ZIP Code 79706

Midland was established in June 1881 as Midway Station, on the Texas and Pacific Railway. It became the county seat of Midland County in March 1885, when that county was first organized and separated from Tom Green County. The city has many connections to the Bush family; It was the onetime home of former Presidents George H. W. and George W. Bush and the hometown of former First Lady Laura Bush. Midland's economy still relies heavily on petroleum, but the city has also become a regional telecommunications and distribution center. The Permian Basin produces one fifth of the nation's total petroleum and natural gas output. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case Avery v.Midland County, in which Midland mayor Hank Avery challenged the electoral-districting scheme in effect for elections to the County Commissioner's Court. The court ruled that the scheme violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection clause. At the 2020 census, Midland had a population of 132,524; it is the principal city of the Midland, Texas metropolitan statistical area, which includes Midland and Martin counties. The metropolitan area is part of the larger MidlandOdessa Combined Statistical Area, which will have a total population of 340,391 in the 2020 Census. It has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and cool winters. It receives approximately 13.5 inches (340 mm) of precipitation per year, much of which falls in the summer, but rarely sees extended periods of below-freezing cold waves.

History

Midland was established in June 1881 as Midway Station, on the Texas and Pacific Railway. By 1890, it had become one of the state's most important cattle shipping centers. The city was incorporated in 1906, and by 1910 established its first fire department, along with a new water system. Midland became the county seat of Midland County in March 1885, when that county was first organized and separated from Tom Green County. Today, the Permian Basin produces one fifth of the nation's total petroleum and natural gas output. By August 2006, a busy period of crude oil production had caused a significant workforce deficit in the Midland area. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case Avery v. Midlands County, challenging the electoral-districting scheme in effect for elections to the County Commissioner's Court. The county districts geographically quartered the county, but Midland, in the northwestern quarter, had 97% of the county's population. A dissenting minority held that this example of the Warren Court's policy of incorporation at the local-government level exceeded its constitutional authority. In 1959, John Howard Griffin wrote a history of Midlands, Land of the High Sky. The Midland Chamber of Commerce says there are almost 2,000 more jobs available in the PerMian Basin than there are workers to fill them. By the end of the 1990s, the city had a workforce deficit of more than 1,000 people per day. The U.N. World Economic Forum says the city has a population of 1.2 million.

Geography

Midland has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh or BSk) with hot summers and cool to mild winters. It occasionally has cold waves during the winter, but rarely sees extended periods of below-freezing cold. Midland receives approximately 13.5 inches (340 mm) of precipitation per year, much of which falls in the summer. Most of downtown Midland's major office buildings were built during a time of major Permian Basin oil and gas discoveries. For many years, the 22-story Wilco Building in downtown was the tallest building between Fort Worth and Phoenix. Today, the tallest is the 24-story Bank of America Building, at 332 feet (101 m). Four buildings over 500 feet (150 m) tall were planned in the 1980s, including one designed by architect I.M. Pei. The great oil bust of the mid-1980s killed any plans for future skyscrapers. A private development group was planning to build Energy Tower at City Center, which was proposed to be 870 feet tall, with 59 floors (six floors underground and 53 above) If it had been built, it would have been Texas's sixth-tallest building. The city has an area of 71.5 square miles (185.2 km²), of which 71.3 square miles is land and 0.2 square mile (0.5 km²) is water. It is located in the West Texas plains in West Texas.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 132,524 people, 47,682 households, and 32,632 families residing in the city. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Midland the second fastest-growing small city in the United States. In 2000, the median income for a household in the City was $39,320, and for a family was $48,290. The per capita income for the city in 2007 was $52,294. About 10.1% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 8.0% ofThose age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.19. The median age was 34.2 years. For every 100 females, there are 92.2 males. For each 100 females age 18 or over, there is 87.7 males. The city has a population density of 1,558.9 people per square mile (550.6/km²). There were 47,562 housing units at an average density of 667.1 per squaremile (231.0/ km²). Of the 47,680 households, 37.9%. had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4%. were opposite-sex married couples living together, 11.9. had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3%. were made up of same-sex relationships, non-family habitations, or other habitation arrangements.

Economy

In 2014, Midland had the lowest unemployment rate in the United States, 2.3%. According to the city's latest Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top ten employers in Midland are: oil and gas, manufacturing, construction, retail, manufacturing and services. Midland's unemployment rate is 2.2%. The city's economy is based on oil and natural gas production and exports. The city has the highest percentage of women in the U.S. than any other city in the country. The unemployment rate for women is the highest in the nation at 2.4%. Midland has the lowest percentage of men in the state of Texas, at 1.9%. The unemployment rates for men are the lowest in the states, at 0.8%. The state's top employers are: energy and natural resources, construction and services, manufacturing. The top 10 employers in the city are all women, with the exception of two women, who are all working in the manufacturing industry. The highest unemployment rates are for men and women aged 25 and older. The lowest rate for men is for those ages 18 and older, at 3.5%. The highest percentage for both genders is for women and men aged 18 and over, at 4.3% for both sexes. The U.N. World Economic Forum says Midland is one of the most livable cities in the world, with an unemployment rate of 2.7% in 2014. It's the highest rate for any city in North America.

