Beaumont is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, about 100 miles from Houston, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 113,866.
Oil was discovered at Spindletop near this city on January 10, 1901. Spindletop became the first major oil field.
Beaumont is the county seat of Jefferson County6 and is in Southeast Texas.
The Southeast Texas Regional Airport in Nederland, Texas, serves Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas. Lamar University is based in Beaumont. The city's newspaper is The Beaumont Enterprise.
Gulf States Utilities had its headquarters in Beaumont until its absorption by Entergy Corporation in 1993. GSU's Edison Plaza headquarters is still the tallest building in Beaumont (as of 2004).
Since 1907, Beaumont has been home of the South Texas State Fair. In 2004, the venue for the Fair changed to Ford Park, a new, larger facility on the west end of Beaumont.
Geography
Beaumont is on Texas's coastal plain, about 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and just south of the dense pine forests of East Texas. The city is bordered on the east by the Neches River, and to the north by the Pine Island Bayou . Before being settled, the area that is now Beaumont was crisscrossed by numerous small streams, but most of these have been filled in or converted for drainage purposes.
Beaumont is located at 30°4'48" North, 94°7'36" West (30.079912, -94.126653)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 222.6 km² (85.9 mi²). 220.2 km² (85.0 mi²) of it is land and 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.07% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 113,866 people, 44,361 households, and 29,100 families residing in the city. The population density is 517.2/km² (1,339.4/mi²). There are 48,815 housing units at an average density of 221.7/km² (574.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 46.39% White, 45.85% African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.48% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. 7.93% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 44,361 households out of which 31.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% are married couples living together, 18.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% are non-families. 29.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.50 and the average family size is 3.12.
In the city the population is spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $32,559, and the median income for a family is $40,825. Males have a median income of $35,861 versus $24,255 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,632. 19.6% of the population and 16.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 28.6% of those under the age of 18 and 12.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.