WORK-FORCE1
BeeCountyProfile, 2nd ed.
Philip W. Rhoades, Ph.D.
Valerie Villarreal B.A.
Stephanie Jackson B.A.
Swathi Yarlagadda B.S.
SocialScienceResearchCenter
June 30, 2005
BeeCountyProfile, 2nd. ed
Authors
Philip W. Rhoades, Ph.D.
Valerie Villarreal B.A.
Stephanie Jackson B.A
Swathi Yarlagadda B.S.
This report has been produced for Work-Force 1 by the Social Science Research Center at TexasA&MUniversity – Corpus Christi. Funding was provided through a contract with the Coastal Bend Work-Force Development Board.
Copyright 2005
All or portions of this report may be duplicated in support of public education, grant writing or planning efforts, if citation is made of sources: The Social Science Research Center, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi and Work-Force 1.
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BEECOUNTY
OVERVIEW
According to Texas Economic Development, BeeCounty is in the Rio Grande plain of south central Texas, fifty miles northwest of Corpus Christi and 146 miles southeast of Austin. The County consists of 880 square miles with a 2000 population density of 36.8 residents per square mile. The average density in Texas is 79.6 persons per square mile which is the same as the national average. This County ranked 84thin 2000 population compared to all 254 counties in Texas with an estimated population of 32,359.
Beeville is the County seat and largest town. Special events and attractions include BeevilleArtGallery and Museum, annual Western Week, hunting leases, camping and nearby Choke Canyon StatePark and LakeCorpus Christi.
The population context for BeeCounty remains important. The 2004 census data indicate that BeeCountychanged at a much slower rate than the Stateas a whole. BeeCountyincreased .4% from 2000 to 2004 while the Stategrew 7.9%. In 2004, 10.6%of the County’s population was 65 years old and over while 10.2% of the Statewas 65 or over.
In 2004, BeeCounty had only 41.6% of its population in the 16 years and over in the labor force as compared to 63.7% for Texas. The County has a median householdsize of 2.69 compared to theStateat 2.74. Also, with lower household median income in 2004 than the State($43,487), BeeCounty ($30,516) has more families, adults, and children in poverty.
DEMOGRAPHICS
According to the 2004 U.S. demographics, the total population for BeeCounty had grown to 32,486. When looking at Race in terms of population numbers, the total number of Whites was 21,975( 67.6%) this includes Hispanics and other due to that some individuals marked more than one option for Race. The total of number of Hispanics or Latinos (of any race) was 18,316 (56.4%). The total numberof Blacks or African Americans was 3,251(10%). The total number of all other races was 7,260 (22.3%). The total number of males in the County was 19,313 and total number of females was 13,173. The 12 and under population was 5,243, 13 – 17 age range was 2,198 and 18 and over (includes elderly population) was 25,887. The total number of elderly population over 65 was 3,457.
YOUTH CRIME
Drug use amongjuveniles is prevalent in BeeCounty. In 2004, BeeCounty had a higher drug arrest rate than the State’s drug arrest rate. In BeeCounty, the rate of juvenile violent crime arrests was 0.5as compared to 0.6 in the State. The juvenile property crime arrest rate in BeeCounty was 1.6 as compared to 4.6 for the State. BeeCounty had lower rates of violent and property crime when compared to the state.
When looking at runaway arrests in 2004, the rate in Bee (.9) is lower than that of theState(1.96). Juvenile arrests for curfew, vandalism, and disorderly conduct are also lowerin BeeCounty (2.9) as compared to the State(5.56).
ADULT CRIME
In 2004, the rate of alcohol-related arrests was higher in the County (23.4)than the State(7.76). In BeeCounty, the rate of violent crime arrests was 0.9 which was lower than Stateat 1.75. The property crime arrest rate in BeeCounty was 3.4 as compared to 5.9 for the State.
VICTIMIZATION
When examining confirmed cases of child abuse, the rate confirmed victims of child abuse per 1,000 children in BeeCounty(23.9) was greater than that of the State(8.2) in 2004. When examining confirmed cases of adult abuse in BeeCounty(3.1) as compared to the State(2.7), the rate was alsohigher.
