Nolan County, Texas


Nolan County is a county located in the west-central region of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,738. Its county seat is Sweetwater. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1881. It is named for Philip Nolan, one of the first American traders to visit Texas. Nolan County comprises the Sweetwater micropolitan statistical area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which are covered by water.
Nolan County is in the Cross Timbers region for wildlife management. Geologically Nolan County occupies part of the Rolling Plains in the North and South, separated by an isolated part of the Edwards Plateau in much of the center. The uplifted plateau, rising up to 500 feet above the surrounding plains, gives Nolan county an advantage on production of wind energy.
West of , the , at 2607 feet above sea level, is listed as the highest point in Nolan County.
Plateau areas of the Cretaceous Period and much of the county are underlain by petroleum deposits from the Pennsylvanian Period.

Major highways

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 14,738 and a median age of 40.0 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.8 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 69.4% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 10.5% from some other race, and 13.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 36.3% of the population.
70.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 29.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 5,857 households in the county, of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.5% were married-couple households, 20.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 7,123 housing units, of which 17.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 66.2% were owner-occupied and 33.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 17.4%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 15,802 people, 6,170 households, and 4,288 families resided in the county. The population density was. The 7,112 housing units averaged. The racial makeup of the county was 78.45% White, 4.68% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 14.02% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. About 28.04% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 6,170 households, 32.20% had children under 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 12.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were not families. Around 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county, the population was distributed as 27.10% under 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $26,209, and for a family was $32,004. Males had a median income of $28,674 versus $19,335 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,077. About 18.30% of families and 21.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.50% of those under age 18 and 18.50% of those age 65 or over.

Wind power

Nolan County has established itself as a center for wind power generation. As of July 2008, Nolan County generated more wind energy than the entire state of California, and would have ranked sixth in the world for wind power generation if it were counted as its own country. In 2013, there were more than 13,000 operational wind turbines.
A branch of Texas State Technical College, near Sweetwater, offers the first community-college program for wind energy in Texas beginning in 2007. Wind energy investments in the county of about $3 billion since 1999 have resulted in about 1,330 direct wind-related jobs created in Nolan County alone, with almost $18,000,000 in annual landowner royalties and over $12,000,000 in annual local school taxes, and about $1.7 million more in county property taxes. The majority of investments come from Epplament Energy, E.ON, Invenergy, Lestis Private Capital Group, NextEra, and Lattner Energy.
Nolan County is a hub of the Public Utility Commission's $5 billion CREZ wind-energy transmission line expansion project in Texas.

Communities

Cities

Nolan County is part of the 71st district for elections to the Texas House of Representatives. The Republican state representative Stan Lambert represents the district which also covers Callahan, Jones and Taylor Counties.

Education

School districts include:
The Texas Legislature designated the county as being in the Western Texas College District.