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Zapata County
Zapata County
County
	The front of the Zapata County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Texas
	Texas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 27°00′N 99°11′W / 27°N 99.18°W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	January 22, 1858
Named for	Colonel José Antonio de Zapata
Seat	Zapata
Largest community	Zapata
Area
• Total	1,058 sq mi (2,740 km2)
• Land	998 sq mi (2,580 km2)
• Water	60 sq mi (200 km2) 5.6%
Population (2020)
• Total	13,889
• Density	13/sq mi (5.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	28th
Website	www.co.zapata.tx.us

Zapata County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 13,889.^[1] Its county seat is Zapata.^[2] The county is east of the Mexico–United States border and is named for Colonel José Antonio de Zapata, a rancher in the area who rebelled against Mexico.

Zapata County comprises the Zapata, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The South Texas Oil Boom included wells drilled in Zapata County in the early 1920s through the work of Laredo industrialist Oliver Winfield Killam, a Missouri native who once served as an Oklahoma state legislator.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,058 square miles (2,740 km²), of which 998 square miles (2,580 km²) is land and 60 square miles (160 km²) (5.6%) is water.^[3] It is located in the Rio Grande Valley, on the shore of Falcon International Reservoir. It was previously linked to Mexico by an international bridge, but this was flooded when the Falcon Dam and reservoir was built. It is now linked to Mexico by the Falcon Dam Port of Entry.

Major highways

Adjacent counties and municipalities

National protected area

Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	1,248	—
1870	1,488	19.2%
1880	3,636	144.4%
1890	3,562	−2.0%
1900	4,760	33.6%
1910	3,809	−20.0%
1920	2,929	−23.1%
1930	2,867	−2.1%
1940	3,916	36.6%
1950	4,405	12.5%
1960	4,393	−0.3%
1970	4,352	−0.9%
1980	6,628	52.3%
1990	9,279	40.0%
2000	12,182	31.3%
2010	14,018	15.1%
2020	13,889	−0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[4] 1850–2010^[5] 2010–2020^[6] 2020^[1]

**Zapata 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^[7]	Pop 2010^[8]	Pop 2020^[9]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	1,771	861	796	14.54%	6.14%	5.73%
Black or African American alone (NH)	22	11	9	0.18%	0.08%	0.06%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	8	16	7	0.07%	0.11%	0.05%
Asian alone (NH)	17	28	16	0.14%	0.20%	0.12%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	1	0	0	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Other race alone (NH)	0	6	16	0.00%	0.04%	0.12%
Mixed race or Multiracial alone (NH)	35	12	46	0.29%	0.09%	0.33%
Hispanic or Latino	10,328	13,084	12,999	84.78%	93.34%	93.59%
Total	12,182	14,018	13,889	100%	100%	100%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,889 people, 4,689 households, and 3,254 families residing in the county.

As of the census^[10] of 2000, there were 12,182 people, 3,921 households, and 3,164 families residing in the county. Zapata County is estimated to be the eleventh fastest growing county (+15.8%) in the state of Texas since the year 2000 (based on % of population change). The population density was 12 people per square mile (4.6 people/km²). There were 6,167 housing units at an average density of 6 units per square mile (2.3 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.07% White, 0.41% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 12.64% from other races, and 2.33% from two or more races. 84.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,921 households, out of which 43.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.20% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.30% were non-families. 17.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.52.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 33.00% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 24.10% from 25 to 44, 18.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,635, and the median income for a family was $26,722. Males had a median income of $26,294 versus $14,579 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,486. About 29.30% of families and 35.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.10% of those under age 18 and 21.30% of those age 65 or over. According to the 2020 US Census Zapata County is 55% Catholic, 5.8% Evangelical Protestant, 2.4% Mormon, 1.5% Jehovah's Witnesses, 0.4% Mainline Protestant, and 35% other or None.^[11]

Government and politics

In the majority of U.S. presidential elections, Zapata County supported Democratic Party candidates. However, on three occasions, it gave record-setting margins to Republican presidential nominees, when it delivered the highest percentage of the vote of any county in the nation to them. First in 1896, when it gave 96.3% of the vote to William McKinley, though he lost Texas as a whole (with 30.8% of the statewide popular vote), but won the national election (with 51.0% of the nationwide popular vote). The second time in 1908, when William Howard Taft won 99.1% of the vote in the county, despite losing the state to Democrat William Jennings Bryan (and receiving just 22.4% of the statewide vote), but winning the national election (with 51.6% of the nationwide popular vote). The third and final time was in 1912, when it again gave then-incumbent President Taft 80.9% with it being his best county in the nation, but against the state and nation's preference for the Democratic victor, Woodrow Wilson (in the popular vote, Taft only received 9.5% statewide and 23.2% nationwide).

It voted Republican for President (Warren G. Harding) in 1920, and then consistently voted Democratic until 2020, when Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Joe Biden 52%-47%, about the same as the statewide margin.^[12] Zapata was the most Hispanic county to vote for Trump in 2020, as well as the county with the lowest non-Hispanic white population to do so. In 2024, this trend continued, with Trump receiving nearly 61% of the vote in the county.

United States presidential election results for Zapata County, Texas^[13]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,965	60.97%	1,874	38.54%	24	0.49%
2020	2,033	52.48%	1,826	47.13%	15	0.39%
2016	1,029	32.75%	2,063	65.66%	50	1.59%
2012	997	28.14%	2,527	71.32%	19	0.54%
2008	919	32.07%	1,939	67.66%	8	0.28%
2004	1,228	42.37%	1,662	57.35%	8	0.28%
2000	953	36.43%	1,638	62.61%	25	0.96%
1996	521	21.27%	1,786	72.90%	143	5.84%
1992	866	26.65%	2,052	63.16%	331	10.19%
1988	958	30.56%	2,171	69.25%	6	0.19%
1984	1,214	43.34%	1,577	56.30%	10	0.36%
1980	874	41.01%	1,218	57.16%	39	1.83%
1976	462	27.47%	1,216	72.29%	4	0.24%
1972	695	47.51%	768	52.49%	0	0.00%
1968	251	20.71%	909	75.00%	52	4.29%
1964	135	11.77%	1,009	87.97%	3	0.26%
1960	260	27.81%	675	72.19%	0	0.00%
1956	637	41.80%	886	58.14%	1	0.07%
1952	526	46.02%	616	53.89%	1	0.09%
1948	414	39.54%	632	60.36%	1	0.10%
1944	43	7.86%	501	91.59%	3	0.55%
1940	495	38.70%	784	61.30%	0	0.00%
1936	34	10.76%	282	89.24%	0	0.00%
1932	24	8.14%	271	91.86%	0	0.00%
1928	19	6.03%	296	93.97%	0	0.00%
1924	197	39.56%	300	60.24%	1	0.20%
1920	98	66.22%	50	33.78%	0	0.00%
1916	214	89.17%	26	10.83%	0	0.00%
1912	199	100.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%

Education

All of Zapata County is a part of the Zapata County Independent School District.^[14] Residents are zoned to Laredo Community College.^[15]

Communities

There are no incorporated areas in Zapata County, hence there are no municipal governments.

Census-designated places

Gallery

19th century Los Corralitos Building relocated from Zapata County to the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock in West Texas
The western side of the Jesus Trevino Rancho building in the San Ygnacio Historic District; note the structural similarity to Los Corralitos Building
A two-story historic residence in San Ygnacio on U.S. Highway 83 business route
Entrance to Zapata County Cemetery from Farm-to-Market Road 496