Dumas, Texas

Geography

Dumas is located at 35°51′45″N 101°58′1″W (35.862478, -101.966931). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.52 square miles (14.3 km²), of which, 5.5 square miles (14 km²) of it is land and 0.019 square miles (0.049 km²) of it (0.34%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 14,691 people (an increase of 6.9% from the 2000 Census), 4,979 households, and 3,725 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,660 people per square mile (1,028/km²). There were 5,340 housing units at an average density of 1047 per square mile (650.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.9% White, 2% African American, 0.9% Native American, 4.7% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 15.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 50.5% of the population.

There were 4,979 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals living alone and 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.40.

In the city, the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 15 to 19, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101 males. Of the population over the age of 18, for every 100 females there were 98 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,298, and the median income for a family was $52,536. Males had a median income of $37,589 versus $25,498 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,614. About 8.3% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The City of Dumas describes its government as a Commission-Manager Government with a mayor and four commissioners all elected from the city at-large, and a city manager appointed by the commission to serve as the administrative manager of the city.

The current mayor is Pat Sims.

Education

Dumas Independent School district serves the cities of Dumas and Cactus.

Secondary schools

Primary schools

Alternative schools

The North Plains Opportunity Center (Op-Center) is an alternative school located within the Dumas Independent School District. The primary function of the school is to provide an alternative education for the student who is at risk of dropping out of school, needing to recover lost credits or who desires to accelerate their education experience in order to pursue college or career goals.

Colleges

Amarillo College, a two-year fully accredited community college, has a branch campus in Dumas.

Notable people

Dumas is the home of Republican former State Representative David A. Swinford, now a lobbyist, and the birthplace of Joe "King" Carrasco.

Bassist Tommy Shannon, who is best known as a member of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble formed by guitarist/singer Stevie Ray Vaughan. He grew up mainly in Dumas. Shannon joined his first band, The Avengers, around age 13. The band members were Shannon on guitar, Tim Easley on vocals, Jim Love on guitar and David Davis on drums. In high school, Shannon was in the band Ekos. Soon after high school, he moved to Dallas from Dumas and joined a soul cover band in 1966, initially called The New Breed, and later The Young Lads. Shannon recorded two 45's with this band, which featured Tim Easley on vocals and Uncle John Turner on drums.

Climate

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