Travis County is located in

Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and most populous city is

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, the state's capital. The county was established in 1840 and is named in honor of

William Barret Travis Lieutenant-Colonel William Barret "Buck" Travis (August 1, 1809 – March 6, 1836) was a Texian Army officer and lawyer. He is known for helping set the Texas Revolution in motion during the Anahuac disturbances and defending the Alamo Missi ...

, the commander of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

forces at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...

. Travis County is part of the Austin–

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city stra ...

– Georgetown Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along the

Balcones Fault The Balcones Fault or Balcones Fault Zone is an area of largely normal faulting Edwards Aquifer in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north-central region near Dallas along Inte ...

, the boundary between the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...

to the west and the Blackland Prairie to the east.

History

Indigenous and Spanish periods

Evidence of habitation of the

Balcones Escarpment The Balcones Fault or Balcones Fault Zone is an area of largely normal faulting Edwards Aquifer in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north-central region near Dallas along Inte ...

region of Texas can be traced to at least 11,000 years ago. Two of the oldest

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

archeological sites in Texas, the Levi Rock Shelter and Smith Rock Shelter, are in southwest and southeast Travis County, respectively. Several hundred years before

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

settlers arrived, a variety of

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

Native American tribes In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, Indigenous tribe, or Tribal nation may be any current or historical tribe, band, or nation of Native Americans in the United States. Modern forms of t ...

inhabited the area. These

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

fished and hunted along the creeks, including present-day

Barton Springs Barton Springs is a set of four natural water springs located at Barton Creek on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, resulting from water flowing through the Edwards Aquifer. The largest spring, Main Barton Spring (also known as Parthe ...

, which proved to be a reliable campsite. At the time of the first permanent settlement of the area, the

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...

tribe was the most common, with the

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

s and

Lipan Apaches Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people, who have lived in the Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and no ...

also frequenting the area. The region (along with all of modern Texas) was claimed by the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

in the 1600s, but at the time no attempt was made to settle the area (or even to explore it fully). In 1691

Domingo Terán de los Ríos Domingo Terán de los Ríos served as the first List of Texas Governors and Presidents, governor of Spanish Texas, Texas from 1691 to 1692. He also governed Coahuila, in the modern-day Mexico. Previous service Terán served the Spanish crown ...

made an inspection tour through East Texas that likely took him through Travis Country. The first European settlers in the area were a group of Spanish

friars A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendic ...

who arrived from East Texas in July 1730. They established three temporary missions, La Purísima Concepción, San Francisco de los Neches, and San José de los Nazonis, on a site by the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

near

. The friars found conditions undesirable and relocated to the

San Antonio River The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...

within a year of their arrival.

Mexican period

In 1821

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

won its independence from Spain, and the new government enacted laws encouraging colonists to settle the Texas frontier by granting them land and reduced taxation. Over the next decade, thousands of foreign immigrants (primarily from the United States) moved into Texas; in particular, American

empresario An empresario () was a person who had been granted the right to settle on land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for settling the eastern areas of Coahuila y Tejas in the early nineteenth century. Since ''empresarios'' attract ...

Stephen F. Austin established one of his colonies near what is now

Bastrop, Texas Bastrop () is a city and the county seat of Bastrop County, Texas, United States. The population was 9,688 according to the 2020 census. It is located about southeast of Austin and is part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. History S ...

(in future Travis County) in 1827. Josiah and Mathias Wilbarger, Reuben Hornsby, Jacob M. Harrell, and John F. Webber were early settlers who moved into the area in the early 1830s.

Republican period

In 1836 Texas declared and won its independence from Mexico, forming a new Republic of Texas. After Texas Vice President Mirabeau B. Lamar visited

central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...

during a

buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

-hunting expedition between 1837 and 1838, he proposed that the republic's capital (then located in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

) be relocated to a site on the north bank of the

. In 1839 the site was officially chosen as the republic's new capital and given the name

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

; shortly thereafter the city's name was changed to

in honor of Stephen F. Austin. A new county was also established the following year, of which Austin would be the seat; the county was named Travis County, after William B. Travis. Though the Republic's capital moved briefly back to Houston during the events surrounding the

Texas Archive War The Texas Archive War was an 1842 dispute over an attempted move of the Republic of Texas national archives from Austin to Houston and, more broadly, over President Sam Houston's efforts to re-establish Houston as the capital of Texas. Backgroun ...

, by 1845 Austin was again the capital, and it became the capital of the new State of Texas when Texas was

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

by the United States later that year.

