Jefferson County, Texas

Jefferson County
County
The Jefferson County Courthouse in Beaumont. The Art Deco-style building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 17, 1982. The top five floors once served as the County Jail.
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°52′N 94°08′W / 29.86°N 94.14°W / 29.86; -94.14
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1837
Named for	Thomas Jefferson
Seat	Beaumont
Largest city	Beaumont
Area
• Total	1,113 sq mi (2,880 km2)
• Land	876 sq mi (2,270 km2)
• Water	236 sq mi (610 km2)  21%
Population
• Estimate  (2020)	256,526
• Density	292.8/sq mi (113.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	14th, 36th
Website	www.co.jefferson.tx.us

Jefferson County is a county in the Coastal Plain or Gulf Prairie region of Southeast Texas. The Neches River forms its northeastern boundary. As of the 2020 census, the population was 256,526.^[1] The county seat is Beaumont.^[2] Jefferson County has the highest percentage of African Americans in the state of Texas.^[3]

The county was established in 1835 as a municipality of Mexico, which had gained independence from Spain. Because the area was lightly settled, the Mexican government allowed European Americans from the United States to settle here if they pledged loyalty to Mexico. This was organized as a county in 1837 after Texas achieved independence as a republic.^[4][5] It was named by European-American settlers for U.S. president Thomas Jefferson.^[5] Texas later became part of the US.

Jefferson County is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area and has the highest population of the four-county MSA. It has three state correctional facilities and a federal high-security prison in unincorporated areas of the county. Together they have a maximum capacity of nearly 9,000 prisoners.