Cooke County, Texas

County in Texas, United States

Not to be confused with Coke County, Texas.

"Cooke County" redirects here; not to be confused with Cook County.

County in Texas

Cooke County

County

The Cooke County Courthouse in Gainesville

Flag

Location within the U.S. state of Texas

Texas's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 33°38′00″N 97°13′00″W﻿ / ﻿33.633333333333°N 97.216666666667°W﻿ / 33.633333333333; -97.216666666667
Country|  United States
State|  Texas
Founded| 1849
Seat| Gainesville
Largest city| Gainesville
Area

• Total

| 898 sq mi (2,330 km2)
• Land| 875 sq mi (2,270 km2)
• Water| 24 sq mi (60 km2)  2.6%
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 41,668
• Density| 46/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 26th
Website| www.co.cooke.tx.us

Cooke County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. At the 2020 census, its population was 41,668.[1][2] The county seat is Gainesville.[3] The county was founded in 1848 and organized the next year. It is named for William Gordon Cooke, a soldier during the Texas Revolution. It is a part of the Texoma region.

Cooke County comprises the Gainesville, TX micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Dallas–Fort Worth, TX-OK combined statistical area.

## Geography

[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 898 square miles (2,330 km2), of which 24 square miles (62 km2) (2.6%) are covered by water.[4]

### Major highways

[edit]

* Interstate 35/U.S. Highway 77
* U.S. Highway 82
* Farm to Market Road 51

### Adjacent counties

[edit]

* Love County, Oklahoma (north)
* Grayson County (east)
* Denton County (south)
* Wise County (southwest)
* Montague County (west)

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1850| 220| | —
1860| 3,760| | 1,609.1%
1870| 5,315| | 41.4%
1880| 20,391| | 283.7%
1890| 24,696| | 21.1%
1900| 27,494| | 11.3%
1910| 26,603| | −3.2%
1920| 25,667| | −3.5%
1930| 24,136| | −6.0%
1940| 24,909| | 3.2%
1950| 22,146| | −11.1%
1960| 22,560| | 1.9%
1970| 23,471| | 4.0%
1980| 27,656| | 17.8%
1990| 30,777| | 11.3%
2000| 36,363| | 18.1%
2010| 38,437| | 5.7%
2020| 41,668| | 8.4%
2024 (est.)| 44,258| [5]| 6.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1850–2010[7] 2010[8] 2020[9]
Cooke County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[10] | Pop 2010[8] | Pop 2020[9] | % 2000  | % 2010  | % 2020

|
|
|
|
|
|

White alone (NH)  | 30,826  | 30,255  | 29,404  | 84.77%  | 78.71%  | 70.57%
Black or African American alone (NH)  | 1,087  | 1,018  | 1,181  | 2.99%  | 2.65%  | 2.83%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)  | 304  | 303  | 360  | 0.84%  | 0.79%  | 0.86%
Asian alone (NH)  | 121  | 278  | 307  | 0.33%  | 0.72%  | 0.74%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)  | 1  | 19  | 13  | 0.00%  | 0.05%  | 0.03%
Other race alone (NH)  | 22  | 35  | 125  | 0.06%  | 0.09%  | 0.30%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)  | 375  | 532  | 1,759  | 1.03%  | 1.38%  | 4.22%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)  | 3,627  | 5,997  | 8,519  | 9.97%  | 15.60%  | 20.44%
Total | 36,363 | 38,437 | 41,668 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00%

According to statistical data from 2016, Cooke County has a population of 39,141 people (41% urban, 59% rural), nearly 14,000 households, and over 10,000 families. The population density was 42 people per square mile (16 people/km2). The 15,061 housing units averaged 17 units per square mile (6.6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 88.84% White, 3.06% Black or African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 5.16% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. About 10% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the more than 14,000 households in Cooke County, 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living in the home, 59.60% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were not families; 23.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.07.