Civil War and beyond

In 1861 Travis County was one of the few Texas counties to vote against

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

from the Union. Since the majority of the state did favor secession, Travis County then became a part of the Confederacy for the duration of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. After the Confederacy's defeat, Texas was fully readmitted to the Union in 1870. From the end of the Civil War to the early twenty-first century, Travis County has experienced steady, rapid population growth (averaging more than a 36% increase every decade from 1870 to 2010), driven largely by the growth of Austin and its suburbs; it is now the fifth most populous county in Texas, after

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...

(Houston),

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Tarrant (

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

) and Bexar (

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

) counties.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.2% of the territory) is water. Travis County is located in the southern part of

, between

and Dallas–Fort Worth. The county's

geographical center In geography, the centroid of the two-dimensional shape of a region of the Earth's surface (projected radially to sea level or onto a geoid surface) is known as its geographic centre or geographical centre or (less commonly) gravitational centre. I ...

lies two miles northwest of downtown Austin at 30°18' north latitude and 97°45' west longitude. Travis County straddles the

, the boundary between the

to the west and the Texas Coastal Plain to the east. The western part of the county is characterized by the

karst topography Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

of the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...

, while the eastern part exhibits the fertile plains and farmlands of the Blackland Prairie. The

meanders through the county from west to east, forming a series of man-made lakes (

Lake Travis Lake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. It is named in honor of William B. Travis. Serving principally as a flood-control reservoir, Lake Travis' historical minimum to maximum water height cha ...

Lake Austin Lake Austin, formerly Lake McDonald, is a water reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lake Austin is one of the seven Texa ...

, and

Lady Bird Lake Lady Bird Lake (formerly, and still colloquially referred to as Town Lake) is a river-like reservoir on the Colorado River (Texas), Colorado River in Austin, Texas, United States. The City of Austin created the reservoir in 1960 as a cooling pon ...

Springs

The

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

karst geology of the western and southwestern parts of Travis County gives rise to numerous

cavern Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock sh ...

s and springs, some of which have provided shelter and water for humans in the region for thousands of years. Notable springs in the county include

, Deep Eddy and Hamilton Pool.

Major highways

Travis County is crossed by Interstate Highway 35, US Highways

183 Year 183 ( CLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 936 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

and

290 __NOTOC__ Year 290 ( CCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1043 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denom ...

, and Texas Highway 71. IH-35 leads northward to

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

and Dallas–Fort Worth and southward to

. US-183 leads northward through Cedar Park to

Lampasas Lampasas ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census. Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area. History For his ...

and southward to Lockhart. US-290 leads westward to Fredericksburg and eastward to

. TX-71 leads westward to Marble Falls and eastward to Bastrop. Other major highways within the county include Texas Highway Loop 1 (the "Mopac Expressway"), which runs from north to south through the center of the county, and Texas Highway 45, which forms parts of an incomplete highway loop around Austin. Texas Highway 130 (constructed as an alternative to IH-35 for long-distance traffic wishing to avoid Austin and San Antonio) also runs from north to south through the sparsely populated eastern part of the county.

Railroads

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's Austin station is located in downtown

and is served by the ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, t ...

'' which runs daily between

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

, continuing on to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

several times a week. Travis County is served by the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

Railroad and the

Austin Western Railroad The Austin Western Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad headquartered in Round Rock, Texas. AWRR is a subsidiary of Watco. It is the contracted operator of of ex-Southern Pacific trackage, now owned by Capital Metropolitan Transportatio ...

Adjacent counties

* Williamson County (north) *

Bastrop County Bastrop County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in Central Texas and its county seat is Bastrop. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,216. Bastrop County is included in the Austin–Round Rock, Texas, metropolitan ...

(southeast) * Caldwell County (south) *

Hays County Hays County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its official population had reached 241,067. The county seat is San Marcos. Hays, alon ...

(southwest) * Blanco County (west) * Burnet County (northwest)

Protected areas

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge Balcones Canyonlands is a national wildlife refuge located in the Texas Hill Country to the northwest of Lago Vista, Texas. The refuge was formed in 1992 to conserve habitat for two endangered songbirds, the golden-cheeked warbler (''Setoph ...

(part)

Demographics

According to the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,024,266 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 68.21% White, 9.26% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 4.47% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 14.56% other races, and 2.85% from two or more races. 28.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. English is the sole language spoken at home by 71.42% of the population age 5 or over, while 22.35% speak

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, and a

Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...

