ZIP Code Tabulation Area

79536

Merkel, TX · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

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

Total population
5,047
Median household income
$71,131
People below poverty
13.7%
Median home value
$136,400

Income

The median income of households in 79536 was $71,131. An estimated 4% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 9.9% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 4
$10,000 to $14,999 2.4
$15,000 to $24,999 12.2
$25,000 to $34,999 6.1
$35,000 to $49,999 9.2
$50,000 to $74,999 17.2
$75,000 to $99,999 17.1
$100,000 to $149,999 18
$150,000 to $199,999 4
$200,000 or more 9.9

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 57061
Female 38693

An estimated 80.6% of households received earnings. An estimated 37.6% of households received Social Security and an estimated 17.1 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $22,711. 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 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 80.6
Social Security 37.6
Retirement income 17.1
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 6.9
Cash public assistance income 0

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 13.7 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 21.3% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 14.6% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 9.7% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 13.7
Children under 18 years below poverty 21.3
People 65 years old and over below poverty 14.6
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 9.7

In 2020-2024, 12.4 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 37% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 41.7% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 10.9% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 79536 in 2020-2024, 89.6% had health insurance coverage and 10.4% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 68.9% and public coverage was 35.1%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 1.7%.


In 2020-2024, 79536 had a total population of 5,047 - 2,592 (51.4%) females and 2,455 (48.6%) males. The median age was 32.9 years. An estimated 27.7% of the population was under 18 years, 34.3% was 19 to 44 years, 20.7% was 45 to 64 years, and 16.8 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for 79536 in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 180 272
5 to 9 144 213
10 to 14 126 239
15 to 19 149 95
20 to 24 338 153
25 to 29 108 231
30 to 34 266 174
35 to 39 76 138
40 to 44 86 164
45 to 49 199 111
50 to 54 137 93
55 to 59 53 126
60 to 64 182 146
65 to 69 103 173
70 to 74 185 85
75 to 79 31 66
80 to 84 41 70
85 and over 51 43

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 82.9% were White; 2.4% were Black or African American; 13.9% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0% were Asian; 1.6% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 8.8% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 13.3% of the people in 79536 were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 78.1% of the people in 79536 were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 1,695 households in 79536. The average household size was 2.95 people.

Married-couple households made up 58.3% of the households in 79536 while cohabiting couple households made up 8.3% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 19.6% of all households, while 13.8% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 11.3% of households were male householders living alone, and 10.4% were female householders living alone, for a total of 21.7% of all households.

In 79536, 42.1% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 33.4% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 58.3
Cohabiting Couples 8.3
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
13.8
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
19.6

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 56.6% of males and 54.2% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 31.4 20.1
Now married, except separated 56.6 54.2
Separated 1.4 4.1
Widowed 2.8 9.5
Divorced 7.8 12.2

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In 79536, 89 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 30.3% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 97.6% of the people living in 79536 were U.S. natives. 76.7% of the 79536 population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 2.4% of 79536 residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 88.2% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 82.4 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of 79536 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 79536.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 86.6
Asia 0
Europe 11.8
Africa 0
Northern America 1.7
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in 79536 in 2020-2024, 9.1 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 6.4% of people at least five years old; 1.1% 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 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 6.4
Other Indo-European languages 2.6
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 86.2 % of the people at least one year old living in 79536 were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 86.2
Different house, same county 12.1
Different county, same state 0.8
Different state 0
Abroad 0.9

Education

In 2020-2024, 93.4 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 14.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 6.6% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in 79536 was 976 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 86 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 830. College or graduate school enrollment was 60.

Educational Attainment of People in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 6.6
High school diploma or equivalency 51.3
Some college, no degree 19
Associate's degree 8.4
Bachelor's degree 9.8
Graduate or professional degree 4.8

Disability

In 79536, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 16.9 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 3.4% of people under 18 years old, to 14.7% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 47.8% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In 79536, 58 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 40.1% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 78.9% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 14.5% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 6.6 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 1,758 78.9
Federal, state, or local government workers 322 14.5
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 148 6.6

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in 79536 worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 3.9
Construction 6.6
Manufacturing 10
Wholesale trade 1.2
Retail trade 11.2
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 10.5
Information 3.7
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 5.7
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 5
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 23.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 9.3
Other Services, except public administration 5.7
Public administration 3.3

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in 79536 in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 753 33.8
Service occupations 389 17.5
Sales and office occupations 387 17.4
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 352 15.8
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 347 15.6

Commuting to Work

An estimated 81.8% of 79536 workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.3% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 27 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 81.8
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.3
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 1.2
Walked 1.2
Other means 1.2
Worked from home 7.3

In 2020-2024, 79536 had a total of 2,065 housing units. Of these housing units, 66.3% 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"). 5.1% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 27.9% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 66.3
Apartments in multi-unit structures 5.1
Mobile homes 27.9
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.6

11.3% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 12.5% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in 79536 was 5.4 rooms, and of these housing units 62.5% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, 79536 had 1,695 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 370 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 74% while renters occupied 26%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.82 and in renter-occupied houses it was 3.31.

1.3% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 7.7% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 1% and another 34.9% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in 79536:

House Heating Fuel Used in 79536 in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 36.9
Electricity 60.9
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 1.8
All other fuels 0
No fuel used 0.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in 79536 was $136,400.

Of the owner-occupied households, 49 % had a mortgage. 51% 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 $1,284 and for owners without a mortgage it was $606.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for 79536 was $1,198. 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.