Kyle, Texas

Coordinates: 29°59′21″N 97°52′33″W / 29.98917°N 97.87583°W / 29.98917; -97.87583
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Kyle, Texas
City
Downtown Kyle
Downtown Kyle
Nickname: 
Pie Capital of Texas
Location of Kyle, Texas
Location of Kyle, Texas
Coordinates: 29°59′21″N 97°52′33″W / 29.98917°N 97.87583°W / 29.98917; -97.87583
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyHays
Named forFergus Kyle
Government
[1]
 • TypeCouncil–manager government
 • MayorTravis Mitchell
 • Mayor Pro TemMichael Tobias
 • City ManagerBryan Langley
 • City Council
Members
  • Bear Heiser
  • Robert Rizo
  • Miguel Zuniga
  • Ashlee Bradshaw
  • Daniela Parsley
  • Michael Tobias
Area
[2]
 • Total31.27 sq mi (80.99 km2)
 • Land31.07 sq mi (80.48 km2)
 • Water0.20 sq mi (0.51 km2)
Elevation
728 ft (222 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
 • Total45,697
 • Density1,500/sq mi (560/km2)
DemonymKyleite
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
78640
Area code512 & 737
FIPS code48-39952[4]
GNIS feature ID1339257[5]
Websitewww.cityofkyle.com

Kyle is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. Its population grew from 28,016 in 2010[6] to 45,697 in 2020,[3] making it one of Texas' fastest-growing cities.[7]

Geography[edit]

Kyle is in eastern Hays County at 29°59′21″N 97°52′33″W / 29.989080°N 97.875947°W / 29.989080; -97.875947 (29.989080, –97.875947).[8] It is bordered to the south by San Marcos and to the northwest by Mountain City. Kyle is 21 mi (34 km) southwest of downtown Austin and 58 mi (93 km) northeast of San Antonio on Interstate 35.[9]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 19.3 square miles (50.0 km2), of which 19.1 sq mi (49.4 km2) is land and 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2), 1.06%, is covered by water.[10] The Blanco River runs through the western side of the city, while the central and eastern parts of the city drain east to Plum Creek. Both waterways are tributaries of the San Marcos River.

Education[edit]

The longest-active school building in Kyle was built in 1939 as part of the then-Kyle Independent School District, later named Kyle High School and today known as Kyle Elementary School following the construction of Jack C. Hays High School in 1964, named after the same Jack C. Hays that gives the school district, now Hays Consolidated Independent School District, its namesake. High-school students have since attended either Jack C. Hays High School, Lehman High School (since opening in 2004), or Johnson High School located in neighboring Buda (opened in 2019).

In higher education, Kyle sits just seven miles (11 km) north of Texas State University located in San Marcos and is home to the Hays campus of the Austin Community College District which has been fully operational since 2014[11] with the college district's Public Safety Training Center opening a few years afterward.

Transportation[edit]

Austin–Bergstrom International Airport is 25 mi (40 km) northeast of Kyle, San Marcos Regional Airport is 10 mi (16 km) to the south, and San Antonio International Airport is 53 mi (85 km) to the southwest.

The MoPac rail line runs through downtown Kyle but currently there is no stop in Kyle. The Amtrak Texas Eagle passenger rail line has a stop located 10 mi (16 km) south of Kyle in San Marcos.[12]

Residents have access to I-35, SH 45 toll road, FM 150, FM 1626, SH 21, and SH 123.

The Kyle city council in September 2021 approved of a citywide trail system known as The Vybe to connect city residents with a mix of dirt, crushed granite, and paved trails along with existing roadways and trails.

Highways[edit]

Government and infrastructure[edit]

Kyle City Hall

The city of Kyle is governed by a council-manager form of government. The city council consists of three members representing geographical districts, three at-large council members, and the mayor, who is also elected at-large. Each council member is elected to three-year terms.

State and federal representation[edit]

The Management and Training Corporation operates the Kyle Unit, a prison for men in Kyle, on behalf of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.[13] In 1988, the construction of Kyle Unit, the first private prison for the TDCJ, sparked controversy. The Kyle Unit became the second-largest employer in Kyle, after the Hays Consolidated Independent School District. In 1989, the prison had a $50,000 weekly payroll, with much of it going to the city's residents.[14]

The United States Postal Service operates the Kyle Post Office.[15]

History[edit]

Historic Kyle Railroad Depot

As part of railroad expansion along the International-Great Northern Railroad (I&GN), railroad tycoon and entrepreneur, Jay Gould, found an opportunity for additional revenue between the cities of Austin and San Marcos which were lined with cotton fields and livestock farms. Originally, the line railline was to cross over to Mountain City, located three miles north of Kyle, but when addressing with his secretary, Ira Evans, it was seen as more cost effective to build a straight track from Austin to San Marcos which went right through the private lands of Fergus Kyle and his wife, Anne Moore. Following an agreement between the I&GN and the Kyle and Moore families for $1 and the enhanced value of the developed land of 200 acres.

The rights to the track through Kyle was then sold to the Texas Land Company, which would be in charge of plotting the town, who then sent a surveying party and filed plans with the county clerk for the town on September 7, 1880. The town originally consisted only of 6x3 city blocks for both commercial and residential zoning as well as a combination train depot and separate cotton platform along the tracks. The first lots were sold at an auction on September 25 under the now historically designated 'Auction Oak' with the railroad offering free rides and food for attendees from Austin.

