How Big Is Texas? (See It Next to Weird Things)

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A lot of Texans love RVing. They’re outdoor enthusiasts, to say the least! And they know that Texas is big — heck, they can’t stop talking about it!

But just how big is big? I needed some clarity so I placed Texas on a map and overlapped it using weird things. You’ll see below what I’m talking about!

In this article, I have a simple aim — to give you a better perspective on just how big Texas really is!

Texas Quick Facts

Texas is the second-largest state in the United States after California by both area and population.
It has a surface area of 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2) and is located in the South Central part of the United States.
The Texas state capital is Austin (950,807) but the largest city by population is Houston (2.31 million).

Texas Population

The estimated population of Texas (as of 2020) was 29,145,505. That’s nearly 30 million people!

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by population — it has seven million more people than Florida and roughly 10 million less people than California.

The population growth-rate for the state from 2000 to 2020 was 20.6%, reaching 25,145,561 by 2010, and 29,145,505 by 2020.

Presently the state’s proportion of elderly people (65 years or older) is only 9.9%, but the proportion of children (under 19 years) is over 31%. The future most certainly belongs to the young in Texas.

It’s projected that Texas will reach 45 million people by 2040.

Texas History — the Abbreviated Version

Spain initially claimed ownership of the territory that is now Texas in 1519, but it wasn’t until much later that the country began colonizing the region.

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In the late 18th century, Spain colonized Texas and gave it the name “Tejas,” which was a corruption of the Caddo Native American word taysha that meant “friend” or “ally.”

In 1824, Texas became a part of Mexico, but only 12 years later (in 1836) won its independence as a free-standing country.

In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, which was annexed primarily because of its vast area and its potential for economic development. This led to a war between the United States and Mexico.