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Kaufman County
Kaufman County
County
	The Kaufman County Courthouse in Kaufman
	Location within the U.S. state of Texas
	Texas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 32°36′N 96°17′W / 32.6°N 96.28°W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	February 1848
Named for	David Spangler Kaufman
Seat	Kaufman
Largest city	Forney
Area
• Total	808 sq mi (2,090 km2)
• Land	781 sq mi (2,020 km2)
• Water	27 sq mi (70 km2) 3.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	145,310
• Density	180/sq mi (70/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.kaufmancounty.net

Kaufman County is a county in the northeastern area of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 145,310.^[1] Its county seat is Kaufman.^[2] Both the county, established in 1848, and the city were named for David S. Kaufman, a U.S. Representative and diplomat from Texas. Kaufman County is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Western artist Frank Reaugh moved from Illinois to Kaufman County in 1876. There he was directly inspired for such paintings as The Approaching Herd (1902).^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 808 square miles (2,090 km²), of which 781 square miles (2,020 km²) are land and 27 square miles (70 km²) (3.3%) are covered by water.^[4] Located in the northeast portion of Texas, it is bounded on the southwest by the Trinity River, and drained by the east fork of that stream.^[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Hunt County (north)
Van Zandt County (east)
Henderson County (south)
Ellis County (southwest)
Dallas County (west)
Rockwall County (northwest)

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

Combine (partly in Dallas County)
Dallas (mostly in Dallas County with small parts in Collin, Denton, Rockwall and Kaufman counties)
Heath (mostly in Rockwall County)
Mesquite (mostly in Dallas County)
Poetry (partly in Hunt County)
Seagoville (mostly in Dallas County)
Seven Points (mostly in Henderson County)

Cities

Towns

Villages

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	1,047	—
1860	3,936	275.9%
1870	6,895	75.2%
1880	15,448	124.0%
1890	21,598	39.8%
1900	33,376	54.5%
1910	35,323	5.8%
1920	41,276	16.9%
1930	40,905	−0.9%
1940	38,308	−6.3%
1950	31,170	−18.6%
1960	29,931	−4.0%
1970	32,392	8.2%
1980	39,015	20.4%
1990	52,220	33.8%
2000	71,313	36.6%
2010	103,350	44.9%
2020	145,307	40.6%
2023 (est.)	185,690	27.8%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1850–2010^[7] 2020^[8]

**Kaufman 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^[10]	Pop 2020^[8]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	54,424	73,328	78,626	76.32%	69.98%	54.11%
Black or African American alone (NH)	7,472	10,571	21,541	10.48%	10.23%	14.82%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	369	551	623	0.52%	0.53%	0.43%
Asian alone (NH)	330	869	2,107	0.46%	0.84%	1.45%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	12	32	70	0.02%	0.03%	0.05%
Other Race alone (NH)	54	69	435	0.08%	0.07%	0.30%
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH)	727	1,382	5,743	1.02%	1.34%	3.95%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	7,925	17,548	36,168	11.11%	16.98%	24.89%
Total	71,313	103,350	145,310	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

According to the census of 2000,^[11] 71,313 people, 24,367 households, and 19,225 families were residing in the county. The population density was 91 per square mile (35/km²). Its 26,133 housing units averaged 33 per square mile (13/km²). In 2020, the population was 145,310.^[8] According to the 2000 census, the racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 81.10% White, 10.53% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 5.68% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. About 11.11% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. By the 2020 census, its racial and ethnic makeup was 54.11% non-Hispanic white, 14.82% African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.45% Asian American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.30% some other race, 3.95% multiracial, and 24.89% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.

American Community Survey 2023 Data

The United States Census Bureau estimated that in 2023, Kaufman County’s population was 185,690. It was also estimated that the county was 28.1% Hispanic or Latino, 46.6% NH White, 20.8% NH Black, 2.2% NH Asian, 0.4% NH Native American, 0.1% NH Pacific Islander, 1.9% NH Multiracial.^[12]

Race	Total	Percentage
Hispanic or Latino	52,087	28.1%
NH White	86,611	46.6%
NH Black	38,535	20.8%
NH Asian	4,061	2.2%
NH Native American	737	0.4%
NH Pacific Islander	135	0.1%
NH Multiracial	3,524	1.9%

Media

Kaufman County is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth DMA. Local media outlets include KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, KFWD-TV, and KDTX-TV. Other nearby stations that provide coverage for Kaufman County come from the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville market and they include KLTV, KYTX-TV, KFXK-TV, and KETK-TV.

