{"id":8238,"date":"2023-09-21T15:09:37","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T15:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=8238"},"modified":"2026-08-22T17:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T17:16:19","slug":"terry-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/terry-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Terry County, Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Terry County is a county in Texas, United States, on the South Plains southwest of Lubbock. It had a population of 11,831 at the 2020 census and covers 891 square miles (2,310 km2) centred near 33&deg;10&prime;N 102&deg;20&prime;W.<\/p>\n<p>Brownfield is the county seat and its postal code is 79316. The county has two incorporated cities, one incorporated town, and several unincorporated communities. It sits in the Central time zone.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Terry County<\/h2>\n<p>Terry County has three incorporated places &mdash; two cities and one town &mdash; plus a handful of small unincorporated communities and former settlements scattered across the county&#8217;s cotton and pumpkin farmland. Unincorp. denotes an unincorporated place with no municipal government.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Brownfield<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>8,936<\/td>\n<td>79316<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wellman<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>230<\/td>\n<td>79378<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Meadow<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>601<\/td>\n<td>79345<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Needmore<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tokio<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Gomez<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Union<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lahey<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Adair<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Foster<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Johnson<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Needmore and Tokio are the county&#8217;s best-documented unincorporated communities, both along the Santa Fe rail line north of Brownfield. Gomez, Union, Lahey, Adair, Foster, and Johnson are smaller rural crossroads communities with no current population figures on record.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>79316 &mdash; Brownfield (also serves the surrounding rural county)<\/li>\n<li>79345 &mdash; Meadow<\/li>\n<li>79378 &mdash; Wellman<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Needmore, Tokio, and the county&#8217;s other small unincorporated communities do not have their own ZIP code and are served by the Brownfield or Meadow post offices depending on location.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Terry County sits on the flat, semi-arid South Plains of West Texas, part of the Llano Estacado. The terrain is nearly level cropland, drained by the intermittent White River tributaries and dotted with small playa lakes that fill after heavy rain. There is no significant natural lake or river within the county. Terry County borders <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hockley-county\/\">Hockley County<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/lubbock-county\/\">Lubbock County<\/a> to the northeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/lynn-county\/\">Lynn County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/dawson-county-texas\/\">Dawson County<\/a> to the southeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/gaines-county\/\">Gaines County<\/a> to the south, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/yoakum-county\/\">Yoakum County<\/a> to the west, and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/cochran-county\/\">Cochran County<\/a> to the northwest.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Terry County had 11,831 residents at the 2020 census, giving it a density of about 13.3 people per square mile. Brownfield, the seat, is by far the largest community, followed by Meadow. More than half the county&#8217;s population is Hispanic or Latino. Median household income in Terry County runs below the Texas median of $75,780, consistent with the county&#8217;s dependence on agriculture and oilfield work.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Cotton has anchored the Terry County economy for over a century, and the county is also one of the most productive pumpkin-growing counties in the United States, with roadside stands and a fall pumpkin trade drawing buyers from across West Texas. Oil was discovered in the county in 1940, and petroleum production remains a significant part of the local economy alongside farming and ranching.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Terry County was formed from Bexar and Young territory in 1876 and organized as a county in 1904, with Brownfield chosen as county seat. It is named for Benjamin Franklin Terry, a Confederate Army colonel killed early in the Civil War and namesake of the famous Terry&#8217;s Texas Rangers cavalry regiment. Like much of the South Plains, the county was settled relatively late by ranchers and then farmers after the arrival of the railroad in the early 20th century, with towns such as Wellman and Meadow platted as shipping points along the line. Terry County was one of many West Texas counties to vote itself legally dry after Prohibition-era local-option elections, and it remained dry for decades before later moving to allow limited alcohol sales.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>US Highways 62, 82, 380, and 385 all cross Terry County, along with State Highway 137, converging on Brownfield.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lubbock &mdash; 40 miles northeast<\/li>\n<li>Seminole &mdash; 30 miles southwest<\/li>\n<li>Lamesa &mdash; 35 miles east<\/li>\n<li>Levelland &mdash; 25 miles north<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, about 40 miles northeast of Brownfield.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Terry County, Texas?<\/strong><br \/>Terry County is on the South Plains of West Texas, southwest of Lubbock, in the Llano Estacado region.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Terry County?<\/strong><br \/>Terry County had a population of 11,831 at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Terry County?<\/strong><br \/>Terry County covers 891 square miles (2,310 km2), of which 889 square miles are land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Terry County?<\/strong><br \/>Brownfield is the county seat of Terry County.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Terry County?<\/strong><br \/>Terry County has two cities (Brownfield and Wellman), one town (Meadow), and several small unincorporated communities including Needmore, Tokio, and Gomez.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Terry County?<\/strong><br \/>Terry County&#8217;s main ZIP codes are 79316 (Brownfield), 79345 (Meadow), and 79378 (Wellman).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What crop is Terry County known for?<\/strong><br \/>Terry County is one of the most productive pumpkin-growing counties in the United States, alongside its long-standing cotton industry.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/texas\/\">Towns and villages in Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Terry County is a county in Texas, United States, on the South Plains southwest of Lubbock. It had a population of 11,831 at the 2020 census and covers 891 square miles (2,310 km2) centred near 33&deg;10&prime;N 102&deg;20&prime;W. Brownfield is the county seat and its postal code is 79316. The county has two incorporated cities, one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Terry County, Texas","_seopress_titles_desc":"Terry County, Texas: population, Brownfield, Meadow, Wellman, ZIP codes, geography, demographics, economy, and neighboring counties on the South Plains.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-8238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-texas","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8238"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11810,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8238\/revisions\/11810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}