,759), and Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($54,343).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($62,076), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($52,199), and Public Administration ($45,286).

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

91
Retail Trade
88
Construction
86
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

$295k
Manufacturing
$163k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$99.9k
Retail Trade

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 Lamar 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 Lamar County, TX awarded 1,674 degrees. The student population of Lamar County, TX in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 1,770 male students and 2,686 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Lamar County, TX are White (1,047 and 64.1%), Hispanic or Latino (378 and 23.1%), Black or African American (114 and 6.98%), and Two or More Races (41 and 2.51%).

The largest universities in Lamar County, TX by number of degrees awarded are Paris Junior College (1,674 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Lamar County, TX are Liberal Arts & Sciences (415 and 24.8%), Welding Technology (233 and 13.9%), and General English Language & Literature (184 and 11%).

Admissions & Enrollments

Enrollments by Gender and Races

In 2023 there were 4,456 students enrolled in Lamar County, TX, 39.7% men and 60.3% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 2,590 records, of which 60.6% were women and 39.4% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Health Services
120 degrees awarded
General Studies
119 degrees awarded
Registered Nursing
58 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Associates Degree recipients in Lamar County, TX was General Health Services with 120 degrees awarded.

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

Universities

Gender

Race

Paris Junior College

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

1,674 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Paris Junior College with 1,674 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

In 2023, 739 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Lamar County, TX, which is 0.79 times less than the 935 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 1,047 degrees mean that there were 2.77 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 378 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

Public, 2-year ($3,330) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($750) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($1,500) 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 Lamar County, TX was $200,700 in 2024, which is 0.603 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $175,500 to $200,700, a 14.4% increase. The homeownership rate in Lamar County, TX is 66.1%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Lamar County, TX have an average commute time of 19.4 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Lamar County, TX is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 16.9% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Lamar County, TX. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 3.36%.

Housing

Property

$200,700

Median Property Value 2024

±$15,488

$13,226

Median Property Taxes

±$938

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 Lamar County, TX the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

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

Rent vs Own

66.1%

Homeownership

2024

63.4%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 66.1% of the housing units in Lamar County, TX were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 65.8%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Lamar 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.

$61,880

Median Household Income

± $4,398

20k

Number of Households

± 1,157

In 2024, the median household income of the 20k households in Lamar County, TX grew to $61,880 from the previous year's value of $61,122.

The following chart displays the households in Lamar 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 Lamar 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 (77%)
Carpooled (10.9%)
Worked At Home (9.01%)

In 2024, 77% of workers in Lamar County, TX drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (10.9%) and those who worked at home (9.01%).

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

19.4 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Lamar County, TX have a shorter commute time (19.4 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 2.82% of the workforce in Lamar County, TX have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Lamar 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 Lamar County, TX distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Lamar County, TX have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 16.9% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Lamar County, TX. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 3.36%.

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

Poverty & Diversity

19% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Lamar County, TX (9.46k out of 49.9k 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 35 - 44, followed by Males 55 - 64 and then Females 6 - 11.

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

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, 28.7% of the children was living in poverty in Lamar County, TX. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 4.4%.

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 386 in Lamar County, TX. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 27.6 per 100,000 population.

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

Health

80.7% of the population of Lamar County, TX has health coverage, with 34% on employee plans, 15.9% on Medicaid, 14.5% on Medicare, 14.8% on non-group plans, and 1.55% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Lamar County, TX see 2,277 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,277 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 2019 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 799 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.6% were men and 51.4% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

2,277 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Lamar County, TX

Primary care physicians in Lamar County, TX see an average of 2,277 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (2,277 patients).

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

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 25.2% under 18 years, 19.9% between 18 and 34 years, 35.7% between 35 and 64 years, and 19.2% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.6% were men and 51.4% were women.

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

Uninsured People

19.3%

Uninsured

34%

Employer Coverage

15.9%

Medicaid

14.5%

Medicare

14.8%

Non-Group

1.55%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Lamar County, TX grew by 1.46% from 19% to 19.3%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Lamar 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 74.5 in Lamar County, TX.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Lamar 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 38.6% in Lamar County, TX.

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