The population was distributed as 27.30% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

While 2015 estimates place the median household income for Cooke County at $53,552, past estimates showed the median household income to be $37,649, with the median family income being $44,869. Males had a median income of $32,429 and females $22,065. The per capita income was $17,889. About 10.90% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.80% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over. Median house values in 2015 were $118,254.

## Government and infrastructure

[edit]

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department operates the Gainesville State School in an unincorporated area in Cooke County, east of Gainesville.[11]

### Politics

[edit]

Cooke County has long voted predominantly Republican; the only Democratic presidential candidate to win Cooke County since 1948 was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, in that year's landslide over Barry Goldwater. Cooke County has been included in the Texas's 26th congressional district. vote in each of the past six presidential elections, starting in 2000. Republican Drew Springer, Jr., a businessman from Muenster, has represented Cooke County in the Texas House of Representatives since January 2013.[12]

United States presidential election results for Cooke County, Texas[13] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2024 | 16,975  | 82.86% | 3,310  | 16.16%  | 202  | 0.99%
2020 | 15,596  | 81.98% | 3,210  | 16.87%  | 219  | 1.15%
2016 | 13,181  | 82.61% | 2,352  | 14.74%  | 422  | 2.64%
2012 | 11,951  | 83.28% | 2,246  | 15.65%  | 154  | 1.07%
2008 | 11,871  | 78.86% | 3,051  | 20.27%  | 132  | 0.88%
2004 | 11,908  | 78.82% | 3,142  | 20.80%  | 57  | 0.38%
2000 | 10,128  | 75.19% | 3,153  | 23.41%  | 188  | 1.40%
1996 | 7,320  | 59.53% | 3,782  | 30.76%  | 1,195  | 9.72%
1992 | 5,299  | 40.50% | 3,105  | 23.73%  | 4,680  | 35.77%
1988 | 7,196  | 62.84% | 4,217  | 36.82%  | 39  | 0.34%
1984 | 8,260  | 71.43% | 3,278  | 28.35%  | 26  | 0.22%
1980 | 6,760  | 62.58% | 3,842  | 35.57%  | 200  | 1.85%
1976 | 4,804  | 51.50% | 4,483  | 48.05%  | 42  | 0.45%
1972 | 6,317  | 78.28% | 1,702  | 21.09%  | 51  | 0.63%
1968 | 3,799  | 47.96% | 2,711  | 34.22%  | 1,412  | 17.82%
1964 | 3,117  | 43.23%  | 4,083  | 56.62% | 11  | 0.15%
1960 | 3,983  | 55.50% | 3,168  | 44.15%  | 25  | 0.35%
1956 | 4,164  | 64.33% | 2,272  | 35.10%  | 37  | 0.57%
1952 | 4,385  | 62.20% | 2,657  | 37.69%  | 8  | 0.11%
1948 | 1,194  | 23.76%  | 3,241  | 64.48% | 591  | 11.76%
1944 | 919  | 18.61%  | 3,270  | 66.22% | 749  | 15.17%
1940 | 1,358  | 23.20%  | 4,483  | 76.59% | 12  | 0.21%
1936 | 686  | 15.62%  | 3,686  | 83.93% | 20  | 0.46%
1932 | 470  | 11.02%  | 3,775  | 88.51% | 20  | 0.47%
1928 | 2,262  | 53.99% | 1,924  | 45.92%  | 4  | 0.10%
1924 | 525  | 12.85%  | 3,170  | 77.58% | 391  | 9.57%
1920 | 1,003  | 29.60%  | 2,170  | 64.05% | 215  | 6.35%
1916 | 353  | 12.91%  | 2,273  | 83.11% | 109  | 3.99%
1912 | 206  | 9.64%  | 1,780  | 83.29% | 151  | 7.07%
United States Senate election results for Cooke County, Texas1[14] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2024 | 16,284  | 80.22% | 3,620  | 17.83%  | 395  | 1.95%

## Communities

[edit]

### Cities

[edit]

* Callisburg
* Gainesville
* Lindsay
* Muenster
* Valley View

### Towns

[edit]

* Oak Ridge
* Road Runner

### Census-designated places

[edit]