When looking at victims of domestic violence,BeeCounty has a slightly lower incident rate of family violence. According to the 2003 Texas Uniform Crime Reports, BeeCounty had a rate of 8.5 incidents of family violence the same as the State.
EDUCATION
Education is a key component to the success of a community. In the 2003 – 2004 academic school year, Texas implemented the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), system of exams to replace the TAAS.For that year, the sum of all grades tested, the Reading test was higher than the Statein three of the four school districts in BeeCounty. These include, Pawnee, Pettus and Skidmore-Tynan ISD’s.For the Math test, the proportion passing the test was lower than the Statein all the school districts.
Another area examined was the proportion of eligible students scoring at or above the Texas Education Agency accountability criteria on the SAT or ACT. For the 2003 -2004 school year Beeville (13), Pettus (5.9), and Skidmore-Tynan (4.3) ISD’s had lower proportions than the State(27.2). No data was available for Pawnee ISD.
Attendance is another important factor in a student’s success in school. InBeeCounty, Pawnee school districtreporteda higher average of 97% of it’s daily attendance rate as compared to the Stateaverage of 95.6%. Beeville, Pettus and Skidmore-Tynan ISD’s reported a slightly lower daily attendance average rate of 95.2%.
Drop-out rates reported for the graduating class of 2003, indicated that Pettus and Skidmore ISD had higher drop-out rates compared to the State’s . Beeville ISD is the only district in BeeCounty that had lower drop out rate than the State. Pawnee ISD did not report drop out information.
When looking at the high school graduation rate in BeeCounty, Beeville and PettusISD’s wereslightly above the Stateaverage graduation rate . Skidmore-Tynan ISD’s graduation rate was below the State’s.
Institutions of higher learning were also examined. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Del Mar College, Coastal Bend College-Beeville were the four institutions that were examined.
In the spring semester of 2005 academic enrollment by ethnicity at TAMU-CC was 55.9% White, 36.8% Hispanic, 3.1% Black, 4.1% and other. The total number of students was 7,849. The greatest proportion of students was enrolled in the College of Arts and Humanities (27.3%) followed the College of Education (25%), College of Science and Technology (20.3%), College of Business (17.4%), and the College of Nursing and Health (10.1%).
In the spring semester of 2005 academic school year, enrollment by ethnicity at Del Mar College was 56.5% Hispanic, 36.7% White, 2.8% Black, and 4.0% other. The total number of students was 11,495. A large proportion of the students are enrolled in the Occupation Education & Technology Department (35.5%), followed by Business and Career (27.1%), Arts and Sciences (20.3%) and undeclared (17.1%).
In the spring semester of 2005 academic school year, enrollment by ethnicity at TAMU-K was 27% White, 62% Hispanic, 5% Black, and 6% other. The total number of students was 6,200. A greatest proportion of students are enrolled in the Arts and Sciences (35.0%) followed the Education (24.9%), Engineering (14.9%), Business Administration (14.2%) and Agriculture and Human Sciences (11.1%).
In the spring semester of 2005 academic school year, enrollment by ethnicity at CoastalBendCommunity College was 30.7% White, 62.6% Hispanic, 4.5% Black, and 2.2% other. The total number of students was 3,565.
In 2004, the educational attainment level of the population 25 years and over demonstrates that BeeCounty lacks much of the education needed for success in the workforce. The County has a lower percentage of its population with a bachelor’s or a graduate degree when compared to the state. It does however, have a higher proportion of its population with a high school diploma when compared to the Statein 2004.
ECONOMIC DEPRIVATION
A significant stress on families is poverty. The data reveal that poverty is quite present in BeeCounty. One way of examining poverty is looking at the per capita income in 2003. For BeeCounty the per capita income was $15,695 as compared to the State’s $29,074. The median household income in was $30,516 for BeeCounty and $43,487 for the State. From 2001 to 2004, the unemployment rate in BeeCountyincreased. The states unemployment rate has seen a steady increase from 2001 to 2003.
When examining poverty, the census bureau in 2002 reported that all ages in poverty as well as children in poverty in BeeCountywas higher than the state. In BeeCounty, the rate of all ages in poverty was 28.7 and the rate of children in poverty was 28.7. The State’s rate of all ages in poverty was 15.4 and the state’s rate of children in poverty was 21.3.
