Racial and ethnic composition 2020 census As of the
2020 census, 13,889 people, 4,536 households, and 3,254 families lived in the county. The median age was 32.8 years; 30.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.0 males age 18 and over. The racial makeup of the county was 39.0%
White, 0.1%
Black or African American, 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
Asian, <0.1%
Native Hawaiian and
Pacific Islander, 14.7% from some other race, and 45.5% from
two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 93.6% of the population. 78.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 21.2% lived in rural areas. Of the 4,536 households in the county, 43.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.4% were married-couple households, 17.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. 12,182 people, 3,921 households, and 3,164 families resided in the county. Zapata County is estimated to be the 11th-fastest growing county (+15.8%) in Texas since 2000 (based on percentage of population change). The
population density was . The 6,167 housing units had an average density of . The
racial makeup of the county was 84.07% White, 0.41% 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. About 84.78% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 3,921 households, 43.2% had children under 18 living with them, 64.2% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.3% were not families. About 17.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.52. In the county, the age distribution was 33.0% under 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 93.7 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,635 and for a family was $26,722. Males had a median income of $26,294 versus $14,579 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $10,486. About 29.3% of families and 35.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 46.1% of those under 18 and 21.3% of those 65 or over.
Religion According to the 2020 US Census, Zapata County is 55% Catholic, 5.8% Evangelical Protestant, 2.4% Mormon, 1.5% Jehovah's Witnesses, 0.4% mainline Protestant, and 35.0% other or none. ==Government and politics==