Amarillo Demographics As Of 2020

Amarillo Demographics As Of 2020

As of 2018 census, the total population of Amarillo, Texas is 198,924, from which 91.8% are citizens. In 2017, the median age was 33.7 and native-born citizens were generally younger (33 years old) than foreign-born citizens (38 years old). The majority of residents are White (55.5%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (31.8%), and African American (6.18%). 91.8% of its people were US citizens which is lower than the U.S. National average of 93.2%. 

The largest universities in Amarillo are Amarillo College with 2,084 degrees awarded in 2017, Milan Institute-Amarillo with 95 degrees awarded, and Wade Gordon Hairdressing Academy with 32 degrees awarded. Female students received more degrees (1,274 degrees awarded to women) compared to men who received degrees that year (988). 

In 2017, the median property value in Amarillo is $123,200 which is higher compared to the 2016 housing median of $120,500. As of 2019, 33.4% are renter-occupied and 59% are owner-occupied. The largest share of households pays a $3k+ average range in property taxes. The average commuters in Amarillo spend an average of 17.3 minutes to work from their home to their work location which is shorter than the average commute time of a U.S. worker which is 25.1 minutes. Most workers drive alone going to work (82.1%) while the rest carpool (12.8%). 2.26% has work from home setup. The largest share of the household owns two cars.

Amarillo’s Bustling Economy

Amarillo’s Bustling Economy

The growth continued in the 1890s. The first of Amarillo’s many city parks, Ellwood Park, was established. Three churches were constructed. Sanborn family donated a building which became Amarillo College. In 1899, Amarillo voted its first elected town mayor, Warren W. Wetzel. The town was considered as one of the world’s busiest cattle-shipping points. From 482 residents in 1890, the population grew to 1,442 by 1900. In another 10 years, it grew to 9,957. The sudden influx of people resulted in the rise of saloons, brothels, and outlaws in the Bowery district. Crime became a common occurrence and many citizens resented the image that Bowery District is bringing to Amarillo. Being the first district after exiting Union Station, visitors and potential investors were turned off and if affected the reputation of Amarillo. With the help of the city council, the police force, and the residents, unscrupulous activities in Bowery gradually declined.

Amarillo’s population numbered 51,686 by 1940. A United States veterans’ hospital was built and during World War II, the influx of servicemen and their families boosted Amarillo’s chamber of commerce. The business growth continued until the 50s and 60s, and the new city built a library, a civic center, a municipal building, and a medical center. The closing of Amarillo Air Force Base on 1968 caused a decrease in population, but Amarillo’s continuous boom in the 1970s attracted residence of other cities. By 1980, Amarillo had 47 schools, 9 radio stations, 5 hospitals, 164 churches, and four tv stations. 

Economy 

Amarillo’s economic strength is closely tied to the energy industry, particularly petroleum extraction. In April 1929, the federal government acquired 50,000 acres and built an extraction plant near Amarillo which received notable commendations for meeting the global demand for helium gas. The plant continued its operation until it became privatized in the late 1990s.

Healthcare and Social Assistance is the largest industry that employs 13,679 people, followed by Retail Trade which employs 11,382 people. While the city of Amarillo is just under 240,000 residents as of 2019 census, over 414,500 residents travel to Amarillo for retail, medical, grocery, and restaurant services from across the Panhandle and the tri-state area. The 2019 total consumer expenditures were valued at $154,028,239 and there is 17.5% projected spending growth by 2024. There are 564 dining businesses in Amarillo and 106 hotel services.

The highest paying industry is the Utilities which brings an average wage of $62,721, followed by Transportation & Warehousing, and Utilities which pays an average of $53,072, and Quarrying, Mining, and Oil and Gas extraction paying $52,227 annually. 

The most common employment by occupation-based in 2017 data was Office & Administrative Support jobs (13.4%) followed by Sales & Related jobs with 10,895 people (11.4%). The credit repair industry is alive and well in Amarillo, as well. The highest-paid ethnicity of workers was Asian which was paid by 1.25 times ($64,947) more than the White workers ($52,072).    

There are approximately 14 million acres in Amarillo used for agriculture with cotton, corn, and wheat as primary crops followed by hay, soybeans, and silage as secondary produce. 

