Official Name: | Merkel, Texas |
Settlement Type: | City |
Mapsize: | 250px |
Image Map1: | Taylor County Merkel.svg |
Mapsize1: | 250px |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | United States |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Name1: | Texas |
Subdivision Type2: | County |
Subdivision Name2: | Taylor |
Leader Title: | Mayor |
Leader Name: | Mary Schrampfer |
Leader Title1: | City Manager |
Leader Name1: | Steve Campbell |
Leader Title2: | Chief of Police |
Leader Name2: | Phillip Conklin |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Area Footnotes: | [1] |
Area Total Km2: | 7.25 |
Area Land Km2: | 7.25 |
Area Water Km2: | 0.00 |
Area Total Sq Mi: | 2.80 |
Area Land Sq Mi: | 2.80 |
Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
Population As Of: | 2020 |
Population Footnotes: | [2] |
Population Total: | 2471 |
Population Density Km2: | 340.98 |
Population Density Sq Mi: | 883.13 |
Timezone: | Central (CST) |
Utc Offset: | -6 |
Timezone Dst: | CDT |
Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
Elevation M: | 570 |
Elevation Ft: | 1870 |
Coordinates: | 32.4683°N -100.0133°W |
Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
Postal Code: | 79536 |
Area Code: | 325 |
Blank Name: | FIPS code |
Blank Info: | 48-47796[3] |
Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Blank1 Info: | 1374885[4] |
Merkel is a city in Taylor County, Texas, United States. Its population was 2,471 at the 2020 census.[2] It is part of the Abilene metropolitan area.
Merkel is located 17 miles west of Abilene near Interstate 20. The town has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.2 km), all land.
According to the Köppen climate classification, Merkel has a semiarid climate, BSk on climate maps.[5]
Around 1870, when the Texas and Pacific Railway was built, the city was founded as Windmill Town. In 1881, it was renamed as Merkel in honor of the first settler in this area, S. M. Merkel, from Germany. In 1882, the first mercantile store and in 1883, the first post office opened.
White (NH) | 1,778 | 71.95% | |
Black or African American (NH) | 26 | 1.05% | |
Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 9 | 0.36% | |
Asian (NH) | 5 | 0.2% | |
Some other race (NH) | 2 | 0.12% | |
Mixed/multracial (NH) | 80 | 3.24% | |
Hispanic or Latino | 570 | 23.07% | |
Total | 2,471 |
As of the census of 2000, 2,637 people 1,012 households, and 719 families resided in the town. The population density was 1342sp=usNaNsp=us. The 1,202 housing units averaged 611.7 per square mile (236.8/km). The racial makeup of the town was 89.42% White, 1.14% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 6.37% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 14.22% of the population.
Of the 1,012 households, 37.9% had children under 18 still living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were not families. About 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.56, and the average family size was 3.08.
In the town, the population was distributed as 28.2% under 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $29,083, and for a family was $34,250. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $16,620 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,292. About 9.9% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.
The City of Merkel is served by the Merkel Independent School District.[7]