Jim Wells County vs Matagorda County

A side-by-side comparison of Jim Wells County and Matagorda County: population, income, housing, and more.

Jim Wells County and Matagorda County are counties in Texas. This page compares them across population, income, housing, education, commuting, and how each has changed since 2019.

Jim Wells County has the higher population (38,863 vs 36,274 in Matagorda County). Matagorda County has the higher median household income ($55,174 vs $47,492 in Jim Wells County). Matagorda County has the higher median home value ($162,200 vs $104,800 in Jim Wells County).

Population, income & housing

	Jim Wells County	Matagorda County
Population	38,863	36,274
Median age	35.5 yrs	37.5 yrs
Median household income	$47,492	$55,174
Median home value	$104,800	$162,200
Median gross rent	$885	$998
Housing units	16,207	18,871
Homeownership rate	67.5%	68.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.2%	22.8%
Unemployment rate	5.6%	6.9%

Trends (ACS 5-year, 2019–2023)

	Jim Wells County	Matagorda County
Population	40,972 → 38,863 (-5.1%)	36,774 → 36,274 (-1.4%)
Median household income	$41,505 → $47,492 (+14.4%)	$48,913 → $55,174 (+12.8%)
Median home value	$76,200 → $104,800 (+37.5%)	$114,800 → $162,200 (+41.3%)
Median gross rent	$713 → $885 (+24.1%)	$851 → $998 (+17.3%)

Jim Wells County

Population

40,97238,863

Median household income

$41,505$47,492

Median home value

$76,200$104,800

Median gross rent

$713$885

Matagorda County

Population

36,77436,274

Median household income

$48,913$55,174

Median home value

$114,800$162,200

Median gross rent

$851$998

Age & race/ethnicity

Age distribution (share)

	Jim Wells County	Matagorda County
Under 5	6.7%	7.2%
5 to 17	20.7%	18.5%
18 to 24	9.1%	7.9%
25 to 34	12.4%	12.8%
35 to 44	13.1%	11.7%
45 to 54	10.9%	10.5%
55 to 64	11.4%	13.4%
65 to 74	9.2%	10.8%
75 and over	6.6%	7.0%

Race & ethnicity (share)

	Jim Wells County	Matagorda County
White (non-Hispanic)	18.5%	42.1%
Black or African American	0.6%	10.1%
American Indian & Alaska Native	0.1%	0.1%
Asian	0.5%	1.7%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	0.2%	0.2%
Some other race	0.0%	0.6%
Two or more races	0.7%	2.0%
Hispanic or Latino	79.4%	43.2%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

Share of adults 25+

	Jim Wells County	Matagorda County
No high school diploma	20.8%	17.3%
High school graduate	37.3%	28.8%
Some college or associate's	26.7%	31.1%
Bachelor's degree	11.3%	15.5%
Graduate or professional degree	3.8%	7.3%

Commute to work

How workers get to work (share)

	Jim Wells County	Matagorda County
Drove alone	80.1%	81.7%
Carpooled	8.1%	11.3%
Public transit	0.0%	0.4%
Walked	1.5%	0.5%
Bicycle	0.0%	0.9%
Worked from home	9.5%	4.5%
Other means	0.9%	0.7%

Housing

Units in structure (share)

	Jim Wells County	Matagorda County
1-unit, detached	73.2%	70.5%
1-unit, attached	0.8%	2.6%
2 to 4 units	5.3%	4.8%
5 to 19 units	5.1%	6.8%
20 or more units	0.6%	2.7%
Mobile home & other	14.9%	12.6%

Poverty & households

	Jim Wells County	Matagorda County
Poverty rate	23.2%	21.8%
Average household size	2.89	2.42
Mean commute (minutes)	25	23
Median year structure built	1981	1978