| Alvarado | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Motto: | "The Crossroads of Johnson County"[1] |
| Image Caption: | Downtown Alvarado, December 2019 |
| Mapsize: | 260px |
| Pushpin Map: | Texas#USA#North America |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Texas |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Johnson |
| Government Type: | Manager-council government |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Jacob Wheat |
| Leader Title1: | City Manager |
| Leader Name1: | Paul DeBuff |
| Established Title: | Incorporated (city) |
| Established Date: | 1885 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 12.68 |
| Area Land Km2: | 10.76 |
| Area Water Km2: | 1.92 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 4.89 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 4.15 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.74 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 4739 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation M: | 233 |
| Elevation Ft: | 764 |
| Coordinates: | 32.4064°N -97.2128°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 76009 |
| Area Code: | 817 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 48-02260[3] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1329475[4] |
Alvarado is the oldest city in Johnson County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,739 in 2020.
The community's first sheriff, A. H. Onstoott, is credited with naming Alvarado for Alvarado, Veracruz, Mexico, where he fought in a battle during the Mexican–American War.
Alvarado is located in eastern Johnson County at 32.4064°N -97.2128°W (32.406342, –97.212792),[5] at the intersection of US Highway 67 and Interstate 35W. The city is south of the center of Fort Worth and southwest of Dallas.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Alvarado has a total area of 12.5km2, of which 10.6km2 are land and 1.9sqkm, or 15.35%, are water.[6] The water area comprises Alvarado Park Lake, a reservoir on Turkey Creek 3miles southwest of the city. Alvarado is drained by the North Fork of Chambers Creek, a southeast-flowing stream that is part of the Trinity River watershed.
Alvarado's nearest neighboring communities are Venus to the east, Keene to the west, Burleson to the north, and Grandview to the south.
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Alvarado has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[7]
| White (NH) | 2,875 | 60.67% | |
| Black or African American (NH) | 256 | 5.4% | |
| Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 22 | 0.46% | |
| Asian (NH) | 35 | 0.74% | |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 3 | 0.06% | |
| Some Other Race (NH) | 13 | 0.27% | |
| Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 248 | 5.23% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,287 | 27.16% | |
| Total | 4,739 |
Alvarado is a rural community with an economy that has been primarily agricultural with only a modest retail and industrial base. In recent years the trend has been away from agriculture and toward more urban development. In 2007 Sabre Tubular Structures built a new 200000square feet facility located on on the eastern side of town. Sabre has over 200 employees at this facility.[9] The city received a 2008 grant of $750,000 from the Texas Department of Agriculture for infrastructure improvements related to Sabre.[10]
In the latter part of the 2000s, development of natural gas wells in the Barnett Shale were a source of prosperity for the city and many property owners benefited from drilling activity, pipeline construction and royalty payments. As natural gas prices fell in 2009, drilling activity and royalty payments declined rapidly.
The city uses a council-manager government, with a mayor and six city council members representing three wards, one being the mayor pro tempore.
The city's 2009–10 general fund budget was $3.9 million.[11]
The city is served by the Alvarado Independent School District. There are no colleges or universities in Alvarado, although residents pay a Hill College maintenance tax and residents receive in-district student rates.