In 1999,Hurricane Bret struck the county, but damage was minimal due to the sparse population. ThePeñascal Wind Power Project was built nearSarita in the early 21st Century and is expected to slightly raise the population of the area.
TheKing Ranch, of which Mifflin Kenedy had been a partner prior to 1868, covers a large part of the county.[4]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,946 square miles (5,040 km2), of which 1,458 square miles (3,780 km2) is land and 487 square miles (1,260 km2) (25%) is water.[5] In total area, Kenedy is the 13th largest county in Texas.[6] In land area only, it is the 25th-largest county in Texas. It borders theGulf of Mexico.Baffin Bay makes up much of the border with Kleberg County.
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1850–2010[9] 2010-2020[1]
Kenedy 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.
As of thecensus[13] in 2000, there were 414 people, 138 households, and 110 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 0.28 people per square mile (0.11 people/km2). There were 281 housing units at an average density of 0.19 units per square mile (0.073/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 64.49%White, 0.72%Black orAfrican American, 0.72%Native American, 0.48%Asian, 31.88% fromother races, and 1.69% from two or more races. 78.99% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 138 households, out of which 35.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.70% weremarried couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.60% were non-families. 18.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the county, the population had widespread age groups including 29.20% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years old. For every 100 females, there were 110.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $26,719. Males had a median income of $18,125 versus $12,188 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $17,959. 15.30% of the population and 9.90% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 15.60% are under the age of 18 and 18.80% are 65 or older.
Kenedy County, the third least populous county in Texas, had 108 times more cattle than people in 1999.[6]
Almost all of Kenedy County is served by Sarita Elementary School (PreK-6) of theKenedy County Wide Common School District. As of 2001, of the schools in the nine Texas counties having only one school apiece, the population of Sarita Elementary School was the smallest.[6] A small portion of Kenedy County is served by theRiviera Independent School District for all grades K-12.[14] Students who graduate from Sarita Elementary move on to De La Paz Middle School andKaufer Early College High School, operated by Riviera ISD, which takes all secondary students from the KCWCSD area.[15]
Del Mar College is the designated community college for all of Kenedy County.[16]
Like the rest of South Texas, Kenedy County has historically supported candidates from theDemocratic Party. TheRepublican Party has carried the county only eight times since the1924 presidential election. Despite its historic Democratic lean, the county has become competitive in recent years, with RepublicanMitt Romney's performance in2012, and RepublicanDonald Trump's latest two performances in2020 and2024.
In2020, Trump carried the county with over 65% of the vote, making him the strongest Republican margin since1956, and Kenedy was one of only fifteen counties to flip from supportingHillary Clinton in2016 to Trump in 2020. Trump's performance within the county at2024 would end up even more successful, at nearly 73% of the vote. Kenedy County had the longest losing streak in the nation, being the only county to flip fromBarack Obama toMitt Romney, then to Clinton, and then to Trump in hisunsuccessful second bid. However, the county would again support Trump in his more successful2024 election, putting an end to this long streak, since Trump won the2024 election. Since2000, the county has only voted for two winners; Obama in2008, and Trump in2024, and since1980 it has only voted for the winning candidate four times: (Bill Clinton in both his campaigns as well as Obama in 2008, and Trump in 2024). The county has also become Republican-leaning in non-presidential elections, as Republican SenatorTed Cruz won the county in his narrow2018 victory overBeto O’Rourke and the county voted Republican in every statewide election in 2018. However, despite underperformingJoe Biden by 11 points, Democrat Dan Sanchez won the county in his loss to Republican Mayra Flores in the2022 Texas's 34th district special election. Flores subsequently carried the county in her unsuccessful bid for a full term thatNovember.
United States presidential election results for Kenedy County, Texas[17]
In statewide races for governor and the U.S. Senate, the county has slowly trended Republican. The last Democrat to carry the county in a gubernatorial race wasTony Sanchez in2002, whileRick Noriega in2008 is the last Democrat to carry it in a senatorial race.
^"Archived copy".www.king-ranch.com. Archived fromthe original on August 1, 2008. RetrievedJanuary 14, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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