Floyd County is a county in Texas, United States, on the Caprock escarpment in the South Plains part of the Texas Panhandle. It had a population of 5,402 at the 2020 census and covers 992 square miles (2,570 km2) of land centred near 34°04′N 101°18′W.
Floydada is the county seat, and its postal code is 79235. The county has one city, one town and five unincorporated communities, sits in the Central time zone, and carries FIPS code 48153.
Towns & Villages in Floyd County
Floyd County has seven named places on record: one incorporated city (the county seat), one incorporated town, and five unincorporated communities. Most of the small communities are farm crossroads that kept a post office or a grain elevator rather than a town government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floydada | City · seat | 2,675 | 79235 |
| Lockney | Town | 1,498 | 79241 |
| Aiken | Unincorp. | — | 79221 |
| Dougherty | Unincorp. | — | 79231 |
| South Plains | Unincorp. | — | 79258 |
| Barwise | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Allmon | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 79235 — Floydada
- 79241 — Lockney
- 79231 — Dougherty (PO Box only)
- 79258 — South Plains (PO Box only)
- 79221 — Aiken (PO Box only)
Floydada and Lockney are the county’s two standard-delivery ZIP codes; the other three serve post-office-box customers only. Places without a listed ZIP, such as Barwise and Allmon, use a neighbouring town’s code for mail.
Geography
Floyd County sits on the High Plains atop the Caprock, a flat-to-gently-rolling tableland cut by shallow draws that feed the White River and Blanco Canyon in the county’s southeast corner. The land drops off the Caprock’s edge toward the Rolling Plains along that southeastern boundary, giving the county its only real relief; everywhere else the terrain is the flat cropland typical of the South Plains. Farmland covers most of the county, with cotton and grain sorghum fields running to the horizon between the two towns, and irrigation from the Ogallala Aquifer supports much of that cropland.
Floyd County borders Briscoe County to the north, Swisher County to the northeast, Motley County to the east, Dickens County to the southeast, Crosby County to the south, Lubbock County to the southwest, and Hale County to the west.
Demographics
Floyd County had 5,402 residents at the 2020 census, most of them in the county’s two towns: Floydada (2,675) and Lockney (1,498) together hold about three-quarters of the county’s population. Median household income runs below the Texas median of $75,780, typical of the county’s cotton- and sorghum-farming economy. Population density is roughly 5.4 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture drives the county: cotton, grain sorghum, wheat and pumpkins are the main crops, and Floydada markets itself as the “Pumpkin Capital of the USA” around its autumn harvest, when roadside stands sell truckloads of pumpkins grown in the surrounding fields. The Texas Panhandle’s strong, steady winds have also drawn wind-energy development to the area. Floyd County Hesperian-Beacon is the local newspaper, and the Floyd County Historical Museum in downtown Floydada displays artifacts from a Coronado-expedition campsite found nearby in Blanco Canyon. Floydada Collegiate Independent School District and Lockney Independent School District are the county’s two public school systems, and both towns field the Friday-night football teams that anchor much of the county’s social calendar in the fall.
History
Floyd County was created in 1876 and organized in 1890. It is named for Dolphin Ward Floyd, a defender of the Alamo who died there on his 32nd birthday, March 6, 1836. The vast Matador Ranch, headquartered in neighboring Motley County, once extended into Floyd County’s rangeland before the area was broken up into family farms in the early twentieth century. Ranching gave way to cotton and grain farming as settlers arrived on the Caprock in the 1880s and 1890s, and the arrival of railroads through Floydada in the early 1900s turned the county seat into a shipping point for the surrounding farms. Archaeological finds in Blanco Canyon, including a campsite tied to the 1541 Coronado expedition, point to a much older human presence on the same land.
Getting There
U.S. Routes 62 and 70 and Texas State Highway 207 cross the county, meeting at Floydada.
- Lubbock — 45 miles southwest
- Plainview — 20 miles west
- Amarillo — 90 miles north
Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport is the nearest commercial airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Floyd County, Texas?
It is on the Caprock in the South Plains part of the Texas Panhandle, about 45 miles northeast of Lubbock.
What is the population of Floyd County?
5,402 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Floyd County?
992 square miles (2,570 km2) of land.
What is the county seat of Floyd County?
Floydada is the county seat.
How many towns are in Floyd County?
Two incorporated places, Floydada and Lockney, plus five unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Floyd County?
79235 (Floydada), 79241 (Lockney), 79231 (Dougherty), 79258 (South Plains) and 79221 (Aiken).
Why is Floydada called the Pumpkin Capital?
The area’s farms produce a large share of the country’s pumpkins, sold each fall around the county seat.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.