Nolan County is a county in Texas, United States, on the Rolling Plains southeast of Abilene. It had a population of 14,738 at the 2020 census and covers 912 square miles (2,360 km2) of land, centred near 32°19′N 100°24′W.
Sweetwater is the county seat, and its postal code is 79556. The county has three incorporated cities (Sweetwater, Roscoe and Blackwell) plus several unincorporated communities, sits in the Central time zone, and carries FIPS code 48353. Texas has no civil townships, so this profile has no township section.
Towns & Villages in Nolan County
Nolan County has three incorporated cities and a handful of small unincorporated communities scattered along its rail lines and ranch roads. The table below marks the county seat with · seat and lists unincorporated places as Unincorp.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater | City · seat | 10,431 | 79556 |
| Roscoe | City | 1,282 | 79545 |
| Blackwell | City | 228 | 79506 |
| Maryneal | Unincorp. | — | 79535 |
| Nolan | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hylton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Avenger Village | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Champion | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Grimes | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Herndon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Orient | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tesco | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Toland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wastella | Unincorp. | — | — |
Blackwell straddles the Nolan–Coke county line; its post office and most of its platted lots sit on the Nolan County side. Brownlee and Shaufler, both former rail sidings named in older lists of the county, no longer appear as populated places on current maps and are omitted here.
ZIP Codes
- 79556 — Sweetwater (also serves Nolan and Avenger Village)
- 79545 — Roscoe
- 79506 — Blackwell (also serves the Coke County side of town)
- 79535 — Maryneal
Hylton, Champion, Grimes, Herndon, Orient, Tesco, Toland and Wastella are small rural crossroads with no post office of their own; mail there is served by the nearest listed ZIP.
Geography
Nolan County sits on the Rolling Plains of west-central Texas, a mix of mesquite rangeland and low caprock breaks drained by the Colorado River’s Champion Creek and Bitter Creek tributaries. Elevation runs from about 2,000 to 2,400 feet, and Lake Sweetwater and Champion Creek Reservoir supply the county’s municipal water. It borders Fisher County to the north, Taylor County to the east, Runnels County to the southeast, Coke County to the south, and Mitchell County to the west.
Demographics
Nolan County’s population was 14,738 at the 2020 census, with Sweetwater (10,431) and Roscoe (1,282) the two largest communities and together home to more than three-quarters of county residents. Median household income runs below the Texas median of $75,780, reflecting the county’s ranching and wind-energy economic base. Population density works out to roughly 16 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Nolan County is one of the most wind-turbine-dense counties in the United States; ridge lines around Sweetwater and Trent carry thousands of turbines, and by 2008 the county alone generated more wind power than all of California’s wind farms combined at the time. Cattle ranching, cotton farming and oilfield service work round out the local economy, and Texas State Technical College’s Sweetwater campus trains wind-technician crews for the surrounding turbine fields. The county fairgrounds host the annual Rattlesnake Roundup, one of the largest events of its kind in the country.
History
Nolan County was created from Bexar and Young territory in 1876 and organized in 1881, taking its name from Philip Nolan, one of the first American traders to travel into Spanish Texas in the 1790s. The arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railway in the early 1880s founded Sweetwater as a shipping point, and the county’s oil boom of the 1920s brought a second wave of growth before ranching and, decades later, wind energy became the steadier local mainstays.
Getting There
Interstate 20 and U.S. Highway 84 cross Sweetwater, with Texas 70 and Texas 153 running north-south through the county.
- Abilene — 40 miles east
- Big Spring — 45 miles west
- San Angelo — 65 miles south
- Snyder — 30 miles north
Abilene Regional Airport is the nearest commercial airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Nolan County?
It is in west-central Texas, on the Rolling Plains southeast of Abilene.
What is the population of Nolan County?
14,738 at the 2020 census.
How big is Nolan County?
912 square miles (2,360 km2) of land.
What is the county seat of Nolan County?
Sweetwater.
How many towns are in Nolan County?
Three incorporated cities — Sweetwater, Roscoe and Blackwell — plus several unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Nolan County?
79556 (Sweetwater), 79545 (Roscoe), 79506 (Blackwell) and 79535 (Maryneal).
Why is Nolan County known for wind energy?
Steady Rolling Plains winds and open ranchland made it one of the earliest and densest wind-farm regions in Texas.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.