ZIP Code 76502

Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the U.S. census. Located off Interstate 35, Temple is 65 miles north of Austin, 34 miles south of Waco and 27 miles east of Killeen. The primary economic drivers are the extensive medical community (mostly due to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center) and goods distribution based on its central location between the Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston metropolitan areas. In its early years, Temple was a town of shacks and tents with a large number of saloons and tough characters found in the early West. In 1893, the annual Temple Stag Party began, growing out of a private Thanksgiving celebration attended by some of the town's leading men. The city is located right on Interstate 35 running alongside the Balcones Fault with very mixed geography. Towards the east lies the Blackland Prairie region (a rich farming area), and towards the west, the terrain rises with low, rolling, limestone-layered hills at the northeastern tip of the Texas Hill Country. It is bordered to the southwest, on the opposite side of the Leon River, by Belton, the county seat. The town was named after a Santa Fe Railroad official, Bernard Moore Temple, who was a civil engineer and former surveyor with the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company. In 1882, the MissouriKansasTexas Railroad built through the town, and soon after, the Santa Fe railroad made Temple a division point.

History

Temple was founded as a railroad town in 1881 by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad. In its early years, Temple was a town of shacks and tents with a large number of saloons and tough characters. In 1893, the annual Temple Stag Party began, growing out of a private Thanksgiving celebration attended by some of the town's leading men. It was held until 1923. The Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum commemorates the significance of railroads for the city. It is located on the second floor of the Santa Fe railroad station at 315 West Avenue B. The museum is open to the public and is open year-round.

Geography

Temple is located northeast of the center of Bell County at 31°630N 97°2321W (31.108381, 97.389125). It is bordered to the southwest, on the opposite side of the Leon River, by Belton, the county seat. The city is located right on Interstate 35 running alongside the Balcones Fault with very mixed geography. Towards the east lies the Blackland Prairie region (a rich farming area), and towards the west, the terrain rises with low, rolling, limestone-layered hills at the northeastern tip of the Texas Hill Country. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 74.9 square miles (194 km²), of which, 70.1 square miles are land and 4.8 square mile (12 km²) are covered by water. It is situated within a relatively short drive of most of the major cities of Texas: 124 mi north to Fort Worth, 130 mi north-northeast to Dallas, 65 mi southwest to Austin, 147 mi southwest to San Antonio, and 168 mi southeast to Houston. It has a population of 2,816. It was founded in 1836. It became the second-largest city in Bell County in 1838. It suffered a devastating earthquake in 1858. It had a population loss of 1,838 in 1859. It also suffered a massive fire in 1881, which claimed the lives of 1.2 million people.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 82,073 people, 28,276 households, and 18,036 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 68.1% White, 23.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% African American, 2.1%. The city's homeless population is approximately 1.9%. Assistance to the homeless is provided by Feed My Sheep and the Salvation Army. As of the 2010 census, 66,102 people, 23,359 households, and 15,878 families resided in Temple. The population density was 834.2 people per square mile (373.6/km²). The 28,005 housing units averaged 359.8 per squaremile (138.9/km 2). The median income for a household in theCity was $47,240 and for a family was $42,795. The per capita income for the city is $25,740. About 10.8% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line. Temple is home to a large homeless population. The city has a population of about 82,000 people, or 1.3% of whom are homeless. It is the largest city in the state with a homeless population of over 1.5%. The population of Temple is about 66,000 (or 1.4% of its population is homeless). The city is the second-largest city in Texas, after Dallas. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city's population is about 80,000.

Economy

Temple is home to many regional distribution centers and is headquarters to two large, multinational companies. Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest employer in the area with about 12,000 employees. The city is within 30 miles (48 km) of Fort Hood, and military personnel contribute a portion of the city's economy. Temple is also home to the Temple Bottling Company, which produces Dr Pepper (with Imperial Cane sugar). The city has a population of 2.2 million people, making it one of the largest U.S. cities in terms of population. It is the second largest city in Texas, after Dallas, with 2.7 million people. The population of Temple is 2.3 million, making the city the third largest in Texas. The area has an unemployment rate of 1.8 percent, the highest in the state. The economy is based on goods distribution and a reputation as a regional medical center leading the way. The local economy began with the regional Santa Fe Railroad hospital, which opened over 100 years ago. It also has a developing customer service/ call center industry. The town has a large number of churches, many of which are non-denominational. It has a strong tradition of community service, with many members of the community serving on the city council and city council. The community has a long history of being involved in local politics, with the first elected official being elected in 1898. The first mayor was elected in 1900. The current mayor is the son of a former mayor, who died in 2002.

Education

Temple is largely served by the Temple Independent School District. The district has one high school, three middle schools, nine elementary schools, and three supplemental learning programs (early childhood center, alternative learning center, and an innovative academy high school program) Students within the local school district attend highly regarded Temple High School. Several private schools serve Temple, including Christ Church School, Saint Mary's Catholic School (Pre-K8), the associated Holy Trinity Catholic High School, and Central Texas Christian School (K12). Temple College offers two-year associate degrees in a variety of subjects, with strong programs in business administration, information technology, and nursing. Temple is also home to one of the Texas A&M College of Medicine campuses. It operates in conjunction with the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Temple and the Olin Teague Veterans' Hospital Center. It was the first college located in Temple, and opened in 1926. The city is home to the University of Texas at San Antonio, which was founded in 1876. It is also the home of the University Of Texas at El Paso, which opened in 1883. The University of California, San Antonio is located in San Antonio and has a campus in El Paso. It also has a satellite campus in Austin, Texas, that opened in 1994. The Texas A & M College of Pharmacy is located on the campus of the university in San Marcos, Texas. It opened in 1998. It offers a range of degree programs, including nursing and business administration.

Infrastructure

Temple was founded as a railroad junction and serves as a major freight railroad hub to this day. Amtrak serves the city with its Texas Eagle passenger train, which stops at the Temple Railway Station. While commercial airline service is not currently available in the city, Temple is served by these nearby airports: Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport, Waco Regional Airport in Waco, and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin. Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest employer in town with about 11,000 employees. The Texas Highway Patrol maintains an office on I-35 in Temple. The U.S. Postal Service operates a regional office in the town. The city is policed by the Temple Police Department and the Bell County Sheriff's Office. It is home to the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, which has its headquarters in Temple and operates regional offices in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. In 2009, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) proposed the Texas T-Bone High Speed Rail Corridor that would create a high-speed rail line from Dallas-Fort Worth to San Antonio and another line from Houston that would connect with the first line. The next year in 2010, TxDOT conducted a study for a line connecting Oklahoma City with San Antonio, and Temple was in the pathway of that line. In 2013, a consultant for the Texas Highspeed Rail Corporation stated that the only two connections being considered for the two lines were a connection in Temple; they expected to make that decision by the end of 2014.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Temple, Bell County, Texas = 78. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 83. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 88. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Temple = 5.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 82,073 individuals with a median age of 36.4 age the population grows by 8.29% in Temple, Bell County, Texas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,102.14 residents per square mile of area (425.53/km²). There are average 2.44 people per household in the 23,270 households with an average household income of $44,207 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 6.00% of the available work force and has dropped -1.22% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 31.56%. The number of physicians in Temple per 100,000 population = 277.5.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Temple = 35 inches and the annual snowfall = 1.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 72. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 224. 96 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 36.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 25, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Temple, Bell County, Texas which are owned by the occupant = 50.20%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 31 years with median home cost = $96,520 and home appreciation of -2.72%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.63 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,413 per student. There are 14.9 students for each teacher in the school, 485 students for each Librarian and 404 students for each Counselor. 7.45% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 15.05% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.77% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).