Another area of measuring poverty is looking at programs that support impoverished children. In 2004, BeeCounty had 40.1% of its infants and children receiving WIC support as opposed to the states rate of 35.6 %. In 2004, BeeCounty reported that 6.1% of its child population was enrolled in CHIPS as opposed to 5.5% for the state.
The number of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients in the Stateand County increased from 2003 to 2004. This also holds true for the Food Stamp recipients for both the Stateand County. For the Medicaid Program, the County saw a decrease in recipients from 2003 to 2004 but the Statesaw an increase .
Poverty in BeeCounty is a problem and affects many individuals and families. An example of this is grandparents as caregivers. Grandparents as caregivers according to the U.S. Census Bureau is defined as grandparent living in household with one or more own grandchildren under 18 years of age, and the being responsible for the grandchildren. In BeeCounty that percentage in 2000 was 58.3 compared to the Stateat 46.7%. This represents 12.8% of the County’s families with children compared to 9.4% in Texas and 7.0% in the Nation.
OCCUPATION & EMPLOYMMENT BY INDUSTRYDATA
According to the 2000 Census data, a majority of the residents in Bee are employed by the following top six industries: Public Administration, 17.7%, followed by Educational Services at 12.2%, Retail Trade at 10.5%, Health Care and Social Assistance at 10.1%,Construction at 6.9% and Accommodation and food services at 5.9%. County employment in Public Administration and Educational Services are much higher than the State’s level. Other than these two and Mining, Health Care, and Agriculture, BeeCounty has lower proportion of employees in all other sectors.
SOCIAL SERVICES
When examining the area of social services two variables were examined: adults with mental illness and individuals with disabilities. The estimated number of adults with mental illness from 2001 to 2005 has remained relatively stable with an average of 5,002 adults in the last 5 years.
In 2000, the percent of individuals with disabilities in BeeCounty was slightly higher than the state. The percent of individuals with disabilities from 5 – 15 years of age was 5.7% in BeeCounty and in the Stateof Texas it was 5.3%. The percent of individuals with disabilities from 16 to 64 years of age was 23.4% for BeeCounty and 19.2% for the State. For individuals 65 and over,it was 48.4% for BeeCounty and 44.8% for the State.
HEALTH DATA
Several variables were examined in regard to health data including: teen births, infant mortality, mortality, and chronic liver disease.
The percent of teen births in 2003 was higher in BeeCountyat 8.9% as compared to the Stateat 5.1%. The percent of low birth weight infants was slightly higher in 2003 at 6.4% in BeeCounty as compared to 7.9% for the State. The infant mortality rate per 1,000 in BeeCounty in 2002 was 8.1 as compared to 6.4% for the State.
The mortality rate per 1,000 in BeeCounty was 6.7 as compared to 7.1 in Texas. Long term use of alcohol in BeeCounty is a problem. When looking at the long term effects of alcohol use, the chronic liver disease death rate per 10,000 in 2003 for BeeCounty was 0.9 as compared to 1.05 in the State. The rate of deaths due to diabetes per 10,000 in 2003 for BeeCounty was 3.03 as compared to the State’s 2.59.
In 2003, in BeeCounty the HIV rate was 0.06 and the AIDS rate was 0.90 as compared to the State’s HIV rate of 0.88 and the rate of AIDS was2.91.
QUALITY OF LIFE DATA
When looking at the quality of life in BeeCounty, several variables were examined. Public transportation was one variable that was examined. In 2000, on average 0.6% of individuals in JimWellsCounty used public transportation and the average travel time to work was 24.2 minutes. For the Statein 2000, it was 1.9% of individuals with an average time to work of 25.4 minutes.
Another area examined was residence’s County to workplace. In 2000, the percent of residents that worked in BeeCounty was 76.8% as compared to 23.2% that work outside of the County.
The total number of housing units in 2004 in BeeCounty was 11,218. Of those 54.9% were owner-occupied housing units, 27.9% renter-occupied housing units, and 17.3% were vacant-housing units.
