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Midland is the county seat of Midland County located on the Southern Plains of western Texas. As of the 2004 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 98,082. The Midland–Odessa metropolitan area, however, had a population of 246,710.

Midland was originally founded as the midway point between Fort Worth and El Paso on the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1881. The city has received national recognition as the hometown of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

History

Midland was originally called Midway because of its location between Fort Worth and El Paso, however the name was soon changed to Midland to avoid confusion with other towns in Texas named Midway.

Once a small town based on farming and ranching, Midland was forever changed by the discovery of oil in the Permian Basin in 1923. Soon, Midland was transformed into the administrative center of the West Texas oil fields. Today, the Permian Basin produces a fifth of the nation's total petroleum and natural gas output.

Nicknamed "The Tall City", Midland has a remarkable skyline for a city its size. For many years, the Wilco Building in downtown Midland was the tallest building between Fort Worth and Phoenix. Today, Midland's tallest building is the Bank of America Building, which stands at a height of 332 feet. Four buildings over 500 feet tall were planned in the 1980s, including one designed by world famous architect I.M. PeiList of Architectural designs, including MGF Building by I. M. Pei. The great Oil Bust of the mid-1980's, however, killed any plans for future skyscrapers.

Today, Midland's economy still relies heavily on petroleum, however the city has also diversified to become a regional telecommunications and distribution center.

Geography

Midland is located at (32.005072, -102.099239).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 173.0 km² (66.8 mi²). 172.5 km² (66.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.28%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 94,996 people, 35,674 households, and 25,221 families residing in the city. The population density was 550.6/km² (1,426.2/mi²). There were 39,855 housing units at an average density of 231.0/km² (598.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.51% White, 8.37% African American, 0.63% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 12.49% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.99% of the population.

There were 35,674 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,320, and the median income for a family was $48,290. Males had a median income of $37,566 versus $24,794 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,884. 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% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions

Midland has Midland International Airport, which serves Midland, nearby Odessa, Texas and a large region of West Texas and southeast New Mexico. The airport is considered the gateway to the Big Bend Region of Texas, and Big Bend National Park.

Midland is home to the Midland RockHounds, a Texas League minor league baseball team.

Famous Citizens

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Midland, Texas".

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