(including

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, Taiwanese, and

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

) is spoken by 1.05%. As of the 2010 census, there were about 11.1

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

per 1,000 households in the county. According to the

of 2000, there were 812,280 people, of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.60% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.70% were non-families. 30.10% of all households were composed of individuals, and 4.40% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.15. 12.0% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 7.7%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, 6.6% Irish and 5.5%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

ancestry according to Census 2000 The population's age distribution was 23.80% under the age of 18, 14.70% from 18 to 24, 36.50% from 25 to 44, 18.20% from 45 to 64, and 6.70% age 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.50 males.

Government and Politics

Like other Texas counties, Travis County is governed by a

Commissioners' Court Commissioners' court, or in Arkansas a quorum court, is the governing body of county government in three US states: Arkansas, Texas and Missouri. It is similar in function to a board of county commissioners. A similar system was in place in the ...

composed of the

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civi ...

and four county commissioners. The court levies county taxes and sets the budgets for county officials and agencies. The judge and commissioners are elected for four-year terms (the judge at-large, and the commissioners from geographic precincts). The other major county-wide official is the

county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

, who maintains the county's records, administers

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

s, and oversees legal documentation (such as property

deed A deed is a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially concerning the ownership of property or legal rights. Specifically, in common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right ...

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictions ...

s and assumed name certificates). The clerk is also elected at-large for a four-year term. The Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse is located in

downtown Austin Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas, United States. The area of the district is bound by Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Austin), Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north, Inte ...

. The county courthouse holds civil and criminal

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

s and other functions of county government. , the county's

probate court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

s are in the process of being moved from the county courthouse into Austin's 1936 United States Courthouse, which was acquired by the county in 2016.

Corrections

The Travis County Jail and the Travis County Criminal Justice Center are located in Downtown Austin. The Travis County Correctional Complex is located in an unincorporated area in Travis County, next to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...

operates the Travis County State Jail, a state jail for men, in eastern

Politics

Travis County is one of the most consistently Democratic counties in Texas, having voted for the Democratic presidential nominee all but five times since 1932. The only exceptions have been the Republican landslide years of 1952, 1956, 1972 and 1984, when

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

each won over 400 electoral votes, and 2000, when the Republican nominee was incumbent Texas Governor

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. In 2005 Travis County was the only county in Texas to vote against the Proposition 2 state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, with slightly under 60% of voters being against it. In 2020, Travis County backed Democrat

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

with nearly 72% of the vote, his strongest showing in the state and the best showing for any presidential candidate in the county since 1948. While

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

in 2024 lost some ground since

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, her performance of 68% made Travis County the most Democratic of all Texas counties in that election. This was partly due to the Republican shift in all majority-Hispanic counties in south and west Texas, many of which held this record in the past. The county's Democratic bent is not limited to the presidential level, as all of the county-level officials are Democrats. The county is home to

UT Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, with Democrats generally doing very well in counties with universities. In addition, the majority of the county is represented by Democrats in the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

, and Texas House.

United States Congress

*Pete Sessions previously represented the Dallas-based 32nd District. He was defeated by

Colin Allred Colin Zachary Allred (born April 15, 1983) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, and former professional football player who served as the U.S. representative for from 2019 to 2025. The district includes the northeastern corner of Dal ...

in the 2018 midterm elections. In 2020, he won the Central-Texas-based 17th District seat to replace outgoing Congressman

Bill Flores William Hose Flores Sr. (; born February 25, 1954) is an American businessman, the Vice Chair of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), as well as the interim Chair of ERCOT. From 2011 to 2021, he was the U.S. representative for . F ...

Texas Senate

State Senators serve four year terms with no term limits.

Texas House of Representatives

State Representatives serve two year terms with no term limits.

3rd Court of Appeals

In addition to Travis, the 3rd Court of Appeals hears cases from 23 other counties across Central Texas: Bastrop,

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

Blanco Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to: People *Blanco (surname) Fictional characters *Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth *Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' *Graboid#El Blanco, ...

, Burnet,

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized First Nation in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, Ea ...

, Coke,

Comal Comal may refer to: * COMAL, a computer programming language * Comal (cookware), a type of griddle Places * Comal River (Indonesia) * Comal County, Texas, U.S. * Comal River, Texas, U.S. * Comal Springs (Texas), U.S. See also

* {{disa ...

, Concho, Fayette, Hays, Irion,

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

, Llano, McColluch, Milam,

Mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places U ...

