Local Government

Texas has 254 counties, a number which has not changed since 1931 when Loving County was organized. Loving County had a population of 60 according to the 2006 estimate by the State Data Center, compared with 164 in 1970 and a peak of 285 in 1940. It is the least-populous county in Texas. In contrast, Harris County has the most residents in Texas, with a 2006 population estimate of 3,886,207.

Erich Schlegel

Houston skyline.

Counties range in area from Rockwall's 148.7 square miles to the 6,192.78 square miles in Brewster, which is equal to the combined area of the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The Texas Constitution makes a county a legal subdivision of the state. Each county has a commissioners court. It consists of four commissioners, each elected from a commissioner's precinct, and a county judge elected from the entire county. In smaller counties, the county judge retains judicial responsibilities in probate and insanity cases.

There are 1,208 incorporated Texas municipalities ranging in size from 32 residents in Los Ybanez to Houston's 2,085,737, according to the State Data Center's 2006 estimate. More than 80 percent of the state's population lives in cities and towns meeting the U.S. Census Bureau definition of urban areas.

Texas had 327 municipalities with more than 5,000 population, according to State Data Center 2006 estimates.