Hutchinson County, Texas

Hutchinson County is a county in Texas, United States, on the Texas Panhandle’s Canadian River breaks, roughly 45 miles northeast of Amarillo. It had a population of 20,617 at the 2020 census and covers 895 square miles (2,320 km2) — 887 square miles of land and 7.5 square miles of water — centred near 35°50′N 101°22′W.

Stinnett is the county seat, and its postal code is 79083. The county has two incorporated cities (Borger, its largest community, and Stinnett), one town shared with neighboring Moore County (Fritch), and more than a dozen unincorporated communities and former oil-boom camps. Hutchinson County sits in the Central time zone; its FIPS code is 48233. Texas counties have no civil-township subdivisions, so this profile has no townships section.

Towns & Villages in Hutchinson County

Hutchinson County’s settlement pattern was shaped by the 1920s Borger oil boom: alongside its two cities, most of the names below are small unincorporated communities or company camps that grew up around drilling leases and refineries, several now reduced to a few residents or abandoned. “CDP” marks a Census Bureau-defined place with no city government; “Unincorp.” marks a named community with no formal boundary or CDP status.

Fritch straddles the Hutchinson–Moore county line on the shore of Lake Meredith; its population figure above covers the whole city. Plemons, once the county’s first seat before Stinnett, and the oil-camp names Electric City, Oil City, Philrich and Stekoll Camp are historic sites from the 1920s Panhandle oil boom — several no longer have any year-round residents.

ZIP Codes

• 79007 — Borger (also serves Phillips and the northern county)
• 79083 — Stinnett (post office town, also serves Plemons)
• 79036 — Fritch
• 79078 — Sanford

Smaller former oil camps and rural addresses in the county are served by the Borger or Stinnett post offices rather than carrying a ZIP code of their own.

Geography

Hutchinson County lies on the rolling shortgrass plains of the Texas Panhandle, cut by the Canadian River, which crosses the county’s south-central section and feeds Lake Meredith along the county’s southwestern edge. The terrain drops from flat tableland on the plains into breaks and canyons along the river. Hutchinson County borders Hansford County to the north, Roberts County to the east, Carson County to the south, and Moore County to the west.

Demographics

The 2020 census counted 20,617 residents in Hutchinson County. Borger, the county’s largest community, and Fritch, on Lake Meredith, together account for most of that population outside Stinnett. County-level median household income figures are not verified here; statewide, the Texas median household income was $75,780 (2023 ACS) — Hutchinson County’s oil- and gas-driven economy has historically tracked close to or above that figure in strong price years. Population density is roughly 23 people per square mile, reflecting the county’s mix of an industrial city (Borger) and sparsely settled ranch and farm land.

Economy & Local Life

Petroleum refining and natural gas processing anchor the county’s economy, centered on Borger’s Phillips 66 refinery, one of the Texas Panhandle’s largest industrial employers since the 1920s oil boom that founded the city. Beyond the refinery corridor, cattle ranching and dryland wheat farming are the mainstays of the county’s rural areas. Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, straddling the Hutchinson–Moore line near Fritch, draws boating and fishing visitors and supports a seasonal tourism economy around Sanford and Fritch. Frank Phillips College, a two-year community college founded in 1948, is based in Borger.

History

Hutchinson County was created from the Bexar and Young territories by the Texas Legislature in 1876 but was not organized as a functioning county government until 1901, with Plemons as its first seat. The county is named for Anderson Hutchinson, a Texas judge. The discovery of oil in 1926 triggered a boom that built Borger virtually overnight — the city’s population reportedly reached tens of thousands within months — and prompted the county seat to move to Stinnett in 1926. Many of the small oil-camp communities listed above date from that boom and declined as drilling activity concentrated around fewer, larger operations in later decades.

Getting There

U.S. Highway 60 and State Highway 136 are the county’s main routes, both running through Borger.

• Amarillo — 45 miles southwest
• Pampa — 27 miles southeast
• Dumas — 30 miles west
• Perryton — 45 miles north

Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, in Amarillo, is the nearest commercial airport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Hutchinson County, Texas?
It is in the Texas Panhandle, about 45 miles northeast of Amarillo, centred on the Canadian River breaks and Lake Meredith.

What is the population of Hutchinson County?
20,617 people, per the 2020 census.

How big is Hutchinson County?
895 square miles (2,320 km2), of which 887 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Hutchinson County?
Stinnett is the county seat.

How many towns are in Hutchinson County?
Three incorporated cities — Borger, Stinnett and Fritch — plus more than a dozen unincorporated communities and historic oil camps.

What ZIP codes are in Hutchinson County?
The main ZIP codes are 79007 (Borger), 79083 (Stinnett), 79036 (Fritch) and 79078 (Sanford).

What drives Hutchinson County’s economy?
Oil refining and natural gas processing centered on Borger, alongside cattle ranching, wheat farming, and tourism around Lake Meredith.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.