ZIP Code 79601

Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statistical area, which had an estimated population of 169,893, as of 2016. The city is located off Interstate 20, between exits 279 on its western edge and 292 on the east. Dyess Air Force Base is located on the west side of the city. The cornerstone was laid in 1891 for Simmons College, the first of three universities in Abilne. It later developed as HardinSimmons University, Childers Classical Institute, and McMurry College. In 1969, the city integrated its school system, more than 10 years after the US Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. In 1982, it became the first city in Texas to reinvest in its downtown area to create a downtown technical zone. In the late 20th century, it succeeded in gaining branches of Texas State Technical College and Cisco College. Headquarters of the latter institution are located in the city, as well as the city's zoo. It was named after AbilENE, Kansas, the original endpoint for the Chisholm Trail. It's 150 miles (240 km) west of Fort Worth, and the city is looped by I-20 to the north, US 83/84 to the west, and Loop 322 to the east, and a railroad divides the city down the center into north and south.

History

Abilene was named after Abilene, Kansas, the original endpoint for the Chisholm Trail. Dyess Air Force Base has been the city's largest employer, with 6076 employees in 2007. The cornerstone was laid in 1891 for Simmons College, which later developed as HardinSimmons University. Cisco College and Texas State Technical College have branches in the city. The city's population nearly doubled from 45,570 to 90,638 from 1950 to 1960. In 1982, the city became the first city in Texas to create a downtown reinvestment zone. In 2004, Frontier Texas!, a multimedia museum highlighting the history of the area from 1780 to 1880, was constructed. The Grace Museum and Paramount Theatre were also built in the same year. The Abilne Zoo was established in 1966. The 2,250-bed French Robertson Prison Unit was built in 1989. A half-cent sales tax earmarked for economic development was created after the decline in the petroleum business in the 1980s. In 1990, a branch of Cisco College was located in the town. This attracted the same area of growth on the same side of the freeway as the CC campus, which has become the medical area of the city in recent years. In the early-1950s, to advocate for an Air Force base, residents raised US$893,261 (equivalent to about $9,325,416 in 2021) to purchase 3,400 acres (14 km²) of land. When fully operational, it was named Camp Barkeley. When the base closed after World War II, many worried that Abilenes could become a ghost town.

Geography

Abilene is located in northeastern Taylor County. The city limits extend north into Jones County. Three U.S. highways pass through the city. The fastest-growing sections of the city are in the southwest, along Southwest Drive, the Winters Freeway, and the Buffalo Gap Road corridor. The 20-story Enterprise Tower at 500 Chestnut Street is the highest structure in Abilene, rising to 283 feet above the Plains. It is the tallest building in west-central Texas and one of the five highest in the western two-thirds of the state. According to the Köppen climate classification, Abilne lies at the edge of a humid subtropical climate, with areas to the west being semiarid. It has a population of 2,827. The population of AbilENE was 2,715 in the 2010 U.N. Census. It had a growth rate of 1.7% in the year ending June 30, 2010. The U. S. Census Bureau estimates the city's population will rise to 2,071 by the end of the year. It will also have a population increase of 2.8% in that year, to 3,072. The growth rate is 1.9% over the last 10 years, and 1.6% in 20 years. The water area is mainly from three reservoirs in the city: Lytle Lake southeast of downtown, Kirby Lake on the southeast corner of the US 83/84 and Loop 322 interchange, and Lake Fort Phantom Hill in Jones County in northern Abilenes.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, Abilene had a population of 117,063. In 2020, its population was 125,182, with 43,607 households and 28,118 families residing in the city. At the 2000 census, the median income for a household was $33,007, and for a family was $40,028. The mean household income was $70,807. By 2020, the racial and ethnic composition was 56.23% non-Hispanic white, 9.78% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 2.14% Asian, and 0.11% Pacific Islander. The per capita income for the city was $16,577. About 10.9% of families and 15.4%. of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 9.2%. of those age 65 or over. at the 2020 American Community Survey. The median household income in theCity was $52,518. The average household income for that year was $64,838. The city's mean household Income was $67,839. The population density was 1,102.7 people per square mile (425.8/km²). The 45,618 housing units averaged 433.9 per squaremile (167.5/km 2). The city has a population density of 1,101.7 per sq mi (426.8 /km²) as of the census of 2000.

Economy

The economy in Abilene was originally based on the livestock and agricultural sectors, but is now based strongly on government, education, healthcare, and manufacturing. The petroleum industry is prevalent in the surrounding area, also. The city has established incentives to bring new businesses to the area, including job training grants, relocation grants, and more. The top 15 employers, as of December 2019, were: The city's government, healthcare and manufacturing sectors, as well as the city's oil and gas industry, which is heavily based in the area. The largest employer in the city was the state of Texas, followed by the state's energy and mining sectors, and then the city of Abilne itself, with a total of 15 employers in the top 15.

