Killeen, Texas
Killeen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Bell County. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal city of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area. Killeen is north of Austin, southwest of Dallas, and northeast of San Antonio.
Killeen is directly adjacent to the main cantonment of Fort Hood. Its economy depends on the activities of the post, and the soldiers and their families stationed there. It is known as a military "boom town" because of its rapid growth and high influx of soldiers.
History
In 1881, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway extended its tracks through central Texas, buying a few miles southwest of a small farming community known as Palo Alto, which had existed since about 1872. The railroad platted a 70-block town on its land and named it after Frank P. Killeen, the assistant general manager of the railroad. By the next year, the town included a railroad depot, a saloon, several stores, and a school. Many of the residents of the surrounding smaller communities in the area moved to Killeen. By 1884, the town had grown to include about 350 people, served by five general stores, two gristmills, two cotton gins, two saloons, a lumberyard, a blacksmith shop, and a hotel.Killeen expanded as it became an important shipping point for cotton, wool, and grain in western Bell and eastern Coryell Counties. By 1900, its population was about 780.
Around 1905, local politicians and businessmen convinced the Texas legislature to build bridges over Cowhouse Creek and other streams, doubling Killeen's trade area. A public water system began operation in 1914 and its population had increased to 1,300 residents.
Until the 1940s, Killeen remained a relatively small and isolated farm trade center. The buildup associated with World War II changed that dramatically. In 1942, Camp Hood was created as a military training post to meet war demands. Laborers, construction workers, contractors, soldiers, and their families moved into the area by the thousands, and Killeen became a military boomtown. The opening of Camp Hood radically altered the nature of the local economy, since the sprawling new military post covered almost half of Killeen's farming trade area.
The loss of more than 300 farms and ranches led to the demise of Killeen's cotton gins and other farm-related businesses. New businesses were started to provide services for the military camp. Killeen then suffered a recession when Camp Hood was all but abandoned after the end of World War II, but when Southern congressmen got it established in 1950 as a permanent army post, the city boomed again. Its population increased from about 1,300 in 1949 to 7,045 in 1950, and between 1950 and 1951, about 100 new commercial buildings were constructed in Killeen.
In addition to shaping local economic development after 1950, the military presence at Fort Hood also changed the city's racial, religious, and ethnic composition. No blacks lived in the city in 1950, for example. By the early 1950s, Marlboro Heights, an all-black subdivision, had been developed. In 1956, the city school board voted to integrate the local high school. The city's first resident Catholic priest, Father Francis Weber was assigned to the St. Joseph's parish in 1954, and around the same time, new Presbyterian and Episcopal churches were built.
By 1955, Killeen had an estimated 21,076 residents and 224 businesses. Troop cutbacks and transfers in the mid-1950s led to another recession in Killeen, which lasted until 1959, when various divisions were reassigned to Fort Hood. The town continued to grow through the 1960s, especially after US involvement deepened in the Vietnam War and demand for troops kept rising.
By 1970, Killeen had developed into a city of 35,507 inhabitants and had added a municipal airport, a new municipal library, and a junior college. By 1980, when the census counted 49,307 people in Killeen, it was the largest city in Bell County.
After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in the late summer of 1990, the city prepared for war, sending thousands of troops from the 2nd Armored Division and the 1st Cavalry Division to the Middle East.
On October 16, 1991, George Hennard murdered 23 people and then committed suicide at the Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen.
In December 1991, Killeen High School Kangaroos, won the 5-A Division I state football championship by defeating Sugar Land Dulles 14–10 in the Astrodome. The championship was a spirit lifting moment for a community that was hard hit from the October shooting as well as economic pain of troops still in the Middle East.
By 2000, the census listed Killeen's population as 86,911, and by 2010, it was over 127,000, making it one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation.
Numerous military personnel from Killeen have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As of April 2008, more than 400 of its soldiers had died in the two wars.
On November 5, 2009, only a few miles from the site of the Luby's massacre, a gunman opened fire on people at the Fort Hood military base with a handgun, killing 13 and wounding 32. Major Nidal Hasan, a career officer and psychiatrist, sustained four gunshot wounds after a brief shootout with a civilian police officer. He suffered paralysis from the waist down. He was arrested and convicted by a court-martial, where he was sentenced to death.
In 2011, Killeen got media attention from a new television series called Surprise Homecoming, hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus, about military families who have loved ones returning home from overseas.
On April 2, 2014, a second shooting spree occurred at several locations at Fort Hood. Ivan Lopez, a career soldier, killed three people and wounded 16 others before committing suicide.
In April of 2020, then Army Private First Class Vanessa Guillén was murdered on Fort Hood by fellow soldier Aaron Robinson. He buried her dismembered body near Stillhouse Hollow Lake. Killeen Police as well as Bell County Sheriff's deputies attempted to arrest Robinson in Killeen, but he killed himself before they could do so. The murder of the Houston native gained national attention.
Geography
Killeen is located in western Bell County and is bordered to the north by Fort Hood and to the east by Harker Heights. Killeen is west of Belton, the county seat and nearest access to Interstate 35.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and, or 1.24%, is covered by water.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Killeen has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Killeen was on September 4, 2000 and September 6, 2000, while the coldest temperature recorded was on December 23-24, 1989.Demographics
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % 2000 | % 2010 | ||
| White alone | 34,570 | 44,233 | 36,955 | 39.78% | 34.58% | 24.14% |
| Black or African American alone | 28,267 | 41,301 | 54,109 | 32.52% | 32.29% | 35.34% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 538 | 635 | 577 | 0.62% | 0.50% | 0.38% |
| Asian alone | 3,669 | 4,835 | 5,764 | 4.22% | 3.78% | 3.76% |
| Pacific Islander alone | 708 | 1,614 | 2,533 | 0.81% | 1.26% | 1.65% |
| Other Race alone | 310 | 312 | 1,132 | 0.36% | 0.24% | 0.74% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial | 3,380 | 5,646 | 10,600 | 3.89% | 4.41% | 6.92% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 15,469 | 29,345 | 41,425 | 17.80% | 22.94% | 27.06% |
| Total | 86,911 | 127,921 | 153,095 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 153,095 people, 54,840 households, and 36,735 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 53,913 housing units at an average density of.
Among the Hispanic population in 2010, 16,321 were of Mexican descent, 8,117 were of Puerto Rican descent, with a sizable population of Central Americans at 1,758.
There were 54,840 households, out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.2% under the age of 20, 38.7% from 20 to 39, 22.8% from 40 to 64, and 5.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,370, and the median income for a family was $36,674. The per capita income for the city was $20,095, compared to the national per capita of $39,997. About 11.2% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
In 2007, Coldwell Banker rated Killeen the most affordable housing market in the United States, with an average cost of $136,725.
Economy
According to the city's 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
| 1 | III Corps & Fort Hood | 32,000 |
| 2 | Military Defense Contractors & Others | 7,447 |
| 3 | Killeen Independent School District | 6,800 |
| 4 | Civilian Personnel Office | 6,200 |
| 5 | Central Texas College | 1,488 |
| 6 | City of Killeen | 1,173 |
| 7 | AdventHealth | 1,000 |
| 8 | First Community Services | 700 |
| 9 | Texas A&M University–Central Texas | 305 |
| 10 | Killeen Auto | 200 |
Killeen Mall serves as the city's main shopping destination, and one of two regional shopping malls in Bell County.