Kaufman County is served by three newspapers, the Terrell Tribune, the Kaufman Herald, and the Forney Messenger. Forney, Texas, is also served by online news media outlet inForney.com, which covers breaking news for the county. A quarterly magazine called Kaufman County Life is produced by the Terrell Tribune. The Kemp and Mabank areas are included in coverage by The Monitor and Athens Daily Review newspapers.

Law enforcement

The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office is Kaufman County's main police force. Smaller cities depend on the sheriff's office, along with the Texas Highway Patrol, for law-enforcement duties.

Kaufman County murders

In December 2012, Texas officials issued a statewide bulletin warning that the Aryan Brotherhood was "actively planning retaliation against law enforcement officials" who worked to prosecute the gang's leadership.^[13]

In January 2013, Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse of Kaufman County was assassinated by gunshot outside the Kaufman County courthouse.^[13] On March 30, 2013, District Attorney Mike McLelland, along with his wife, were found shot and killed in their home.^[14] On April 13, 2013, ex-justice of the peace Eric Williams was arrested for making terrorist threats to county officials by email. Hasse and McLelland had aggressively prosecuted Williams in a theft case. Williams was convicted, and lost his position and his law license as a result.^[15] On April 17, 2013, his wife Kim Williams was arrested on capital murder charges in all three deaths.^[16]

Officials did not link these arrests or events to the Aryan Brotherhood. Eric Williams was convicted at trial and sentenced to death on December 16, 2014.^[17] Kim Williams pleaded guilty on December 30, 2014, and received a 40-year sentence.^[18]

Politics

Prior to 1952, Kaufman County was a Democratic Party stronghold in presidential elections. From 1952 to 1980, it was still primarily Democratic, though the party's margin of victories were far lower than before. Republican Richard Nixon won the county handily in 1972 as part of his national landslide. Starting with the 1984 election, it has become a Republican stronghold, though neither of Bill Clinton's two Republican opponents managed a majority despite winning the county due to Ross Perot's strong third-party candidacy.

The county's Republican lean has lessened a bit due to population growth in the DFW metroplex in recent years, but it still remains strongly Republican. Republicans have consistently won more than 60% of the vote in the county in the 21st century.

United States presidential election results for Kaufman County, Texas^[19]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	44,063	63.37%	24,726	35.56%	749	1.08%
2020	37,624	66.19%	18,405	32.38%	810	1.43%
2016	29,587	71.70%	10,278	24.91%	1,400	3.39%
2012	24,846	71.66%	9,472	27.32%	352	1.02%
2008	23,735	67.53%	11,161	31.76%	249	0.71%
2004	21,304	70.16%	8,947	29.46%	115	0.38%
2000	15,290	66.30%	7,455	32.32%	318	1.38%
1996	8,697	48.34%	7,383	41.03%	1,913	10.63%
1992	6,578	34.51%	6,498	34.09%	5,984	31.40%
1988	8,466	53.19%	7,358	46.23%	92	0.58%
1984	9,343	62.55%	5,554	37.18%	41	0.27%
1980	5,852	47.63%	6,266	51.00%	169	1.38%
1976	3,867	37.90%	6,302	61.76%	35	0.34%
1972	5,100	64.51%	2,795	35.35%	11	0.14%
1968	2,431	30.04%	3,311	40.92%	2,350	29.04%
1964	1,922	28.71%	4,766	71.20%	6	0.09%
1960	2,717	47.10%	3,008	52.15%	43	0.75%
1956	2,816	48.97%	2,902	50.47%	32	0.56%
1952	2,964	44.05%	3,762	55.91%	3	0.04%
1948	764	15.62%	3,479	71.15%	647	13.23%
1944	430	8.37%	4,251	82.77%	455	8.86%
1940	516	8.97%	5,232	90.98%	3	0.05%
1936	229	5.49%	3,943	94.44%	3	0.07%
1932	268	6.11%	4,116	93.78%	5	0.11%
1928	1,718	39.27%	2,657	60.73%	0	0.00%
1924	884	13.54%	5,573	85.33%	74	1.13%
1920	573	12.84%	3,070	68.80%	819	18.35%
1916	427	12.63%	2,780	82.25%	173	5.12%
1912	248	9.31%	2,039	76.51%	378	14.18%