Kyle Townsite Plat - 1880

The new town drew residents and businesses from Mountain City as well as Blanco, four miles west, as well as independent farmers and ranchers in the county. Tom Martin operated the first business in Kyle as a saloon-meat market combo, the first of four saloons to open in the town's inaugural year. Other founding families like the Nance and Wallace families would open a cotton gin and lumberyard not long after, and by 1883 the population exceeded 500, growing to over 700 by the first census the town participate in, but would later decline during the Great Depression and ensuing Dust Bowl. Kyle was incorporated in 1928 as a general-law city with a mayor and five council members. In 1937, Mary Kyle Hartson, daughter of Fergus Kyle, was elected mayor by a write-in vote. Hartson, after winning election again in 1944, would serve as mayor as part of an all-woman city council and making Kyle the only Texas town with an all-woman government.

Kyle water tower

From 1892 to 1901, Kyle was the childhood home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Katherine Anne Porter. Many of her most famous short stories, such as "Noon Wine", are set in locations in and around Kyle. Her former home is now a writer's residence open to the public by appointment. The Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center hosts readings by visiting writers.


Demographics[edit]

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1890779—
1910742—
19207440.3%
1930606−18.5%
194087444.2%
19508881.6%
19601,02315.2%
19701,62959.2%
19802,09328.5%
19902,2256.3%
20005,314138.8%
201028,016427.2%
202045,69763.1%
2022 (est.)57,47025.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[16][failed verification] 2020[3]
Kyle racial composition as of 2020[17]
(NH = Non-Hispanic)[a]
Race Number Percentage
White (NH) 18,374 40.21%
Black or African American (NH) 2,265 4.96%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH) 124 0.27%
Asian (NH) 742 1.62%
Pacific Islander (NH) 33 0.07%
Some Other Race (NH) 211 0.46%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) 1,588 3.48%
Hispanic or Latino 22,360 48.93%
Total 45,697

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 45,697 people, 14,701 households, and 10,370 families residing in the city.

Of the 14,701 households, 54.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were not families. About 14.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15, and the average family size was 3.51; 391 persons in the city lived in group quarters rather than households.[20]

In the city, the age distribution was 33.7% under 18, 7.4% were from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% were 65 or older. The median age was 30.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.[20]

For 2012–2016, the estimated median annual income for a household was $72,191, and for a family was $76,992. Male full-time workers had a median income of $50,235 versus $39,474 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,348. About 6.8% of the population and 5.4% of families were below the poverty line; 7.3% of the population under the age of 18 and 7.7% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.[21]

Pie in the Sky Hot Air Balloon Festival[edit]

As part of a municipal branding scheme in the chase of becoming the "Pie Capital of Texas," the Kyle Pie in the Sky Hot Air Balloon Festival has been an annual event in Kyle on Labor Day weekend since 2017 and attracts thousands of visitors each year. The event features morning hot air balloon "mass ascensions” where balloons take off at sunrise flying over Kyle on Saturday and Sunday morning, as well as “glows” in the evenings, where tethered hot air balloons glow against the evening sky at Lake Kyle. Aside from glows and morning flights, the festival will also light up the night sky with two fireworks shows on Friday and Saturday night.

Every year, Pie in the Sky also features pie eating contests, a pie baking contest, a Pie Café, a vendor market with artisan crafts, unique products and food, libations, live music performances throughout the weekend, a children's zone with activities and the 'Gathering of the Kyles'—the city of Kyle's annual attempt at the Guinness World Record for the most people with the same name in one place since 2019.

On June 8, 2021, Kyle was officially designated as the "Pie Capital of Texas."

Notable people[edit]

Gallery[edit]

  • The old D.A. Young Building, built 1881, is the oldest commercial building in Kyle.
    The old D.A. Young Building, built 1881, is the oldest commercial building in Kyle.
  • Historic Kyle City Hall, built 1912
    Historic Kyle City Hall, built 1912
  • Texas Pie Company, opened 1987
    Texas Pie Company, opened 1987

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Kyle City Council".
  2. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "US Census QuickFacts Kyle city, Texas". US Census Bureau. April 1, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  6. ^ "Kyle (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". census.gov. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  7. ^ Heffley, Anna (October 18, 2006). "Defense contractor headed to Kyle". The Free Press. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2009.
  8. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  9. ^ "Kyle, Texas - Economic Development". kyleed.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  10. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Kyle city, Texas". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  11. ^ "(SLIDESHOW) ACC Hays grand opening - Community Impact Newspaper". Community Impact Newspaper. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  12. ^ "Transportation". kyleed.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  13. ^ "Kyle Unit Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine." TDCJ. Retrieved on October 7, 2010.
  14. ^ Krausse, Henry. "Kyle warms to financial aspect of becoming a 'prison town'." The Austin American-Statesman. June 18, 1989. B1. Retrieved on October 7, 2010. "Much of the prison's $50000 weekly payroll will go to Kyle residents." "[...]after Hays Consolidated Independent School District, the prison will be the [...]" "In addition to becoming the community's second-largest employer,"
  15. ^ "Post Office Location - KYLE Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on October 7, 2010.
  16. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  18. ^ https://www.census.gov/ [not specific enough to verify]
  19. ^ "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  20. ^ a b "2020 US Government Census QuickFacts: Kyle city, Texas". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. April 1, 2021. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  21. ^ "Selected Economic Characteristics: 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (DP03): Kyle city, Texas". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  22. ^ "Grammy-Winning Rocker Gary Clark Jr. Purchases Huge Texas Ranch". Real Estate News and Advice | Realtor.com®. January 13, 2017.
  1. ^ Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[18][19]

Further reading[edit]

  • Strom, Ann (1981). The Prairie City: A History of Kyle, Texas, 1880–1980. Nortex Press. ISBN 978-0-89015-313-0.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kyle, Texas.
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