Government and infrastructure

On June 17, 2017, Abilene elected its first African-American mayor, Anthony Williams. The U.S. Postal Service operates two post offices in the city. The city is home to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) The TDCJ operates two units of the state's prison system, one for men and one for women. The prison system is based in the town of Laredo, Texas, and the other in Jones County, Texas. It is located in the center of the city, near the city's downtown area and the town's airport. It was built in the 1950s and 1960s as part of the Texas-Mexico border region. It has been the site of several prison facilities, including one that opened in the 1970s and another that closed in the 1990s. It's also home to a prison system that was established in the 1960s and which is still in operation today. The state of Texas has a prison population of more than 2,000. It also has a number of other facilities that are used to house prisoners, such as the Texas State Prison for Women, which opened in 1994. The Texas State Jail is located near the town. It opened in 1998. It houses a prison facility that is currently under construction. It will be completed in the spring of 2018. The jail is located on the outskirts of the town, in the area known as the "Abilene Correctional Center" The prison is also known as "The Correctional Center of the West".

Education

Abilene is home to six colleges, three of which are religiously affiliated. Abilene Christian University is the largest with 2012 undergraduate enrollment at 4,371. The city has two school districts within the city limits: Abilne Independent School District (AISD) and Wylie Independent school District (WISD). High schools include AbilENE High School and Cooper High School of AISD, and Wylon High School, of WISD. The town has a population of 4,000, with the majority living in the central part of the city. The majority of residents live in the city's central area. The community has a high school population of 2,000. The school district has two high schools, one for boys and one for girls. It has a primary school and a middle school, both of which have around 1,000 students. The local high school has about 1,200 students, the majority of whom are under the age of 16. The high school district also has a junior high school, which has about 100 students, and an elementary school, with around 100 students. It is the only city in the state with more than one high school in the same area. It also has two middle schools and one junior high, which have more than 100 students each. The district has three high schools for girls, one of which is a junior highs school. The primary school has more than 1,500 students. There are no high schools in the town.

Health care

Hendrick Medical Center includes two large hospital campuses on the north and south sides of Abilene. It is one of seven healthcare institutions affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The Presbyterian Medical Care Mission was founded in 1983 as a medical and dental clinic. Its services are focused to low-income individuals and families without insurance. The hospital is located in the city's downtown area, near the intersection of Interstate-30 and I-30. It's one of the largest employers in the area, with more than 2,000 employees. It was founded by the Presbyterian Church of Texas in 1983, and is affiliated with its local hospital system, the Presbyterian Hospital of Texas and the Presbyterian Medical Center of Texas, which is in the same building. It also has a satellite hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, and a satellite clinic in Waco, Texas.

Culture

Abilene is home to the restored Paramount Theatre, the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, the Grace Museum, the Center for Contemporary Arts, the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, The Abilne Zoo, Frontier Texas!, the 12th Armored Division Museum, and the Taylor County Expo Center. The city is also home to six libraries (three private, three public), 26 public parks, six television stations, a daily newspaper, and several radio stations, including one NPR station (89.5 KACU). The city has one of the largest concentrations of college students in the United States, with more than 1,000 students attending local colleges and universities. The town has a reputation for being a great nightlife destination, with a growing nightlife scene in the downtown area. It also has a strong agriculture community, with many farmers and ranchers living in the surrounding area. The community has a long history of supporting the arts, especially in the arts and culture community. AbilENE is also known for its love of music, with several bands playing regularly at the Paramount Theatre and other local venues. It has a large number of museums, including the National Museum of American History and the National Gallery of Natural History, which is located in the city's historic downtown. It is the only city in the state to have its own zoo, which opened in the early 1900s. It was the first U.S. city to have a national park, which was opened in 1929. The state has a population of about 2,000.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Abilene, Taylor County, Texas = 83. 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 100. 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 100. 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 Abilene = 5.7 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 125,182 individuals with a median age of 32.5 age the population grows by 0.89% in Abilene, Taylor County, Texas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,157 residents per square mile of area (447/km²). There are average 2.43 people per household in the 43,414 households with an average household income of $39,251 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.90% of the available work force and has dropped -1.24% 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 31.62%. The number of physicians in Abilene per 100,000 population = 225.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Abilene = 23.7 inches and the annual snowfall = 5.2 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 65. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 243. 95 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 31.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 28, 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 Abilene, Taylor County, Texas which are owned by the occupant = 53.61%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 40 years with median home cost = $89,100 and home appreciation of 0.62%. 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 $14.78 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 $4,212 per student. There are 14.9 students for each teacher in the school, 489 students for each Librarian and 357 students for each Counselor. 5.54% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 14.61% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.82% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).