KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Kaufman county’s unprecedented growth has now been confirmed by census data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
According to the data, Kaufman County has grown 40.6% in the last decade with an estimated population of 145,310 residents.
Unofficially, Kaufman County led the Dallas/Ft Worth Metropolitan area in growth during the past decade.
Forney saw the largest growth, an estimated 97.1%, increasing their population from 14,661 a decade ago, to approximately 23,455 on April 1, 2020 according to the data.
This makes Forney one of the fastest growing cities in the state of Texas under 50,000 according to the bureau.
Terrell saw moderate growth of approximately 17.5%, increasing its population to just short of 18,000 residents. In 2010 Terrell had a reported population of 15, 816. The latest numbers estimate a population of 17,465.
Kaufman also saw moderate growth of 18% increasing their population from 6,703 in 2010 to 6,797 in 2020.
Census data also indicates Kaufman County is becoming increasing more diverse. Data estimates that 59.8% of the population is White, 23.3% is Hispanic or latino, while 13.9% are Black or African American, 1.5% Asian and 1% American Indian. Approximately 2.2% are estimated to be biracial.
27.9% of the county is under the age of 18, while 11.8% make up those over the age of 65. Just over half, or 50.7% of the population is estimated to be women.
It is estimated that the median household income for Kaufman County is $70, 107 with approximately 9.8% living at or below the poverty line. Those numbers are drastically different across the county. For instance, the average median household in Forney is $102,716 with only about 4.4% in poverty. Just a few miles away in Kaufman, the average household income is $46,793 with the poverty level at 26.1%
Census data for the smaller communities of Crandall, Scurry and Kemp have not yet been released.
The U.S. population grew by 22.7 million from 2010, to 331.4 million. But that was a slower rate of increase than in previous decades.
"Since the 1950s, percentage increases have generally been declining each decade," said Marc Perry, a senior demographer in the bureau's population division. This past decade’s 7.4% increase... was, in fact, the second lowest percent increase ever. Only the 1930s had slower growth."
U.S. population growth particularly came in cities, he said. "The 10 largest cities all grew this past decade, and 8 of the 10 grew at a faster rate this decade compared to the last."
Overall, the Texas population grew by 16% from 2010 to 2020, picking up two additional U.S. House districts. The Texas Legislature will need to convene a special session to redraw the state’s boundaries for its now 38 districts.
