county

Gaines County, TX

Demographic and economic profile of Gaines County, TX, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Gaines County is a small, agriculturally anchored West Texas county of 21,904 residents, with a GDP per capita of $94,131 that far exceeds its per capita income of $30,786, pointing to capital-intensive extraction or farming operations rather than a broad professional workforce. The labor pool skews young—median age 29.3—with a low education attainment rate of 8.1% holding bachelor's degrees or higher, a 2.2% unemployment rate, and median worker earnings of $46,709. Housing costs remain low, with a median home value of $185,300 and median gross rent of $788/month, and the county added 7.8% population growth over five years against a 28.7% foreign-born share.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

21,904

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$74,132

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

29.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+7.8% since 2018

Gaines County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,601 (70.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race4,731 (21.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,211 (5.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone460 (2.1%)
  • Asian Alone124 (0.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races105 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic6,738
  2. 2.Spanish4,466
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic1

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

35.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

9.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

28.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

419

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$94,131

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,786

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining2,054
  2. 2.Construction (Group)1,475
  3. 3.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,365
  4. 4.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities785
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services610

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,305
  2. 2.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,278
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,833
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,381
  5. 5.Sales & Office Occupations1,303

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 14.48×)2,040
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 2.27×)1,387
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.76×)359
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.75×)907
  5. 5.Information (LQ 1.13×)187

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$185,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$788/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

74.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999873 (16.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999789 (15.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999512 (9.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999398 (7.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999357 (6.9%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999339 (6.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

8.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

58.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

59.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$46,709

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,489 (73.2%)
  • Carpooled1,799 (20.3%)
  • Worked At Home266 (3.0%)
  • Other185 (2.1%)
  • Walked102 (1.2%)
  • Bicycle12 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Gaines County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.