* Lake Kiowa
* Myra

### Unincorporated communities

[edit]

* Bulcher
* Burns City
* Dexter
* Era
* Hood
* Leo
* Lois
* Marysville
* Mountain Springs
* Prairie Point
* Rosston
* Sivells Bend
* Sturgeon
* Walnut Bend
* Woodbine

### Ghost towns

[edit]

* Bloomfield
* Coesfield
* Custer City
* Freemound
* Hemming

## See also

[edit]

* Texas portal

* List of museums in North Texas
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Cooke County, Texas
* Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Cooke County
* Cooke County Library

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Cooke County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
2. ^ "Cooke County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
5. ^ "QuickFacts: Cooke County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
6. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
7. ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
8. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Cooke County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
9. ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Cooke County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
10. ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Cooke County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
11. ^ "Gainesville State School Archived 2011-02-20 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Youth Commission. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
12. ^ "State Rep. Springer announces district tour July 30". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, July 16, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
13. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
14. ^ "2024 Senate Election (Official Returns)". Commonwealth of Texas by county. November 5, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Cooke County government's website
* Cooke County from the Handbook of Texas Online

Places adjacent to Cooke County, Texas

|  | Love County, Oklahoma |

|
|

|  |
Montague County |

Cooke County, Texas

| Grayson County
|  |
Wise County | Denton County |

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Cooke County, Texas, United States

County seat: Gainesville

Cities|

* Callisburg
* Gainesville
* Lindsay
* Muenster
* Valley View

Cooke County map

Towns|

* Oak Ridge
* Road Runner

CDPs|

* Lake Kiowa
* Myra

Other
communities|

* Bulcher
* Burns City
* Dexter
* Era
* Hood
* Leo
* Lois
* Marysville
* Mountain Springs
* Prairie Point
* Rosston
* Sivells Bend
* Sturgeon
* Walnut Bend
* Woodbine

Ghost towns|

* Bloomfield
* Coesfield
* Custer City
* Freemound
* Hemming

* Texas portal
* United States portal

* v
* t
* e

Counties of Texas

* Anderson
* Andrews
* Angelina
* Aransas
* Archer
* Armstrong
* Atascosa
* Austin
* Bailey
* Bandera
* Bastrop
* Baylor
* Bee
* Bell
* Bexar
* Blanco
* Borden
* Bosque
* Bowie
* Brazoria
* Brazos
* Brewster
* Briscoe
* Brooks
* Brown
* Burleson
* Burnet
* Caldwell
* Calhoun
* Callahan
* Cameron
* Camp
* Carson
* Cass
* Castro
* Chambers
* Cherokee
* Childress
* Clay
* Cochran
* Coke
* Coleman
* Collin
* Collingsworth
* Colorado
* Comal
* Comanche
* Concho
* Cooke
* Coryell
* Cottle
* Crane
* Crockett
* Crosby
* Culberson
* Dallam
* Dallas
* Dawson
* Deaf Smith
* Delta
* Denton
* DeWitt
* Dickens
* Dimmit
* Donley
* Duval
* Eastland
* Ector
* Edwards
* El Paso
* Ellis
* Erath
* Falls
* Fannin
* Fayette
* Fisher
* Floyd
* Foard
* Fort Bend
* Franklin
* Freestone
* Frio
* Gaines
* Galveston
* Garza
* Gillespie
* Glasscock
* Goliad
* Gonzales
* Gray
* Grayson
* Gregg
* Grimes
* Guadalupe
* Hale
* Hall
* Hamilton
* Hansford
* Hardeman
* Hardin
* Harris
* Harrison
* Hartley
* Haskell
* Hays
* Hemphill
* Henderson
* Hidalgo
* Hill
* Hockley
* Hood
* Hopkins
* Houston
* Howard
* Hudspeth
* Hunt
* Hutchinson
* Irion
* Jack
* Jackson
* Jasper
* Jeff Davis
* Jefferson
* Jim Hogg
* Jim Wells
* Johnson
* Jones
* Karnes
* Kaufman
* Kendall
* Kenedy
* Kent
* Kerr
* Kimble
* King
* Kinney
* Kleberg
* Knox
* La Salle
* Lamar
* Lamb
* Lampasas
* Lavaca
* Lee
* Leon
* Liberty
* Limestone
* Lipscomb
* Live Oak
* Llano
* Loving
* Lubbock
* Lynn
* Madison
* Marion
* Martin
* Mason
* Matagorda
* Maverick
* McCulloch
* McLennan
* McMullen
* Medina
* Menard
* Midland
* Milam
* Mills
* Mitchell
* Montague
* Montgomery
* Moore
* Morris
* Motley
* Nacogdoches
* Navarro
* Newton
* Nolan
* Nueces
* Ochiltree
* Oldham
* Orange
* Palo Pinto
* Panola
* Parker
* Parmer
* Pecos
* Polk
* Potter
* Presidio
* Rains
* Randall
* Reagan
* Real
* Red River
* Reeves
* Refugio
* Roberts
* Robertson
* Rockwall
* Runnels
* Rusk
* Sabine
* San Augustine
* San Jacinto
* San Patricio
* San Saba
* Schleicher
* Scurry
* Shackelford
* Shelby
* Sherman
* Smith
* Somervell
* Starr
* Stephens
* Sterling
* Stonewall
* Sutton
* Swisher
* Tarrant
* Taylor
* Terrell
* Terry
* Throckmorton
* Titus
* Tom Green
* Travis
* Trinity
* Tyler
* Upshur
* Upton
* Uvalde
* Val Verde
* Van Zandt
* Victoria
* Walker
* Waller
* Ward
* Washington
* Webb
* Wharton
* Wheeler
* Wichita
* Wilbarger
* Willacy
* Williamson
* Wilson
* Winkler
* Wise
* Wood
* Yoakum
* Young
* Zapata
* Zavala