Arts and culture

Midland is home to the McCormick Gallery, inside the Allison Fine Arts Building on the main campus. The Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale has performed in the Permian Basin for over 45 years. The Museum of the Southwest is in the Turner Mansion, the historic 1934 home of Fred and Juliette Turner. On display at the Midland County Historical Museum are reproductions of the "Midland Man", the skeleton of a Clovis female found near the city in 1953. Midland's economy has long been focused on petroleum exploration and extraction. The museum houses a collection of race cars designed by Jim Hall, a longtime Midland resident who pioneered the use of aerodynamic downforce in Formula One car design. The city is also home to a library and history center, the Haley Memorial Library and History Center at Midland College. It is located on the southern edge of the Llano Estacado and near the center of the PerMian Basin oil fields, near the outskirts of town near Interstate 20. It has a population of around 3,000 people, and is located near the Texas-New Mexico border. The town is about 30 miles from the Mexican city of Laredo, which is about 50 miles from Midland. It also is near the town of Odessa, Texas, about 60 miles south of the Texas/New Mexico state line, and about 20 miles from San Antonio, the state capital. The community is about 40 miles from Austin, the Texas capital.

Sports

Midland is home to the Midland RockHounds, a Texas League minor league baseball team. West Texas United Sockers is an American soccer team founded in 2008. Midland College is a member of the Western Junior College Athletic Conference, and fields teams in baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's golf, softball and volleyball.Plans have been made to develop a 35-court tennis facility named the Bush Tennis Center. The West Texas Drillers (Adult Tackle Football) were established in 2009. They play their home games at Grande Communications Stadium. The Midland Mad Dog Rugby Club, which competes in the Texas Rugby Union as a Division III team, was established in 2011. The team plays its home games in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference. It is the AA affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. It has won 20 national championships in sports since 1975, as well as produced 192 All-Americans. The club is also home to a women's rugby team, which plays in the Division III Texas Rugby League. It was founded in 2011 and is the city's first Division III rugby team. It competes as a division III team. The Drillers are a Minor Professional Football League (MPFL) team. They are a part of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the mid-South Division. They have played in the U.S. Premier League since 2008.

Government

According to its 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Midland's various funds had $57.3 million in revenues, $53.0 million in expenditures, $363.4 million in total assets, and $133.9 million in liabilities. Midland is represented in the US Senate by John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and in the U House of Representatives by August Pfluger. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the headquarters of Parole Division Region V in Midland. The United States Postal Service operates the Midland Main Post Office on the grounds of Midland International Air and Space Port. The other four post offices are Claydesta, Downtown Midland, Graves, and Village. The Midland District Parole Office is in the Region V headquarters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a training facility in the city. The city is home to the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard Auxiliary. The town is also the home of the Texas State Air Force Base, which is located on the Texas-Oklahoma border. The state's largest employer is Texas Instruments, which has an office in Midlands. The local economy is based on the oil and gas industry, which employs more than 1,000 people. It is the second-largest employer in the state, after the state of Texas, after oil and natural gas. The area has a population of 4,000. The average household income in the town is $50,000, and the average household wealth is $75,000; the city has a median household income of $57,500.

Education

Midland is home to three public high schools: Midland High School, Legacy High School and Early College High School at Midland College. Midland has many private schools, including Hillcrest School, Hillander, Midland Classical Academy, and Trinity School of Midland. It is one of only three community colleges in Texas approved to offer a bachelor's degree in applied technology. In July 2020 the Midland Independent School District voted to change the name of the former Robert E. Lee High School to Legacy High school in the wake of the George Floyd protests. The Davidson Distinguished Lectures Series presents free public lectures by "nationally known speakers whose academic accomplishments, civic leadership, and/or public achievements interest, enrich, and enlighten Midland students and citizens." The series was endowed in 1996, and has brought a diverse selection of speakers to Midland, including Ken Burns, Richard Leakey, Bill Moyers, Mark Russell, Sandra Day O'Connor, Richard Rodriguez, Shelby Foote, Anna Deavere Smith, Bill Nye, John Updike and Neil deGrasse Tyson. The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Permian Basin Campus's physician assistant program, on the MC campus, awards a Master of Physician Assistant Studies following 27 months of intensive academic and clinical training. The Midland School District serves the portion in Midland County, as in the vast majority of Midlands. It also has three charter schools: Richard Milburn Academy, Premier High School, Midland Academy Charter School.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Midland, Midland County, Texas = 83. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 50. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 100. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Midland = 5.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 132,524 individuals with a median age of 34 age the population grows by 11.28% in Midland, Midland County, Texas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,935.56 residents per square mile of area (747.33/km²). There are average 2.6 people per household in the 40,063 households with an average household income of $51,489 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.70% of the available work force and has dropped -1.25% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 31.80%. The number of physicians in Midland per 100,000 population = 167.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Midland = 14 inches and the annual snowfall = 2.2 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 32. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 266. 95 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 30.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 33, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Midland, Midland County, Texas which are owned by the occupant = 60.77%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 32 years with median home cost = $146,520 and home appreciation of -3.98%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $18.73 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,326 per student. There are 15.2 students for each teacher in the school, 551 students for each Librarian and 550 students for each Counselor. 6.28% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 20.41% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.05% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).