Runnels Runnels is a surname, and may refer to: * Cody Garrett Runnels (born 1985), American wrestler and actor known as Cody Rhodes * Dustin Patrick Runnels (born 1969), American wrestler known as Goldust or Dustin Rhodes *Hardin Richard Runnels (1820–18 ...

, San Saba, Schleicher, Sterling,

Tom Green Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian and American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted '' The Tom Green Show'', whi ...

, and Williamson. All 24 counties in the district vote for justices. Justices serve six year terms in at-large seats with no term limits, besides a mandatory retirement age of 75 years old. Following the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats flipped the majority on the 3rd Court of Appeals. Since 2022, all elected 3rd Court of Appeals judges are members of the Democratic Party.

State District Courts

Judges serve a 4-year term, with no

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

. As of January 2025, all elected Travis County State District Court judges are members of the Democratic Party.

County government

As of January 2025, all county elected officials are members of the Democratic Party. *won a special election to complete an unexpired term **court created in 2023 ***office created in 2023, vacancies filled in special elections in May 2024

Austin Community College The Austin Community College District (ACC) is a public community college system serving the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area and surrounding Central Texas communities. The college maintains numerous campuses, centers, and distance learning opti ...
, Board of Trustees

The board governing the

Austin Community College district The Austin Community College District (ACC) is a public community college system serving the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area and surrounding Central Texas communities. The college maintains numerous campuses, centers, and distance learning opti ...

, which Travis County is a part of alongside Hays,

, and

counties, as well as portions of Williamson, Bastrop, Guadalupe,

, and Fayette counties. Members are elected in nonpartisan elections and serve six year terms. *won a special election to complete an unexpired term

Economy

As of 2017, Travis County had a

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

of $68,350 per year, and a

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

of $38,820 per year. 13.9% of the population lived below the

poverty level The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. The county's largest employers are governments (the State of Texas, the US Federal Government, Travis County and the City of Austin) and public education bodies. Other major employers are concentrated in industries relating to

semiconductors A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping levels ...

software engineering Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining Application software, software applications. It involves applying engineering design process, engineering principl ...

and

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

Education

K-12 education

Travis County is served by a number of public school districts; the largest is

Austin Independent School District Austin Independent School District (AISD) is a school district based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1881, the district serves most of the City of Austin, the neighboring municipalities of Sunset Valley and San Lea ...

, serving most of Austin. Other districts wholly or mainly located in Travis County include Eanes ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Lago Vista ISD, Leander ISD, Del Valle ISD, Manor ISD, and Pflugerville ISD. Parts of Elgin ISD, Coupland ISD, Hutto ISD, Round Rock ISD, Marble Falls ISD, Johnson City ISD, Dripping Springs ISD and Hays Consolidated ISD also cross into Travis County. State-operated schools include: * Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired *

Texas School for the Deaf Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) is a state-operated primary and secondary school for deaf children in Austin, Texas. Opened in 1857 "in an old frame house, three log cabins, and a smokehouse", it is the oldest continually-operated public school i ...

Texas Blind, Deaf, and Orphan School was formerly in operation for black students pre-desegregation.

Colleges and universities

The largest university in Travis County is the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. Other universities include

St. Edward's University St. Edward's University is a private, Catholic university in Austin, Texas, United States. It was founded and is operated in the Holy Cross tradition. History Founding and early history St. Edward's University was founded by the Reverend Edwa ...

Huston–Tillotson University Huston–Tillotson University (HT) is a private historically black university in Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1875, it was the first institution of higher learning in Austin. The university is affiliated with the United Methodis ...

, and

Concordia University Texas Concordia University Texas is a private university in Austin, Texas, United States. The university offers undergraduate, Graduate school, graduate, and online degrees as well as an adult degree program for part-time and returning students. Conc ...

. Under Texas law

Austin Community College District The Austin Community College District (ACC) is a public community college system serving the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area and surrounding Central Texas communities. The college maintains numerous campuses, centers, and distance learning opti ...

(ACC) is the designated

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

for most of the county. However, areas in Marble Falls ISD are zoned to Central Texas College District.

Healthcare

Central Health, a

hospital district Hospital is a Districts of Costa Rica, district of the San José (canton), San José canton, in the San José Province, San José province of Costa Rica. It is one of the four administrative units that form San José, Costa Rica, San José downto ...

, was established in 2004.

