Stafford

Stafford is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in the HoustonThe WoodlandsSugar Land metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small part in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, Stafford's population was 17,666, down from 17,693 at the 2010 census.William Stafford established a plantation with a cane mill and a horse-powered cotton gin in 1830. A settlement called "Stafford's Point" was established around the plantation; it became a townsite in August 1853, when the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway began stopping there. In 1884, Stafford had 50 residents, two general stores, and a grocer. By 1896, it had a population of 300. By 1914, the population fell to 100. In 1931, 320 people lived in Stafford. This increased to 400 in 1946. Stafford incorporated as a city as a suburb of Houston in 1956. The Southwest Freeway (Interstate 69) passes through northwest Stafford, leading northeast 16 miles (26 km) to the center of Houston and southwest 18 miles (29km) to Rosenberg. According to the United States Census Bureau, Stafford has an area of 7.0 square miles (18.2 km²) of land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km²), or 0.58%, is water. Stafford has two areas of extraterritorial jurisdiction. They are within the Houston Independent School District, including an area at Beltway 8 and Stafford Road. The SMSD cannot annex these areas without other school districts' permission.

History

Stafford is the primary city name, but also Meadows Place are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is Stafford, Texas. William Stafford established a plantation with a cane mill and a horse-powered cotton gin in 1830. On April 15, 1836, during the Texas Revolution, the forces of Antonio López de Santa Anna stopped at Stafford's plantation and ordered it burned. Stafford rebuilt his plantation and resided there until his 1840 death. A settlement called "Stafford's Point" was established around the plantation; it became a townsite in August 1853, when the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway began stopping there. In 1884, Stafford had 50 residents, two general stores, and a grocer. By 1896, it had a population of 300. By 1914, the population fell to 100. In 1931, 320 people lived in Stafford. This increased to 400 in 1946. Stafford incorporated as a city in 1956. The settlement, now known as Stafford, operated a post office from 1869 to 1918; the post office reopened in 1929. The post office was closed in 1918, but reopened again in 1999. The town's name was changed from Stafford to Staffordville in 1998. The city was incorporated as Stafford in 1956, and it is now a suburb of Austin, Texas. It is located on the banks of the Brazos River and the San Antonio Ship Channel. It was once a part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and was known as the "Army Station" until the mid-19th century. It now has a mayor and a council of directors.

Geography

Stafford is in eastern Fort Bend County at 29°3727N 95°3348W (29.624186, 95.563359). It is bordered by Houston to the north, Meadows Place to the northwest, Sugar Land to the west, and Missouri City to the south and east. The Southwest Freeway (Interstate 69) passes through northwest Stafford, leading northeast 16 miles (26 km) to the center of Houston. U.S. 90 Alternate passes through Stafford as Main Street, leading west 5 miles (8km) to Sugar Land and northeast 18 miles (29 km)to the Houston East End. Stafford has two areas of extraterritorial jurisdiction. The city has avoided annexing these areas, because doing so would give it territory in school districts other than the Stafford Municipal School District (SMSD) and the city wants its city limits and the SMSD to have the same area. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Stafford has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps. It has a hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. It is located at 29.3727 N 95.3348 W (29,624 186, 95,5633 59) and has an area of 7.0 square miles (18.2 km²), of which 7.1 km² is land and 0.04 sq miles (0.58 sq km²) is water. A small part of the city extends northeast into Harris County.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,666 people, 6,042 households, and 4,335 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 36.6% White, 27.4% African American, 0.6%; 22.8% Asian; 0.0% Pacific Islander, 9.3% some other race, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 25.9% of the population. The median income for a household was $61,084, and for a family was $63,244. The per capita income was $27,082. About 6.3%. of families and 9.0%. of the residents were below the poverty line, including 10.4%. of those under 18 and 9%.3% of those 65 or older. The city's population was distributed as 24.8%. under 18, 10.8! from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 24.4! from 45 to 64, and 7% 65 or. older. For every 100 females 18 and over, there are 90.9 males. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.25. The. median age was 31.9. For each 100 females, therewere 94.5 males. There were 7,074 housing units averaged 1010.6 per square mile (353.5/km²).

Economy

Stafford has not had a municipal property tax since 1995. Many corporations large and small, including the United Parcel Service and Tyco, maintain significant operations in Stafford. Texas Instruments (TI) operates a production facility in Stafford, where it manufactures 6-inch (150 mm) wafers used in cell phones, high-definition televisions, and solar devices. In 2009, TI, which had around 1,500 employees in its Stafford office that year, was the city's largest employer. In 2012, TI announced that it was relocating its Fort Bend County operations to the Telfair area in Sugar Land. Some jobs at the plant were scheduled to end in July 2012, but other jobs were set to remain until the factory's closure in late 2012. TI said it planned to open another facility in greater Houston for the 500 remaining employees. About 15 years ago, TI comprised about 25% of Stafford's economy and by 2012, it stood at about one-tenth of that, or 2.5% of the economy. Stafford is known internationally for attracting valve manufacturing companies; it has 11 business parks, a shopping center, and 19 hotels and motels. The city has a population of about 6,000. It is located near the Texas-Louisiana border and is in the Houston metropolitan area. It was once an agricultural community, but is now a bedroom community of the greater Houston area, with about 4,000 people living in it. It has 15 business parks.

