County profile

Galveston County

Texas · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
358,990
Median household income
$86,105
People below poverty
11.7%
Median home value
$314,600

Income

The median income of households in Galveston County, Texas was $86,105. An estimated 5.1% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 14.6% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 5.1
$10,000 to $14,999 3.4
$15,000 to $24,999 6.1
$25,000 to $34,999 6.3
$35,000 to $49,999 9.1
$50,000 to $74,999 13.8
$75,000 to $99,999 12
$100,000 to $149,999 17.6
$150,000 to $199,999 12
$200,000 or more 14.6

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 76517
Female 60834

An estimated 79.1% of households received earnings. An estimated 28.2% of households received Social Security and an estimated 23.3 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $25,031. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 79.1
Social Security 28.2
Retirement income 23.3
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 4.2
Cash public assistance income 2.3

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 11.7 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 14.6% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 11.8% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 10.6% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 11.7
Children under 18 years below poverty 14.6
People 65 years old and over below poverty 11.8
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 10.6

In 2020-2024, 10.5 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 51.9% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 36.3% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 28.5% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024, 86.4% had health insurance coverage and 13.6% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 68.8% and public coverage was 28.2%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 10%.


In 2020-2024, Galveston County, Texas had a total population of 358,990 - 181,882 (50.7%) females and 177,108 (49.3%) males. The median age was 38.8 years. An estimated 23.6% of the population was under 18 years, 32.6% was 19 to 44 years, 25.7% was 45 to 64 years, and 15.8 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 10465 9977
5 to 9 11801 11816
10 to 14 12906 12052
15 to 19 12664 11687
20 to 24 10756 10412
25 to 29 11159 11064
30 to 34 11737 12197
35 to 39 11552 12603
40 to 44 12668 12577
45 to 49 11233 11525
50 to 54 11279 11590
55 to 59 10841 11596
60 to 64 11947 12282
65 to 69 9917 10659
70 to 74 7147 7881
75 to 79 4323 4911
80 to 84 2727 3553
85 and over 1986 3500

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 60.3% were White; 12.3% were Black or African American; 8.7% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 3.4% were Asian; 3.4% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 18.4% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 26.4% of the people in Galveston County, Texas were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 54% of the people in Galveston County, Texas were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 140,660 households in Galveston County, Texas. The average household size was 2.51 people.

Married-couple households made up 51.3% of the households in Galveston County, Texas while cohabiting couple households made up 5.4% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 26.8% of all households, while 16.5% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 12.4% of households were male householders living alone, and 15.3% were female householders living alone, for a total of 27.7% of all households.

In Galveston County, Texas, 31.1% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 29.1% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 51.3
Cohabiting Couples 5.4
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
16.5
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
26.8

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 55.2% of males and 51.1% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 31.8 26.8
Now married, except separated 55.2 51.1
Separated 1.1 1.7
Widowed 2.2 7.6
Divorced 9.7 12.7

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Galveston County, Texas, 6,851 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 33.6% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 89.8% of the people living in Galveston County, Texas were U.S. natives. 63.2% of the Galveston County, Texas population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 10.2% of Galveston County, Texas residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 50.5% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 72.8 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Galveston County, Texas come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Galveston County, Texas.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 60.3
Asia 24.2
Europe 8.4
Africa 3
Northern America 3.8
Oceania 0.3

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024, 20.5 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 16% of people at least five years old; 6.5% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 16
Other Indo-European languages 1.8
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 2.3
Other languages 0.4

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 86.1 % of the people at least one year old living in Galveston County, Texas were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 86.1
Different house, same county 7.2
Different county, same state 4.6
Different state 1.6
Abroad 0.4

Education

In 2020-2024, 89.9 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 34.8% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 10.1% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Galveston County, Texas was 91,514 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 4,971 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 63,750. College or graduate school enrollment was 22,793.

Educational Attainment of People in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 10.1
High school diploma or equivalency 22.5
Some college, no degree 22.7
Associate's degree 9.9
Bachelor's degree 23.2
Graduate or professional degree 11.6

Disability

In Galveston County, Texas, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 13.6 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 4.9% of people under 18 years old, to 11.3% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 36.2% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Galveston County, Texas, 59.9 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 36.1% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 76.2% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 17.9% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 5.8 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 129,586 76.2
Federal, state, or local government workers 30,473 17.9
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 9,858 5.8

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Galveston County, Texas worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1.5
Construction 7.6
Manufacturing 10.8
Wholesale trade 2.1
Retail trade 9.7
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 6
Information 1.2
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 5.7
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 11.6
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 24.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 9.7
Other Services, except public administration 4.9
Public administration 4.5

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 75,680 44.5
Service occupations 28,852 17
Sales and office occupations 31,538 18.5
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 14,572 8.6
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 19,475 11.4

Commuting to Work

An estimated 77.2% of Galveston County, Texas workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.4% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 27.9 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 77.2
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.4
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.5
Walked 1.4
Other means 1.8
Worked from home 11.7

In 2020-2024, Galveston County, Texas had a total of 161,868 housing units. Of these housing units, 73.4% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 22.5% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 3.7% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 73.4
Apartments in multi-unit structures 22.5
Mobile homes 3.7
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.4

19.8% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 5.2% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Galveston County, Texas was 5.6 rooms, and of these housing units 64.7% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Galveston County, Texas had 140,660 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 21,208 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 67.6% while renters occupied 32.4%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.67 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.18.

5.7% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 6% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 5.4% and another 22.3% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Galveston County, Texas:

House Heating Fuel Used in Galveston County, Texas in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 47.4
Electricity 51.6
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0
All other fuels 0.3
No fuel used 0.6

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Galveston County, Texas was $314,600.

Of the owner-occupied households, 57.2 % had a mortgage. 42.8% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $2,245 and for owners without a mortgage it was $824.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Galveston County, Texas was $1,404. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.