Dickens, Texas

Water tower just outside Dickens

Dickens, Texas
City
The Dickens County Courthouse
Location of Dickens, Texas
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Dickens
Area
• Total	1.0 sq mi (2.5 km2)
• Land	1.0 sq mi (2.5 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	2,546 ft (776 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	286
• Density	299/sq mi (115.3/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	79229
Area code(s)	806
FIPS code	48-20332
GNIS feature ID	1356008

Dickens is a city in and the county seat of Dickens County, Texas, United States. The population was 286 at the 2010 census, down from 332 at the 2000 census.

Charles Weldon Cannon (1915–1997), a Dickens County native, made his famous boots and saddles in Dickens.

Geography

Dickens is located west of the center of Dickens County at (33.621341, -100.834987), with the Croton Breaks to the east and Mackenzie Peak to the north. U.S. Route 82 passes through Dickens, leading east 30 miles (48 km) to Guthrie and west 62 miles (100 km) to Lubbock. Texas State Highway 70 crosses the west side of town, leading north 28 miles (45 km) to Matador and southeast 34 miles (55 km) to Jayton.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Dickens has a total area of 0.97 square miles (2.5 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1940	465		—
1950	420		−9.7%
1960	302		−28.1%
1970	295		−2.3%
1980	409		38.6%
1990	322		−21.3%
2000	332		3.1%
2010	286		−13.9%
Est. 2014	256		−10.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 332 people, 133 households, and 88 families residing in the city. The population density was 340.1 people per square mile (130.8/km²). There were 163 housing units at an average density of 167.0/sq mi (64.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.58% White, 4.52% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.04% of the population.

There were 133 households out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,875, and the median income for a family was $31,750. Males had a median income of $22,361 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,024. About 15.5% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 21.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Dickens is served by the Spur and Patton Springs Independent School Districts.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Dickens has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.