Parks and recreation

Stafford City Park, the largest, covers 16 acres (65,000 m2) of land. Stafford operates a Civic Center and a City Pool in the Municipal Complex. The Stafford Centre Performing Arts Theatre and Convention Centre has a 1,100-seat performing arts theater; 25,000 square feet of meeting, banquet, and exposition space, including a 20,000-ft2 ballroom. The Sugar Land Youth Cricket Club, a children's cricket club, was established in 2014. In 2016 it played its home games at Everest Academy in Stafford. The Margaret Havens Historical Memorial Garden is next to Stafford City Hall. Its rose garden, benches, and fountain have attracted many couples to marry there. Fort Bend County operates the 5-acre (20,000m2) Stafford Community Center in Fifth Street, an unincorporated area near Stafford. In 2014 the Sugar Land Children's Cricket Club was established. The club plays its home matches at Everest academy in Stafford, which is on Stafford's outskirts. It is the first of its kind in the United States, and the only one of its type in the state of Texas. It was founded in 2014 and is based in the town of Sugar Land, which has a population of 1.2 million people. The cricket club was founded by a group of parents who moved their children to Stafford to play for the local high school. It has since moved to a new location in the nearby town of Fort Bend, Texas, and is now based there as well.

Government and infrastructure

The City of Stafford stopped levying nonschool property taxes in 1995. It is the only Houston-area city and the most populous city in Texas to do so. Sales and franchise taxes from businesses fund the city. The Stafford Volunteer Fire Department operates out of three fire stations. The city is governed by its Home Rule Charter, which resembles the US Constitution. The Charter Review Commission reviews the charter every five years. Stafford is partly in Fort Bend County and partly in Harris County. Residents pay property taxes to their respective counties. The U.S. Postal Service operates the Stafford Post Office. Most of Stafford is in Texas's 22nd congressional district. As of 2021, Troy Nehls represents the district. Some locations in Houston have Stafford mailing addresses. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital which the county contracts with. Harris County has a hospital district, Harris Health, which is run by the Harris County Health and Human Services Department. The county also has a charity hospital, which it contracts with the Harris Health Foundation, which runs out of the Fort Bend Medical Center. The hospital is located in the town of Oak Bend, near the city of Fort Bend, and is called Oak Bend Memorial Hospital. Stafford's mayor was Leonard Scarcella from 1969 to 2020. He was the longest-serving mayor in the United States. In December 2020, Cecil Willis was elected mayor. In 2012, Charlie Howard represents the District 26 of the Texas House of Representatives. As as of 2012, Ron Reynolds represents theDistrict 27 of theTexas House of Representative. Some parts of Stafford are in District 13 of Texas Senate.

Culture

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas. It is within the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Stafford and with a Stafford mailing address. It was founded by the BAPS sect of Hinduism in the early 1900s. The BAPS is an offshoot of the Baha'i sect of the Hindu religion. It has its headquarters in the town of Stafford, in Stafford County. It also has its own hospital, hospital, and other facilities in Stafford and Fort Bend counties. The hospital was founded in the late 1800s by BAPS members. Its name is a tribute to the founder of BAPS, who was born in India, in the village of Mandir, near Fort Bend, Texas, in 1881. It's also known as the "Shri Swamibandh" or "Shrimad-Bhagavad-Sri Mandir" in BAPS tradition. The temple was established in the mid-19th century by the Shrimads of Bahujanism, a Hindu sect. The name is still used in the Bahuvanism tradition today. It stands for "Brahmanism, the religion of Bhuvanism, or "Bharanism" or simply "Bhavnism". It is also known for its devotion to Bhuvnism, which means "love of God" and "prayer" in Hinduism. The church is located in Stafford.

Education

Stafford broke away from the Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) in 1977. Almost all of Stafford was in FBISD. All of Stafford is now zoned to the Stafford Municipal School District, Texas's only municipal school district controlled by the city. Residents pay property taxes to the school district. The Mamie George Library, a 4,900 square feet (460 m2) library designed by Wylie W. Vale and Associates, opened in November 1974. The George Foundation donated funds for the building. The Stafford Campus of HCCS Southwest College includes the Stafford Campus at 10041 Cash Road. In spring 2012, the enrollment at the Stafford campus was 8,139. Stafford is home to the Darul Arqam Schools Pre-K5 school. Sugar Creek Montessori School also has a campus in Stafford. Stafford has a public library named after a philanthropist from Fort Bend County. The library was renovated in 1991 and is located on Dulles Avenue next to Dulles Middle School. It is the only public library in the city, with a branch in Sugar Land. Stafford also has its own private library, named after the philanthropist Mamie Georges, which opened in 1974. Stafford's public schools are: Staffordshire Elementary, Dulles High School, and Everest Academy (Pre-K 5) The city also has one private school, Sugar CreekMontessori, which is located in Stafford and is open to the public. The city has one public high school, Willowridge High School.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Stafford, Fort Bend County, Texas = 26. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 47. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Stafford = 5.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 8,285 individuals with a median age of 33.1 age the population grows by 26.68% in Stafford, Fort Bend County, Texas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,476.39 residents per square mile of area (956.11/km²). There are average 2.63 people per household in the 7,566 households with an average household income of $56,869 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.30% of the available work force and has dropped -2.52% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 26.66%. The number of physicians in Stafford per 100,000 population = 155.9.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Stafford = 46.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 0.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 92. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 208. 94 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 42 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 22, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Stafford, Fort Bend County, Texas which are owned by the occupant = 44.99%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 12 years with median home cost = $130,280 and home appreciation of -0.33%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $24.03 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,363 per student. There are 14.5 students for each teacher in the school, 619 students for each Librarian and 379 students for each Counselor. 7.85% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 24.20% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 12.14% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).