County Search - Help File

Data Sources
Definitions
Search Tips
Miscellaneous Help

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Data Sources

Age Data
U. S. Bureau of the Census. Annual Estimates of the Population by Selected Age Groups and Sex for Counties.
Area
Data provided by "Landview III" from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Environmental Protection Agency (1998).
County Road Centerline Miles
Texas Department of Transportation. County Road Lineal Mileage by Surface Type 2004
County Road Lane Miles
Texas Department of Transportation. County Road Lane Mileage by Surface Type 2004
Population
U.S. Bureau of the Census. County Population Estimates and Estimated Components of Change: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006.
Poverty Data
U. S. Bureau of the Census. "Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates : Estimates for Texas Counties, 2004."
Property Tax Data
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts as reported in the "County Report of Property Value -- 2005"
Race and Ethnicity
U.S. Bureau of the Census. County Population by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic origin: April 1, 2000 through July 1, 2006.
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Definitions

Age Data
County Road Centerline Miles
Length of the county roads regardless of the number of lanes.
County Road Lane Miles
Note that this data represents the number of LANE miles and not an actual measure of point to point distance.
Land Area (Square Miles)
Land area is just that, the number of square miles of land in a county. It does not include water area such as lakes, reservoirs, bays, etc.
Population
Total county population.
Population Density
The Population Density is obtained by dividing the county population by the county's land area in square miles (see above).
Poverty Rate
Each year the Federal Department of Health and Human Services revises the poverty line to account for changes in the cost of living that occurred during the previous year, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). For example, for a family of 4, the poverty line for 1999 (based on annual income) is $16,700, while for a family of 3 it is $13,880.
Property Tax Rate
The total county property tax rate as reported to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. See "Dollar Amounts" below.
Race & Ethnicity
Data shown are estimates from the U. S. Bureau of the Census. The races included are: White Alone, Black or African-American Alone, American Indian and Alaska Native Alone, Asian Alone, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Alone, or some combination of the preceeding races. Due to space considerations, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander are not included as searchable data elements (see the Profile of each county for more detailed race data). In addition, the Census estimates whether people are of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity (an individual of any race or combinations of races can be considered either Hispanic or non-Hispanic).
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Search Tips

Select Criteria
Use the drop down box to select which criteria you wish to use for the search. You can select one criteria per drop down box, so use multiple boxes if you want to use more than one criteria. DO NOT select the same criteria in two or more boxes! Although the query may run, it could cause your search to fail if you use different ranges (for example, searching on 'Population 2000 >= 1,500 and <=5,000' on one line and entering 'Population 2000 >= 25,000 and <=50,000' on another line will return NO records since no county has a population both between 1,500 - 5,000 AND between 25,000 - 50,000.
Allowed Characters
Only the following characters are allowed in any of the search boxes: digits (0-9), commas (,), and periods (.). No letters are allowed (A-Z), nor are any other punctuation marks, or special characters (for example: <, >, ¢, %, $). Also, you are allowed no more than 15 characters per search box.
Maximum Values
The maximum value must either be no less than the minimum value or blank.
Minimum Values
The minimum value can not be zero (0) unless you also enter a maximum value for a search criteria.
Dollar Amounts
Never include the dollar sign ($) when entering amounts for Property Tax Rate. Also, enter all amounts as dollars, never as cents. For example, for a minimum amount of 60¢ per $100.00 of property value, enter "0.60" or ".60" or ".6" in the appropriate search box.
Percentages
When entering percentages, never include the percent sign (%). Enter 12.34% as 12.34, for example.
Required Criteria
You must include at least one Search Criteria. You may include as many or as few Additional Criteria as you like.
Required Values
Enter a minium value for a search criteria or a maximum value. You do not have to enter both.
Additional Fields
Select the items you want returned in the table, but that you do not wish to enter a minimum or maximum value for.
Sorting
You may select any of the search criteria to sort on even those for which you have not entered a range of values. If you do not select a criteria for sorting, the results will be sorted by county name.
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Miscellaneous Help

Copying
Highlight the results table with your mouse. Then click on 'Edit' and then 'Copy' from the menu bar or just hit Control + C. You can then paste the table into a spreadsheet or text document. In Microsoft Excel, just click on a cell (A1 for example) and then click on 'Edit' and then 'Paste' or just hit Control + V.
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For more information, suggestions, etc. contact the County Information Project staff.