In 2004, the average vehicle per household for the County and Statewere both near 1.7. The County had 8.7 % of its population that had zero vehicles available, 39% of its population had one vehicle available and 52.3% of its population had two vehicles available.
Marriage and Divorce
In 2003, BeeCounty saw a lower divorce rate of 3% as compared to the State’s 3.9. This is a 6.25% decrease in divorce for the County from 2000 to 2003; however, the Stateonly showed a decrease of 2.5% for these years.
In 2003, BeeCounty had a marriage rate of 5.3 which is lower than the State’s rate of 8.2. When broken up into total households with children the percentage of married couples with children in the County for 2004 was 64.9 % as compared to the State’s 70.7%.
DISCUSSION
BeeCounty is the fourth largest in the Coastal Bend Region by population. It grew at a much slower rate than that of the State. The County’s population is slightly older than the State’s with the majority of its population in the 18 and over category. This holds true for not only 2004 but also for 2000.
With only 41.6% of its population in the labor force age group, BeeCounty has 22.1% fewer residents available for employment. Potentially compounding the availability of these residents for employment is that 23.4 % of this age group reports one or more disability and 19.5% may need services for mental illness.
Even though the County has a slightly a more mature population than that of the State, it has higher rates of both child and adult abuse. Possibly due to a more mature population, the County saw lower rates in adult crime in areas of violent arrests , drug arrests, and property arrests when compared to the State. The County did experience higher rates of adult crime when compared to the Statein the areas of vandalism and alcohol arrests in 2003.
Juvenile crime is still an issue in BeeCounty. In 2003, it saw higher rates of juvenile crime in the areas of alcohol, violent crime and drug arrests when compared to the state. The Statedid have higher rates of juvenile crime in the areas of property, runaway and vandalism type offenses.
The four school districts in BeeCounty appear to be performing similarly to Statewhen it comes to rates of graduation. The County’s population does lack in higher education. The County is lower when compared to the Statewhen measuring higher education.
Poverty is prevalent in BeeCounty. The County has higher poverty rates than that of the Statein the “All Ages in Poverty” and “Children in Poverty” categories for the latest reported years.
The County’s employment opportunities are not as diversified as those of the State. A significant proportion of its population (ninth highest in the region) travels outside the County to work.
DATA SOURCES
1. America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2002.
2. Driscoll Children’s Hospital. Corpus Christi.
3. Comptroller, Texas State. City Mixed Beverage Comparison Summary (Quarterly). Austin, 2001-2002.
4. Health, Texas Department of. HIV/STD Epidemiology Division, Surveillance Branch
5. Human Services, Texas Department of. Estimates of the Texas Poverty Population by County. Austin,
various years.
6. Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Texas Department, Central Office Program Statistics and
Planning. Austin, 2001.
7. Nueces County Children’s AdvocacyCenter. Corpus Christi.
8. Protective and Family Services, Texas Department of. Annual Reports 2000 [to] 2003. Austin, 2000 -
2003.
9. Public Safety, Texas Department of. Crime Records Service. Uniform Crime Reporting. Austin, 2001.
10. Women’s Shelter of South Texas. Corpus Christi.
10a. WIC Headquarters Office in Austin, Texas
WEB SITES
11. Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. Demographics Now
13. Fed Stats
14. HIV/STD Epidemiology Division,
Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of Health
15. Mental Health and
Mental Retardation, Statistical Data.
16. National Association of Homebuilders
17. Standardized Occupational Components for Research and Analysis of
Trends Employment System
18. State Sales and Use Tax Analysis Report.
19. Bureau of Vital Statistics, Texas Department of Health.
20. Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
21. Texas Department of Human Services.
22.. Texas Department of Health
23. Texas Department of Public Safety
24. Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
25. Texas Economic Development.
26. Texas Economic Development: Community Profiles.
27. Texas Education Agency.
28. Texas Juvenile Probation Commission.
29. Texas Workforce Commission.
30. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
31. Texas Youth Commission.
32. Texas Health and Human Services Commission
33. Texas Labor Market Information.
34. Texas Kids Count.
35. United States Census Bureau.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis
- Anne E Casey Foundation
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