Zapata County, Texas

Zapata County, Texas
The front of the Zapata County Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 22, 1858
Named for	Colonel Jose Antonio de Zapata
Seat	Zapata
Largest community	Zapata
Area
• Total	1,058 sq mi (2,740 km2)
• Land	998 sq mi (2,585 km2)
• Water	60 sq mi (155 km2), 5.6%
Population
• (2010)	14,018
• Density	14/sq mi (5/km²)
Congressional district	28th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.zapata.tx.us

Zapata County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 14,018. Its county seat is Zapata. The county is named for Colonel Jose Antonio de Zapata, a rancher in the area who rebelled against Mexico.

Zapata County comprises the Zapata, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The South Texas Oil Boom included wells drilled in Zapata County in the early 1920s through the work of Laredo industrialist Oliver Winfield Killam, a Missouri native who once served as an Oklahoma state legislator. It is east from the Mexico–United States border.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,058 square miles (2,740 km²), of which 998 square miles (2,580 km²) is land and 60 square miles (160 km²) (5.6%) is water.

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,182 people, 3,921 households, and 3,164 families residing in the county. Zapata County is estimated to be the eleventh fastest growing county (+15.8%) in the state of Texas since the year 2000 (based on % of population change). The population density was 12 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 6,167 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.07% White, 0.41% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 12.64% from other races, and 2.33% from two or more races. 84.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.