Dickens County is a county in Texas, United States, on the Rolling Plains south of the Caprock Escarpment. It had a population of 1,770 at the 2020 census and covers 902 square miles (2,340 km2) of land, centred near 33°37′N 100°47′W.
Dickens is the county seat, and its postal code is 79229. The county has two incorporated towns (Dickens and Spur) and two unincorporated communities (Afton and McAdoo); it does not use civil townships. Dickens County sits in the Central time zone, and its FIPS code is 48125.
Towns & Villages in Dickens County
Dickens County has four named settlements: two incorporated towns and two unincorporated communities. Spur is the largest place in the county by a wide margin.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spur | City | 863 | 79370 |
| Dickens | City · seat | 219 | 79229 |
| Afton | Unincorp. | — | 79220 |
| McAdoo | Unincorp. | — | 79243 |
Older gazetteers list several additional place names for the county — Croton, Dockum, East Afton, Elton, Gilpin, Glenn, Red Mud, Steele Hill and Wilson — but these are historical ranch, rail-siding or post-office names that no longer correspond to standing settlements and have no verifiable current population or ZIP code, so they are omitted here rather than listed with guessed figures.
ZIP Codes
- 79229 — Dickens (county seat)
- 79370 — Spur (also serves the southeastern part of the county)
- 79220 — Afton
- 79243 — McAdoo
All four ZIP codes are anchored to a post office town; there are no other standalone ZIP-coded places in the county.
Geography
Dickens County lies on the Rolling Plains just south of the Caprock Escarpment, with the White River and its tributaries draining the county’s rougher, canyon-cut terrain. Elevations range from roughly 1,800 feet along the river bottoms to over 2,500 feet on the caprock breaks in the county’s western reaches. Water covers about 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2), 0.4% of the county’s total area. The county is bordered by Motley County to the north, Cottle County to the northeast, King County to the east, Stonewall County to the southeast, Kent County to the south, Crosby County to the west, Garza County to the southwest, and Floyd County to the northwest.
Demographics
Dickens County had 1,770 residents at the 2020 census, all of them classified as rural. Spur (863) and Dickens (219) are the county’s two largest communities, together accounting for most of the population. County-level median household income is not independently verified here; Texas’s statewide median household income was $75,780 (2023 ACS), and rural West Texas counties like Dickens typically run below the state figure. Population density is roughly 2 people per square mile, among the more sparsely settled counties in the state. The county’s population has declined steadily since a mid-20th-century peak, a pattern common across the sparsely populated Rolling Plains counties as ranching consolidated and farm mechanization reduced the need for local labor.
Economy & Local Life
Ranching and dryland farming (cotton, wheat, and sorghum) anchor the county’s economy, along with some oil and gas production on the Rolling Plains. Two public school districts serve local families: Spur Independent School District and Patton Springs Independent School District, based in Dickens. Local retail and services are concentrated in Spur, the county’s commercial center, while county government offices are in Dickens. Agriculture remains the county’s largest employer by acreage, supplemented by seasonal work tied to cotton ginning and cattle shipping.
History
Dickens County was created in 1876 from the Bexar Territory and organized in 1891. Both the county and its seat are named for James Dickens (sometimes recorded as J. Dickens), who died at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. Spur was founded in 1909 as a railroad town tied to the Spur Ranch, one of the large historic cattle operations of the South Plains.
Getting There
U.S. Highway 70 and U.S. Highway 82 cross Dickens County through Dickens and Spur; State Highway 70 also runs north-south through the county.
- Lubbock — about 65 miles west
- Abilene — about 90 miles southeast
- Childress — about 75 miles northeast
- Snyder — about 55 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dickens County, Texas?
It is on the Rolling Plains of West Texas, just south of the Caprock Escarpment, centred near 33°37′N 100°47′W.
What is the population of Dickens County?
1,770 at the 2020 census.
How big is Dickens County?
902 square miles (2,340 km2) of land, plus 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2) of water.
What is the county seat of Dickens County?
Dickens is the county seat.
How many towns are in Dickens County?
Two incorporated towns, Dickens and Spur, plus the unincorporated communities of Afton and McAdoo.
What ZIP codes are in Dickens County?
79229 (Dickens), 79370 (Spur), 79220 (Afton), and 79243 (McAdoo).
Who is Dickens County named after?
James Dickens, a soldier killed at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.