Jefferson County, Texas Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Jefferson County, TX Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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C
Health Below averageLess healthy than 80% of counties in Texas
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D
Income Well below average
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D
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Jefferson County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 253,852 | 30,160,889 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 228.2 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.04% | 1.41% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 38.1 | 35.9 | 37.3 |
| Households | 94,796 | 10,982,153 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Jefferson County grew by 4.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 253,852 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Jefferson County is Millennials, aged 29–44, at 22.0% of residents. That is 1.0 points below Texas as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 55,344 21.8% -1.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 55,732 22.0% -1.0 pts
- Gen X 45–60 48,407 19.1% -0.4 pts
- Boomers 61–79 39,857 15.7% +2.5 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Texas, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 48.8% of the people living in Jefferson County and men 51.2%.
- Women 48.8% Texas 50.1%
- Men 51.2% Texas 49.9%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Jefferson County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Jefferson County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Jefferson County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $60,035 | $78,939 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.71% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.3% | 5.2% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Jefferson County is about 24% lower than in Texas.
Housing
| Metric | Jefferson County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $293,936 | $258,873 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,116 | $1,402 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 62.5% | 62.6% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Jefferson County is about 21.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,116 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Jefferson County spend about 37 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 155 hours, about 6.5 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Jefferson County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 18.6 | 22.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 37.3 | 45.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 155 | 190 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,812 | $5,888 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 3.4% | 14.4% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 9,961 | 9,879 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,424 | 1,441 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Texas:
Loving County (3.2 min), King County (5.8 min), Terrell County (6.5 min).
Slowest:
Bandera County (38.6 min), San Jacinto County (35.9 min), Liberty County (33.6 min).
The average commute time in Jefferson County is 19 minutes, shorter than the 23 minutes in Texas.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Jefferson County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Jefferson County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 18.3% | 29.3% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.52 | 2.69 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Texas:
Collin County (0.4), Travis County (0.4), Fort Bend County (0.4).
Lowest:
Kenedy County (0.0), Hudspeth County (0.1), La Salle County (0.1).
Health
Jefferson County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Jefferson County | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 74.9 | 78.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 22.3% | 21.1% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 21.6% | 19.9% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Texas:
Collin County (0.8), Travis County (0.8), Denton County (0.8).
Lowest:
Starr County (0.7), Brooks County (0.7), Presidio County (0.7).
Jefferson County, TX Compared With Nearby Counties
Jefferson County, TX is the 2nd largest of the 6 counties compared here, 253,852 residents against a local median of 85,306. Where Jefferson County, TX breaks from the counties next to it is median home price, sitting 43% above the local median of $205,288 at $293,936.
Commute tells the same story from another angle: 18.6 min against a local median of 28.6 min, 35% below it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: commute runs ahead of the neighbourhood while median household income runs behind it, so Jefferson County, TX is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The counties themselves spread $165,267 on median home price, so Jefferson County, TX sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Jefferson County, TX has the highest median home price of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, TX | 253,852 | $60,035 #6/6 | $293,936 #1/6 | 18.6 min #1/6 |
| Orange County, TX | 85,306 | $72,306 | $116,668 | 22.1 min |
| Hardin County, TX | 57,642 | $76,037 | $281,935 | 30.4 min |
| Chambers County, TX | 51,498 | $105,539 | $205,288 | 28.6 min |
| Liberty County, TX | 103,380 | $67,670 | $236,949 | 33.6 min |
| Galveston County, TX | 358,877 | $87,798 | $173,067 | 23.5 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Jefferson County, Texas.
What is the population of Jefferson County, Texas?
About 253,852 people live in Jefferson County, Texas, in 94,796 households of 2.5 people on average. The median age is 38.1, close to the U.S. median of 37.3.
Is Jefferson County, Texas mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Jefferson County, Texas has 228 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 2.6 times the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in Jefferson County, Texas?
The median home costs 4.9 times the median household income ($293,936 against $60,035), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,116 a month takes about 22% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How educated are people in Jefferson County, Texas?
18.3% of adults in Jefferson County, Texas hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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