Brackenridge Hospital Brackenridge Hospital, also known as University Medical Center Brackenridge, (UMC Brackenridge) was the public hospital of Austin, Texas. It had the nickname "Brack". History On July 3, 1884, the City-County Hospital, which had two stories, was ...

was originally built as the City-County Hospital in 1884 but Travis County ended its share of the ownership in 1907. In 2017 Brackenridge was replaced by the Dell Seton Medical Center.

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

(county seat) (small parts in Hays and Williamson counties) * Cedar Park (mostly in Williamson County) *

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

(mostly in

) *

Leander Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * L ...

(mostly in Williamson County) * Mustang Ridge (small parts in

and Bastrop counties) * Pflugerville (small part in Williamson County) *

(mostly in Williamson County)

Cities

* Bee Cave * Creedmoor *

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...

* Lago Vista * Lakeway * Manor * Rollingwood * Sunset Valley *

West Lake Hills West Lake Hills (locally referred to as "Westlake") is a city in Travis County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,444. It is a suburb west of central Austin. History West Lake Hills was founded by Emmett Shelt ...

Villages

Briarcliff Briarcliff most commonly refers to: * Briarcliff Manor, New York, a village in Westchester County ** Briarcliff College, a college in the village that closed in 1977 ** Briarcliff Entertainment, an independent film production and distribution compa ...

* Point Venture * San Leanna * The Hills * Volente * Webberville

Census-designated places

Barton Creek Barton Creek is a tributary that feeds the Colorado River as it flows through the Texas Hill Country. The creek passes through some of the more scenic areas in Greater Austin, surrounded in many parts by a greenbelt of protected lands that ser ...

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

* Hornsby Bend * Hudson Bend * Lost Creek * Manchaca * Shady Hollow *

Steiner Ranch Steiner Ranch is a planned community and census-designated place (CDP) in Travis County, Texas, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census. It is in the west-central part of the county, occupying on a ridge running within a ...

* Wells Branch

Unincorporated communities

* Bluff Springs *

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

* Carlson * Cedar Valley * Cele * Colton * Del Valle *

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

* Dunlap *

Elroy Elroy may refer to: Places in the United States * Elroy, North Carolina, a census-designated place * Elroy, a village in Franconia Township, Pennsylvania * Elroy, Texas, an unincorporated community * Elroy, Wisconsin, a city People and fictional ...

* Littig *

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

* Marshall Ford * McNeil * Moore's Crossing *

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

* Pilot Knob * Round Mountain, Travis County, Texas, Round Mountain * Spicewood, Texas, Spicewood * Three Points, Texas, Three Points * Turnersville, Travis County, Texas, Turnersville

Ghost towns

* Daffan, Texas, Daffan * Decker, Texas, Decker * Maha, Texas, Maha * Manda, Texas, Manda * Montopolis, Texas, Montopolis * Nameless, Texas, Nameless * New Katy, Texas, New Katy

Austin neighborhoods

* Anderson Mill, Texas, Anderson Mill * Four Points, Austin, Texas, Four Points * Jollyville, Texas, Jollyville * Kincheonville, Austin, Texas, Kincheonville * Merrilltown, Austin, Texas, Merrilltown * Oak Hill, Austin, Texas, Oak Hill * Onion Creek, Texas, Onion Creek * Pleasant Hill, Austin, Texas, Pleasant Hill * Tanglewood Forest, Austin, Texas, Tanglewood Forest * Windemere, Texas, Windemere * Waters Park, Texas, Waters Park

References

External links

Travis County Government website
* {{coord, 30.33, -97.78, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX, display=title Travis County, Texas, 1840 establishments in the Republic of Texas Populated places established in 1840 Greater Austin Texas Hill Country Majority-minority counties in Texas

History

Indigenous and Spanish periods

Mexican period

Republican period

Civil War and beyond

Geography

Springs

Major highways

Railroads

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Demographics

Government and Politics

Corrections

Politics

United States Congress

Texas Senate

Texas House of Representatives

3rd Court of Appeals

State District Courts

County government

Austin Community College The Austin Community College District (ACC) is a public community college system serving the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area and surrounding Central Texas communities. The college maintains numerous campuses, centers, and distance learning opti ..., Board of Trustees

Economy

Education

K-12 education

Colleges and universities

Healthcare

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

Cities

Villages

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Austin neighborhoods

See also

References

External links

Austin Community College The Austin Community College District (ACC) is a public community college system serving the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area and surrounding Central Texas communities. The college maintains numerous campuses, centers, and distance learning opti ...
, Board of Trustees