* v
* t
* e

State of Texas

Austin (capital)

Topics|

* Outline
* Architecture
* Climate (Climate change)
* Cuisine
* Dialects
* Geography
* Government
* Healthcare
* History
* Languages
* Law
* Literature
* Mass media
* Newspapers
* Radio
* TV
* National Historic Landmarks
* National Register of Historic Places Sites
* Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks
* Sports
* Symbols
* Texans
* Time
* Tourist attractions
* Transportation

Society|

* Abortion
* Culture
* Crime
* Demographics
* Economy
* Education
* Gambling
* Gun laws
* Homelessness
* LGBT rights
* Politics

Regions|

* Ark‑La‑Tex
* Big Bend
* Boca Chica
* Blackland Prairies
* Brazos Valley
* Central Texas
* Coastal Bend
* Concho Valley
* Cross Timbers
* East Texas
* Edwards Plateau
* Golden Triangle
* Hill Country
* Llano Estacado
* Northeast Texas
* North Texas
* Osage Plains
* Panhandle
* Permian Basin
* Piney Woods
* Rio Grande Valley
* Southeast Texas
* South Plains
* South Texas
* Texoma
* Trans-Pecos
* West Texas

Metropolitan
areas|

* Abilene
* Amarillo
* Austin–Round Rock (Greater Austin)
* Beaumont–Port Arthur
* Brownsville–Harlingen
* College Station–Bryan
* Corpus Christi
* Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington (DFW)
* El Paso
* Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land (Greater Houston)
* Killeen–Temple
* Laredo
* Longview/Kilgore
* Lubbock
* McAllen–Edinburg–Mission
* Midland
* Odessa
* San Angelo
* San Antonio–New Braunfels
* Sherman–Denison
* Texarkana
* Tyler
* Victoria
* Waco
* Wagner Creek
* Wichita Falls

Counties|

See: List of counties in Texas

Texas portal

33°38′N 97°13′W﻿ / ﻿33.633°N 97.217°W﻿ / 33.633; -97.217

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* NARA
* Yale LUX

*[Pop.]: Population
*[%±]: Percent change
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template