Economy
Lubbock is the economic hub (hence its nickname, the Hub City) of a multi-county
agricultural region commonly called the South Plains. The area is one of the
largest cotton-growing regions in the world and is heavily dependent on
irrigation water drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer. Unfortunately, the water
is being depleted at a rate which is not sustainable for the long term. Much
progress has been made in the area of water conservation and new
technologies such as Low Energy Precision Application or LEPA irrigation
were originally developed in the Lubbock area.
Music and culture
Lubbock is the birthplace of Rock and Roll legend, Buddy Holly and has a
cultural museum, the Buddy Holly Center. The city has also been the
birthplace or home of several country musicians including Jimmie Dale
Gilmore, Butch Hancock, and Joe Ely (collectively known as the Flatlanders),
Waylon Jennings, Mac Davis, Terry Allen, Lloyd Maines and his daughter,
Natalie Maines (singer for the Dixie Chicks).
Lubbock hosts the National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration, an annual event
celebrating the prototypical Old West cowboy. The event is held in September
and features art, music, cowboy poetry, stories, and the presentation of
scholarly papers on cowboy culture and the history of the American West. A
chuckwagon cookoff and horse parade also take place during the event.
The National Ranching Heritage Center, a museum of ranching history, is also
located in Lubbock. It features a number of authentic early Texas ranch
buildings as well as a railroad depot and other historic buildings.
Geography
Lubbock is located at 33°33'53" North, 101°52'40" West (33.564735,
-101.877793)1. It is located on a vast plateau called the Llano Estacado, or
Staked Plain. The average elevation is 3,256 feet above sea level.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
297.6 km˛ (114.9 mi˛). 297.4 km˛ (114.8 mi˛) of it is land and 0.3 km˛ (0.1
mi˛) of it is water. The total area is 0.09% water.
The county of Lubbock was founded in 1876, named after Thomas S. Lubbock, a
Texas Ranger, but the town of Lubbock was not founded until 1890. The
following year it became the county seat, and in 1909 was reincorporated as
a city. Texas Technological College was founded here in 1925; it later
became Texas Tech University.
On May 11, 1970 an unusually severe tornado struck Lubbock killing 26 people
and doing about $530 million damage.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 199,564 people, 77,527 households, and
48,531 families residing in the city. The population density is 671.1/km˛
(1,738.2/mi˛). There are 84,066 housing units at an average density of
282.7/km˛ (732.2/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is 72.87% White, 8.66%
African American, 0.56% Native American, 1.54% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander,
14.32% from other races, and 2.01% from two or more races. 27.45% of the
population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 77,527 households out of which 30.3% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 45.6% are married couples living together, 12.9%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% are non-families.
28.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.0% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.47 and the average family size is 3.07.
In the city the population is spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18,
17.9% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 30 years. For every 100
females there are 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 91.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $31,844, and the median
income for a family is $41,418. Males have a median income of $30,222 versus
$21,708 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,511. 18.4% of
the population and 12.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 21.9% are under the age of 18 and 10.1% are
65 or older.
