Watauga, Texas

Watauga is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 23,497 at the 2010 census.[5] The cities' businesses and retail market is generally located on Highway 377.

Watauga, Texas
City
City Hall facing north on 24 March 2016.
Location within Tarrant County and Texas
Coordinates: 32°52′17″N 97°14′57″W
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Tarrant
Government
• Type	Home Rule (Mayor-Council-Manager)
• City Council	Mayor Arthur Miner Danielle Tucker Tom Snyder Lovie Downey Andrew Neal Juanita King Mark Taylor Kim Irving
• City Manager	Andrea Gardner
Area [1]
• Total	4.16 sq mi (10.77 km^2)
• Land	4.16 sq mi (10.77 km^2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km^2)
Elevation	607 ft (185 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	23,497
• Estimate  (2019)[2]	24,481
• Density	5,886.27/sq mi (2,272.64/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	76148, 76137
Area code(s)	817, 682
FIPS code	48-76672[3]
GNIS feature ID	1376659[4]
Website	ci.Watauga.TX.us

Geography

Watauga is located at 32°52′17″N 97°14′57″W (32.871416, -97.249122).[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (10.8 km²), all of it land.

The city is entirely surrounded by the cities of Keller to the north, Fort Worth to the west, Haltom City to the southwest and North Richland Hills to the south and east. Almost all of the city's land area is located east of US 377, though a portion extends west of that highway and includes homes and some city offices.

Places

Locations within city limits of Watauga include, Capp Smith Park, Watauga Pavilion and Watauga Public Library which is a sworn member of the Fort Worth-based METRO-PAC library catalog system. Other nearby attractions to Watauga and inside the Mid-Cities include North East Mall in Hurst (7–8 miles), Grapevine Lake and Grapevine Mills Mall (17 miles) in Grapevine, NRH20 in North Richland Hills (7 miles), and Southlake Town Square in Southlake (10 miles).

Transportation

No public transportation operates in Watauga, having not elected to join Trinity Metro but instead chosen to direct local sales tax option funds elsewhere.

• U.S. Route 377

History

The first settlers came to Tarrant County in 1843.[7] The Texas and Pacific Railway came through present-day Watauga in 1881, which spurred a settlement of large farms and ranches. The settlement took its name from the pre-Revolutionary War Watauga Association settlement that was located in the northeastern section of East Tennessee, in areas surrounding the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, near present-day Elizabethton, Tennessee.

Watauga received a railroad station and a post office in 1883. The population was 65 in the mid-1930s and 1940s, when the railroad station had closed. The population then grew due to defense plants to over 1000 in the 1960s. The population continued to grow to 7,050 in 1976, and 20,000 in 1990.[8]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1970	3,778		—
1980	10,284		172.2%
1990	20,009		94.6%
2000	21,908		9.5%
2010	23,497		7.3%
Est. 2019	24,481	[2]	4.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 21,908 people, 7,145 households, and 5,944 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,256.9 people per square mile (2,028.5/km²). There were 7,275 housing units at an average density of 1,745.7 per square mile (673.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.05% White, 2.27% African American, 0.64% Native American, 3.69% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 3.91% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.66% of the population.

There were 7,145 households out of which 49.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.8% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.8% were non-families. 12.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city, the population was spread out with 32.3% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 36.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $56,751, and the median income for a family was $57,969. Males had a median income of $40,468 versus $28,360 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,872. About 3.5% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Local government

Watauga is a full-service city, providing police, fire and emergency services, parks and recreation, library; planning, building inspection, economic development, planning and public works. The City operates under a Mayor-Council-Manager form of government. According to the city's 2013-2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $25.5 million in revenues, $23.3 million in expenditures, $102.8 million in total assets, $32.8 million in total liabilities, and $27.5 million in cash and investments.[10]

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:[11]

City Department	Director
City Manager	Andrea Gardner
Finance Director	Sandra Gibson
Police Chief	Robert Parker
Fire Chief	Shawn Fannan
Human Resources & Civil Service Director	Marcia Reyna
Chief Information Officer / PIO	Bradley Fraley
Library Director	Lana Ewell
Municipal Court Judge	J. Stewart Bass
Parks and Community Services Director	Salvador Torres

Education

Watauga is served by two independent school districts. Birdville serves a majority of the city, while Keller serves the northwestern portion.

Economy

Top employers

According to Watauga's 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[12] the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Target	245
2	Birdville ISD	195
3	City of Watauga	190
4	Albertson's	176
5	Harvest Baptist	100
6	North Pointe Health & Rehab	92
7	Fresco's	60
8	Keller ISD	110
9	Cotton Patch Cafe	54
10	Chili's	52

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
4. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
5. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Watauga city, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
6. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
7. City of Watauga website
8. Handbook of Texas Online
9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
10. City of Watauga 2013-14 CAFR Retrieved 2015-06-22
11. City of Watauga FY2014-15 Budget Retrieved 2015-06-22
12. City of Watauga CAFR Retrieved 2017-05-30

External links

• City of Watauga, official website