Median household income is $51,198, and with 1.41 times higher, the males in Amarillo have higher than the average income compared to females ($45,959), which brings the income inequality (measured using the Gini index) to 0.482, which makes it higher than the U.S. national average. Amarillo has a lower unemployment rate of 2.8% compared to the U.S. national average of 3.7% as of September 2019.

Amarillo’s most common trade partners are Louisiana with $97.1 billion trade value, Oklahoma with $59.6 billion and California with $38.4 billion. The top domestic products were fuel oils ($290 billion), gasoline ($217 billion), and mixed freight ($175 billion). In 2020, the domestic trade is valued at $2.15 trillion and is projected to increase to $2.8 trillion by the year 2045. 

Major companies in Amarillo, Texas include ASARCO, Bell Helicopter Textron, Tyson Foods, and BNSF Railway. Amarillo Design Bureau, Amarillo National Bank, and Pantex are all big corporations headquartered in the city.

The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) promotes and encourages business expansion by providing aggressive incentive packages to existing and prospective employers. The corporation is funded by a city sales tax and was founded in March 1990. AEDC gained notoriety in the mid-to-late 1990s when they sent mock checks to businesses across the country, paying an annual $1 million subsidy to American Airlines to retain jet service, and placing full-page advertisements in The Wall Street Journal, all to boost Amarillo as a business hub. Thanks to AEDC’s efforts, Bell Helicopter Textron opened the assembly plant of the V-22 Osprey hybrid aircraft in Amarillo in 1999.

The Beginnings of Amarillo: A Brief History

The Beginnings of Amarillo: A Brief History

Known as “The Yellow Rose of Texas”, Amarillo is a short twenty-minute drive from the city and was put on the map by the famous Route 66. Originally named Oneida, the city was incorporated in 1892 and famous for its amazing canyons, steak houses, theatres, and nature centers. Tourists can visit the picturesque Palo Duro Canyon State Park, do a steak challenge at The Big Texan Steak Ranch, watch a show at Amarillo Little Theatre, visit the art display along Route 66 called Cadillac Ranch, and visit the Amarillo Botanical Gardens, Amarillo Zoo, and Wildcat Bluff Nature Center.

History 

Considered as the commercial center of the Texas Panhandle, Amarillo is the 14th most populous city in Texas, located in southern Potter County and extends into Randall County. In April 1887, J. T. Berry and a group of Colorado City merchants arrived from Abilene to begin trading and establish stores. He chose a well-watered section of school land along the way of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad. Berry and the group of merchants want the townsite to be the center of trade for the region. On August 30, 1887, the town, originally called Oneida, was chosen county seat. The name was also changed to Amarillo (the Spanish word for color yellow) by New Mexico traders, probably due to the yellow soil along the creek banks, or also possibly due to the yellow wildflowers abundant in the area. 

The development of the new town was fast. In October 1887, its first freight service was made available and the Amarillo became the cattle-marketing center. Many people from nearby townsites began moving to Amarillo as a post office, stable, passenger station, freight depot, lumberyard, and hotel were established. The town also had its first weekly newspaper in 1888 called Amarillo Champion. It also built its first school which made the town enticing to the public who brought lots sold by auction for $50 to $100 each. Berry’s town seems to be well-established until 1988 when Henry B. Sanborn started buying plots of land to the East of Amarillo. 

Recognized as the father of Amarillo, Sanborn together with his partner Joseph F. Glidden, owners of Frying Pan Ranch, argued that Berry’s site was on low ground and prone to flooding during rainstorms. They started to trade lots and contribute to the expenses of moving to entice people from Berry’s townsite to theirs. Soon, merchants started transferring from the “old town” to the “new town”, and when Sanborn built an elegant, forty-room Amarillo hotel, the new town quickly became the social center and the area cattle buyers considered it as an unofficial headquarters.

In the spring of 1889, heavy rains flooded Berry’s “old town” and with lack of effective drainage, more people moved to Sanborn’s higher location. In 1890, the First National Bank started its operation in Sanborn’s land, and merchants from other towns moved or established their business in the new town. In 1893, another county-seat election officially transferred the title to Sanborn’s town. In 1894, three newspapers were circulating: Amarillo Northwest, Livestock Champion, and Amarillo Weekly News.