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Leon County
Leon County
County
	The Leon County Courthouse in Centerville was originally built of slate brick in 1887. Two previous structures have occupied the current site.
	Location within the U.S. state of Texas
	Texas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 31°18′N 96°00′W / 31.3°N 96°W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1846
Named for	Martín de León
Seat	Centerville
Largest city	Buffalo
Area
• Total	1,081 sq mi (2,800 km2)
• Land	1,073 sq mi (2,780 km2)
• Water	7.5 sq mi (19 km2) 0.7%
Population (2020)
• Total	15,719
• Density	15/sq mi (5.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	17th
Website	www.co.leon.tx.us

Leon County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 15,719.^[1] Its county seat is Centerville.^[2]

History

The legislature of the Republic of Texas authorized Leon County in 1846 from part of Robertson County, and named it in honor of Martín de León, the founder of Victoria, Texas. However, local tradition holds that it is named for a yellow wolf of the region commonly called the león (Spanish for lion). The county was organized that same year, with its first county seat at Leona. In 1851, the county seat was moved to Centerville, since Leona was in the far southern part of the county.

The 1886 Leon County Courthouse was designed by architect George Edwin Dickey of Houston, incorporating remnants of an earlier 1858 courthouse that was destroyed by fire. The courthouse was rededicated on July 1, 2007, following a full restoration to a 1909 date.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,081 square miles (2,800 km²), of which 1,073 square miles (2,780 km²) are land and 7.5 square miles (19 km²) (0.7%) are covered by water.^[4]

Major highways

Additionally, State Highway OSR runs along the south and southwestern county line of Leon County, where it borders with Madison County.

Adjacent counties

Freestone County (north)
Anderson County (northeast)
Houston County (east)
Madison County (south)
Robertson County (west)
Limestone County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	1,946	—
1860	6,781	248.5%
1870	6,523	−3.8%
1880	12,817	96.5%
1890	13,841	8.0%
1900	18,072	30.6%
1910	16,583	−8.2%
1920	18,286	10.3%
1930	19,898	8.8%
1940	17,733	−10.9%
1950	12,024	−32.2%
1960	9,951	−17.2%
1970	8,738	−12.2%
1980	9,594	9.8%
1990	12,665	32.0%
2000	15,335	21.1%
2010	16,801	9.6%
2020	15,719	−6.4%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5] 1850–2010^[6] 2010^[7] 2020^[8]

**Leon 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^[9]	Pop 2010^[7]	Pop 2020^[8]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	12,366	13,078	11,659	80.64%	77.84%	74.17%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,583	1,181	921	10.32%	7.03%	5.86%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	45	57	54	0.29%	0.34%	0.34%
Asian alone (NH)	23	75	111	0.15%	0.45%	0.71%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	1	2	6	0.01%	0.01%	0.04%
Other Race alone (NH)	12	1	47	0.08%	0.01%	0.30%
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH)	92	147	475	0.60%	0.87%	3.02%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	1,213	2,260	2,446	7.91%	13.45%	15.56%
Total	15,335	16,801	15,719	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census^[10] of 2000, 15,335 people, 6,189 households, and 4,511 families were residing in the county. The population density was 14 people/sq mi (5.4 people/km²). The 8,299 housing units averaged 8 units per square mile (3.1 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.53% White, 10.39% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 4.50% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. About 7.91% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 6,189 households, 28.20% had children under 18 living with them, 60.20% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were not families. About 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.46, and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the age distribution was 24.3% under 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,981, and for a family was $38,029. Males had a median income of $32,036 versus $19,607 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,599. About 12.60% of families and 15.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.20% of those under age 18 and 14.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Towns

Normangee (small part in Madison County)
Oakwood (small part in Freestone County)

Census-designated place

Hilltop Lakes

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Egypt

Politics

Leon County is so heavily Republican that in 2014 none of the statewide GOP nominees fell below 87 percent of the votes cast.^[11]

United States presidential election results for Leon County, Texas^[12]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	7,982	87.90%	1,033	11.38%	66	0.73%
2020	7,523	86.62%	1,072	12.34%	90	1.04%
2016	6,391	85.91%	909	12.22%	139	1.87%
2012	5,814	83.53%	1,062	15.26%	84	1.21%
2008	5,566	79.05%	1,418	20.14%	57	0.81%
2004	5,023	73.88%	1,754	25.80%	22	0.32%
2000	4,362	68.95%	1,893	29.92%	71	1.12%
1996	2,839	51.01%	2,217	39.83%	510	9.16%
1992	2,212	40.16%	2,042	37.07%	1,254	22.77%
1988	2,778	54.31%	2,316	45.28%	21	0.41%
1984	3,207	63.66%	1,821	36.15%	10	0.20%
1980	1,821	44.93%	2,190	54.03%	42	1.04%
1976	1,161	35.60%	2,085	63.94%	15	0.46%
1972	1,699	66.16%	863	33.61%	6	0.23%
1968	659	21.43%	1,536	49.95%	880	28.62%
1964	642	21.24%	2,373	78.52%	7	0.23%
1960	868	32.34%	1,803	67.18%	13	0.48%
1956	1,079	45.99%	1,260	53.71%	7	0.30%
1952	1,266	40.66%	1,842	59.15%	6	0.19%
1948	184	10.89%	1,231	72.84%	275	16.27%
1944	140	7.38%	1,569	82.67%	189	9.96%
1940	252	9.69%	2,349	90.31%	0	0.00%
1936	97	5.25%	1,748	94.69%	1	0.05%
1932	108	5.20%	1,958	94.32%	10	0.48%
1928	543	38.59%	862	61.27%	2	0.14%
1924	311	12.99%	2,004	83.71%	79	3.30%
1920	220	10.58%	1,124	54.06%	735	35.35%
1916	335	22.70%	979	66.33%	162	10.98%
1912	191	13.93%	856	62.44%	324	23.63%