Brown County is a county in Texas, United States, in the central part of the state. It had a population of 38,095 at the 2020 census and covers 957 square miles (2,480 km2) centred near 31\u00b046\u2032N 99\u00b000\u2032W.<\/p>\n
Brownwood is the county seat, and its postal code is 76801. The county has three cities, one town, four census-designated places, and a scatter of smaller unincorporated communities. Brown County runs on Central time and forms the Brownwood, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.<\/p>\n
Brown County lists 30 named places, from the county seat of Brownwood down to lake-shore subdivisions with only a handful of year-round residents. Three are incorporated cities, one is an incorporated town, four are Census Bureau-designated places (CDPs), and the rest are unincorporated communities and subdivisions with no municipal government. Population figures below are the 2020 census count where the Census Bureau reports one; an em dash means no separate count exists for that place.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brownwood<\/td>\n | City · seat<\/td>\n | 18,862<\/td>\n | 76801<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bangs<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 76823<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Early<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 76802<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Blanket<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 76432<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lake Brownwood<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 76801<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| May<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 76857<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Thunderbird Bay<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 76801<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Zephyr<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 76890<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Brookesmith<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 76827<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cross Cut<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Grosvenor<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Indian Creek<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Owens<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Winchell<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Antioch<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Blackwell Crossing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bluff View<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Byrds<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dalzell<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Delaware Junction<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dulin<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fisk Crossing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fry<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Holder<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Keys Crossing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lake Shore<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Shamrock Shores<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Tenmile Crossing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Thrifty<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Williams<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Woodland Heights<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Early sits directly against Brownwood’s eastern edge and shares its 76801\/76802\/76803\/76804 ZIP range; the two are often treated as one built-up area even though they are separate cities. Several of the smaller names above — Blackwell Crossing, Lake Shore, Shamrock Shores, and Thunderbird Bay — are lake-shore subdivisions clustered around Lake Brownwood rather than freestanding villages.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n76803 and 76804 are PO-box-only ZIP codes for Brownwood and Early; the smaller unincorporated crossroads elsewhere in the county draw mail through one of the ZIPs above rather than having a code of their own.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nBrown County lies on the Callahan Divide, where the rolling Cross Timbers country of North Texas meets the Edwards Plateau to the south. Pecan Bayou and its tributaries drain much of the county, and Lake Brownwood, formed by a dam on Pecan Bayou in the 1930s, is the largest body of water and a focal point for the lake-shore communities in the county’s north-central section. Of the county’s 957 square miles, 13 square miles are water.<\/p>\n Brown County borders Callahan County<\/a> to the northwest, Eastland County<\/a> to the north, Comanche County<\/a> to the northeast, Mills County<\/a> to the southeast, San Saba County<\/a> to the south, McCulloch County<\/a> to the southwest, and Coleman County<\/a> to the west.<\/p>\n Brown County had 38,095 residents at the 2020 census. Brownwood, the county seat, is by far the largest community with 18,862 people, followed by Early, its neighbor along the county’s eastern edge. The county’s median household income runs below the Texas median of $75,780, consistent with a rural county anchored by one small city rather than a metro economy. Spread across 944 square miles of land, the county’s overall population density is about 40 people per square mile, though most residents live in or near the Brownwood-Early urban cluster.<\/p>\n Oil has shaped Brown County’s economy since production began commercially in 1917; by the early 1990s the county’s wells had produced more than 50 million barrels. Today the county seat carries the larger share of local employment: Howard Payne University, a private Baptist liberal-arts school founded in 1889, and a West Texas campus of Texas State Technical College both operate in Brownwood, alongside the state-run Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex and a Texas Department of Criminal Justice parole office. Ranching and light manufacturing round out the county’s economic base outside the city.<\/p>\n Brown County was founded in 1856 and organized in 1858, named for Henry Stevenson Brown, a commander at the 1832 Battle of Velasco, an early clash between Anglo colonists and Mexican forces. Brownwood, platted as the county seat, grew through the late 19th century as a railroad and ranching town before oil development brought a second economic boom in the 20th century.<\/p>\n U.S. Routes 67, 84, 183, and 377 all pass through Brown County, converging on Brownwood, along with State Highway 279 and Farm to Market Road 45.<\/p>\n The nearest commercial airport is Abilene Regional Airport; Brownwood also has its own general-aviation airport. There is no Amtrak service in the county.<\/p>\n Where is Brown County, Texas?<\/strong> What is the population of Brown County?<\/strong> How big is Brown County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Brown County?<\/strong> How many towns and communities are in Brown County?<\/strong> What ZIP codes are in Brown County?<\/strong> |