Census says Wimberley residents older, more educated than average Texan

Wimberley residents are older, more German-Irish and about as wealthy as their fellow Texans, according to new Census Bureau data released last week.

The median age of those living in Wimberley when the Census headcount was conducted in 2020 was 56 years. Across Texas the median age was 35 years. And across Hays County, the median was 33.

Nineteen percent of Wimberley’s population reported German and Irish ancestry, compared to 14 percent reporting those roots in the state of Texas.

And in terms of median household income, Wimberley residents made $64,000 per year, the same number reported by other Texans but far less than the Hays County median of $72,000.

Acquiring those numbers constitutes a tiny dip into the pool of data posted by the Census Bureau last week at the bureau website – data.gov.

As the Museum of the City of New York put it in describing the available profiles: “The result is a rich trove of demographic information that describes the population and its characteristics.”

The breakouts are based on the 2020 headcount, but also on other resources compiled by the bureau for a variety of purposes. The profiles include basic numbers for specific geographic areas, right down to Wimberley neighborhood snapshots. Using data.gov tools, users can map a state, county, town and city block growth, ethnic and racial makeup, income, education, housing type, number of veterans, poverty, age and employment, among many other data points.

A variety of individuals, businesses and governmental bodies will find their own uses for the information, including the intended purpose of the census as a federal legal requirement to determine who is represented by whom in Congress and in state legislatures.

The latter is the most im portant purpose for the collection of information about who we are and where we live, and the redistricting process is already under way in the Texas Legislature. But, some new-district maps submitted in Austin so far weren’t based on the headcount at all.

“Given the very tight timeline, it is unlikely that all tools provided will be employed by the Legislature,” Dr. Sherri Mora, a professor of political science at Texas State University who is also a Wimberley resident, said. “Since the data was released late, and the time frame for legislative action is also short, legislators often prepare baseline plans.”

Besides helping officials determine who represents Wimberley residents in the county courthouse, the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C., the Census numbers also determine federal funding and the allocation of other government resources.

But there’s almost something for everyone in the data.gov profile section. Businesses can mine the information to find shifting demographics to locate stores, revise factory locations and put together business plans for the future. Government planners can use the data to predict birth and death rates, for example, or to predict the need for services for various age groups.

At the most basic levels, the numbers tell us who we are and who our neighbors are and how we’ve changed.

For example, the most recent profiles show:

• Almost 30 percent of Wimberley residents were 65 and older.

• The median income for married couple families was $101,300.

• Fifteen percent of the children in Wimberley lived in poverty.

• Forty-three percent of residents had a bachelor’s degree or higher. (Thirty percent of Texans had achieved those educational levels.)

• Fifty percent of workers in Wimberley were employed by private companies. Thirteen percent were government workers.

• Average family size in Wimberley was 2.81 people. In Texas, the average family size was 3.5 people.

In addition to providing a window onto demographics of Wimberley, Hays County and Texas in 2020, the data profiles available at data. gov allow users to compare geographic regions and to compare 2020 numbers to numbers on the same subject from the 2010 census headcount.

Census Trivial Pursuit

■ What is the average travel time to work for Hays County residents? (31 minutes)

■ What’s the average commute for the average Texan? (27 minutes)

■ Hays County men worked a mean number of hours. How many? (41)

■ How about Hays County women? (35)

■ In Wimberley, what percentage of people are 18 years of age and older? (87 percent)

■ In Texas, what percentage of people are 18 and over? (75 percent)

■ How many Hays County residents speak English as the only language in the home? (74 percent)

■ How many Texans speak English as the only language in the home? (64 percent)