Brazoria County

Brazoria County, Texas

Brazoria County, Texas

Oyster Creek near the town of English in Brazoria County, Texas. Photograph by DJmaschek.

Brazoria County, on the prairie of the Gulf Coast at the mouth of the Brazos River in Southeast Texas, is bordered by Matagorda, Fort Bend, Harris, and Galveston counties. It covers an area of 1,407 square miles. Its highest altitude, Damon Mound, is 146 feet above sea level. The center of the county lies at approximately 29°10' north latitude and 95°26' west longitude, near the county seat, Angleton. Other principal towns include Alvin, Amsterdam, Brazoria, Damon, Pearland, Rosharon, West Columbia, Holiday Lake, Old Ocean, Bailey's Prairie, Iowa Colony, Bonney, Hillcrest Village, Brookside Village, Danbury, Liverpool, Manvel, and Sweeny; the towns that constitute Brazosport include Clute, Freeport, Quintana, Oyster Creek, Jones Creek, Lake Jackson, Richwood, and Surfside Beach. Key county roads include State highways 6, 35, 36, and 288, and railroad service is provided by the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads. The annual rainfall is fifty-two inches, and the mean annual temperature is 69° F. Hurricanes and floods are common in the region, among the most notable being the hurricanes of 1854, 1900, 1909, 1915, 1932, 1941, Hurricane Carla in 1961, and the floods of 1899, 1913, 1915, 1929, and 1940. Soils in the county are chiefly alluvial loams and clays, and are highly productive when well drained. The growing season averages 309 days a year. In 1982, between 61 and 70 percent of the land was considered prime farmland. The principal streams flowing through Brazoria County into the Gulf of Mexico include the Brazos and San Bernard rivers, Oyster Creek, Bastrop Bayou, and Chocolate Bayou. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway crosses Brazoria County near the coast. The Brazos River divides the county into two sections; the western one-third is covered by hardwoods, and the rest is generally prairieland. Abundant groves of pin oak, cedar, live oak, mulberry, hackberry, ash, elm, cottonwood, and pecan trees grow in the river and creek bottoms, while cordgrasses, bunchgrasses, and sedges predominate in the coastal marshes. When settlers first arrived, wildlife was abundant, including deer, bear, turkey, and fish. Two major national wildlife refuges, the Brazoria and San Bernard, are close to the Gulf Coast in Brazoria County. In 1947 the county ranked fourth in state timber production. More recently, the petrochemical industry and mineral resources including oil, gas, sulfur, salt, lime, sand, and gravel, concentrated in the Damon Mound-West Columbia-Freeport area, have dominated the county economy. Magnesium is also extracted locally from seawater.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

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County Map of Texas

Brazoria County

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  • Brazoria County

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Brazoria County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

0 ft – 146 ft

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Noteworthy Place Type
Abercrombie Town
Adamston Town
Alvin Town
Amsterdam Town
Anchor Town
Angleton Town
Ashland Town
Bailey's Prairie Town
Ballowe Town
Bastrop Beach Town
Bell's Landing Town
Bennett's Bridge Town
Bennett's Ferry Town
Bethelder Town
Bolivar Town
Bond Town
Bonney Town
Brazoria Town
Brazoria Reservoir Lake
Brazosport Town
Brookside Village Town
Brown's Town
Bryan Mound Town
Buttermilk Station Town
Cedar Brakes Town
Cedar Grove Town
Chance's Prairie Town
Chenango Town
Chenango Junction Town
China Grove Town
Chocolate Bayou Town
Chocolate Springs Town
Churchill Town
Clemens Town
Clute Town
Columbia Town
Crosbyville Town
Custer Town
Damon Town
Danbury Town
Danciger Town
Demi-John Town
Dow Town
Duroc Town
Eagle Nest Lake Lake
East Columbia Town
Edmunds Town
El Bernardo Town
English Town
Ernies Acres Town
Floral Park Town
Follett's Island Town
Four Corners Town
Freeport Town
Freeport Town
Fruitland Town
Green Hill Town
Gulf Park Town
Gulf Prairie Town
Halls Bayou Town
Hasima Town
Hastings Town
Hillcrest Village Town
Hinds' Town
Hinkles Ferry Town
Holiday Lakes Town
Hoskins Town
Hoskins Junction Town
Iowa Colony Town
Jerusalem Town
Jones Creek Town
Jordan Town
Kiber Town
Lake Barbara Town
Lake Jackson Town
Lakeside Town
Las Playas Town
Laytonia Town
Linnville Town
Liveoak Community Town
Liverpool Town
Lochridge Town
Logan Town
Magnesium Town
Manvel Town
Marion Town
Mark Belt Town
Marmion Town
Masterson Town
McBeth Town
McNeel Town
Midway Town
Mims Town
Morgan Town
Mustang Lake East/West Lake
Oakland Town
Old Ocean Town
Orozimbo Town
Otey Town
Oyster Creek Town
Oyster Creek Town
Oyster Creek Town
Parker's Point Town
Pearland Town
Peerless Spur Town
Perry's Landing Town
Phair Town
Pomona Town
Port-Au-Prince Town
Quintana Town
Ramsey Town
Ranch Prairie Town
Rawls Town
Retrieve Town
Rhodes Town
Richwood Town
Rivers End Town
Roeville Town
Rosharon Town
Ross Town
Rowan Town
Roweville Town
San Bernard Reservoirs #1, #2, #3 Lake
San Bernardo Town
San Luis Town
Sandy Point Town
Snipe Town
Solitude Town
Stratton Town
Stratton Ridge Town
Sulphur Docks Town
Superior Town
Surfside Beach Town
Sweeny Town
Treasure Island Town
Tulsy Town
Turtle Cove Town
Van Pelt Town
Velasco Town
Velasco Town
Velasco Town
West Columbia Town
Wickes Spur Town
Wild Peach Town
William Harris Reservoir Lake
Woodland Town

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Brazoria County by the Numbers

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Population Counts

Brazoria County
Pop. Year Source
374,264 2019 United States Census Bureau

Civilian Labor Counts

Brazoria County
People Year Source
176,327 2019 Texas Workforce Commission

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Per Capita Income (USD) Year Source
$47,239 2019 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

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Property Values

Brazoria County
USD ($) Year Source
46,196,173,154 2019 State Property Tax Board

Retail Sales

Brazoria County
USD ($) Year Source
4,379,490,138 2019 State Comptroller of Public Accounts

Wages

Brazoria County
USD ($) Year Source
1,714,078,754 2019 Texas Workforce Commission

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Unemployment Percentage Year Source
9.5 2019 Texas Workforce Commission

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Rainfall (inches) Year Source
56.5 2019 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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Min. (January Average, °F) Max. (July Average, °F) Year Source
45.6 90.3 2019 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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Land Area

Brazoria County
Area (square miles) Year Source
1,357.7 2019 United States Census Bureau

Total Area

Brazoria County
Area (square miles) Year Source
1,608.6 2019 United States Census Bureau