# Deaf Smith County, Texas

Deaf Smith County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,583. The county seat is Hereford, which is known as the "Beef Capital of the World". The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1890. The Hereford, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Deaf Smith County.

## History

In 1876, the state legislature defined and named the county, but it was not organized until 1890, with the town of La Plata as the original county seat. The county was named for Erastus "Deaf" Smith (1787–1837), a partially deaf scout and soldier who served in the Texas Revolution, and was the first to reach the Alamo after its fall in 1836. The pronunciation of "Deaf", as used by Smith himself, is /diːf/ DEEF; however, most residents pronounce it /dɛf/ DEF.
* Deaf Smith as he appears at the Deaf Smith County Museum
* The Deaf Smith County Historical Museum in Hereford
* The Deaf Smith County Library formerly housed the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame on the ground floor. The museum is now located in a new building in the Historic District of Fort Worth.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,498 sq mi (3,880 km$^2$), of which 1,497 sq mi (3,880 km$^2$) are land and 1.5 sq mi (3.9 km$^2$) (0.1%) are covered by water.

### Major highways

* Interstate 40
* U.S. Highway 60
* U.S. Highway 385
* State Highway 214

### Adjacent counties

* Oldham County (north)
* Potter County (northeast)
* Randall County (east)
* Castro County (southeast)
* Parmer County (south)
* Curry County, New Mexico (southwest/Mountain Time Zone)
* Quay County, New Mexico (west/Mountain Time Zone)

## Demographics

Deaf Smith County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. :
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 7,491 | 5,939 | 4,233 | 40.36% | 30.66% | 22.78% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 247 | 158 | 107 | 1.33% | 0.82% | 0.58% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 61 | 52 | 47 | 0.33% | 0.27% | 0.25% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 37 | 56 | 44 | 0.20% | 0.29% | 0.24% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 7 | 29 | 40 | 0.04% | 0.15% | 0.22% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 60 | 97 | 187 | 0.32% | 0.50% | 1.01% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 10,654 | 13,039 | 13,925 | 57.40% | 67.31% | 74.93% |
| Total | 18,561 | 19,372 | 18,583 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the census of 2000, 18,561 people, 6,180 households, and 4,832 families resided in the county. The population density was 12 people/sq mi (4.6 people/km$^2$). The 6,914 housing units averaged 5 per square mile (1.9/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 72.28% White, 1.51% African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 22.92% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. About 57.40% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 6,180 households, 41.00% had children under 18 living with them, 61.00% were married couples living together, 12.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.80% were not families. Around 19.70% of all households was made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.41.
In the county, the age distribution was 33.30% under 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 19.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.
The median income for a household was $29,601, and for a family was $32,391. Males had a median income of $26,090 versus $19,113 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,119. About 19.30% of families and 20.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.30% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.

## Infrastructure

The headquarters of the Deaf Smith Electric Cooperative are located in Hereford. The cooperative provides electricity for Deaf Smith, as well as Castro, Parmer, and Oldham Counties.

## Communities
### City

* Hereford (county seat)

### Unincorporated communities

* Dawn
* Ford
* Glenrio (partly in Quay County, New Mexico)
* Milo Center
* Simms
* Westway

### Ghost towns

* Ayr
* Bootleg
* Kelso
* La Plata

## Politics

United States presidential election results for Deaf Smith County, Texas :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 3,233 | 75.43% | 1,019 | 23.78% | 34 | 0.79% |
| 2020 | 3,294 | 71.45% | 1,264 | 27.42% | 52 | 1.13% |
| 2016 | 2,911 | 69.05% | 1,185 | 28.11% | 120 | 2.85% |
| 2012 | 3,042 | 70.60% | 1,239 | 28.75% | 28 | 0.65% |
| 2008 | 3,466 | 73.06% | 1,247 | 26.29% | 31 | 0.65% |
| 2004 | 4,139 | 78.23% | 1,133 | 21.41% | 19 | 0.36% |
| 2000 | 3,687 | 73.98% | 1,240 | 24.88% | 57 | 1.14% |
| 1996 | 3,051 | 60.44% | 1,655 | 32.79% | 342 | 6.77% |
| 1992 | 3,137 | 56.43% | 1,642 | 29.54% | 780 | 14.03% |
| 1988 | 3,744 | 65.39% | 1,930 | 33.71% | 52 | 0.91% |
| 1984 | 4,762 | 75.79% | 1,485 | 23.64% | 36 | 0.57% |
| 1980 | 4,073 | 69.46% | 1,666 | 28.41% | 125 | 2.13% |
| 1976 | 2,776 | 51.08% | 2,613 | 48.08% | 46 | 0.85% |
| 1972 | 3,690 | 73.67% | 1,240 | 24.76% | 79 | 1.58% |
| 1968 | 2,474 | 52.49% | 1,545 | 32.78% | 694 | 14.73% |
| 1964 | 1,793 | 46.01% | 2,094 | 53.73% | 10 | 0.26% |
| 1960 | 2,024 | 60.44% | 1,299 | 38.79% | 26 | 0.78% |
| 1956 | 1,685 | 55.16% | 1,361 | 44.55% | 9 | 0.29% |
| 1952 | 2,468 | 70.86% | 1,006 | 28.88% | 9 | 0.26% |
| 1948 | 535 | 25.61% | 1,496 | 71.61% | 58 | 2.78% |
| 1944 | 508 | 28.14% | 1,117 | 61.88% | 180 | 9.97% |
| 1940 | 423 | 25.68% | 1,219 | 74.01% | 5 | 0.30% |
| 1936 | 142 | 10.24% | 1,236 | 89.11% | 9 | 0.65% |
| 1932 | 198 | 13.16% | 1,307 | 86.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1928 | 570 | 58.10% | 411 | 41.90% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 192 | 25.16% | 538 | 70.51% | 33 | 4.33% |
| 1920 | 205 | 30.78% | 459 | 68.92% | 2 | 0.30% |
| 1916 | 77 | 17.04% | 356 | 78.76% | 19 | 4.20% |
| 1912 | 21 | 7.81% | 221 | 82.16% | 27 | 10.04% |

## Education

School districts:
* Adrian Independent School District
* Friona Independent School District
* Hereford Independent School District
* Vega Independent School District
* Walcott Independent School District
* Wildorado Independent School District
All of the county is in the service area of Amarillo College.