Basic Information About Texas

Texas is the second-largest US state by both area and population. It covers 268,596 square miles and is home to about 30.5 million people as of 2024. The state capital is Austin, though Houston is the largest city. Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845, after spending nearly a decade as the independent Republic of Texas.

Nickname: The Lone Star State — a reference to the single star on the state flag, symbolizing Texas's time as an independent republic.

State Motto: "Friendship" — derived from the Caddo word "tejas," meaning friends or allies, which Spanish explorers used to name the region.

State Flower: Bluebonnet. Every spring, bluebonnets carpet Texas roadsides and fields in waves of blue — one of the most distinctive natural spectacles in the South.

State Bird: Northern Mockingbird, shared with four other Southern states.

Region: Texas straddles the South and the Southwest. East Texas is deeply Southern in culture; West Texas is arid high desert; South Texas borders Mexico; Central Texas anchors the state's political and tech economy.

Climate: Highly variable. East Texas is humid subtropical; West Texas is semi-arid to arid; the Panhandle is Great Plains with cold winters; South Texas is hot and dry near the border. Annual rainfall ranges from over 50 inches in the east to under 10 inches in El Paso.

Government: Texas has a part-time legislature that meets every two years for 140 days — a design reflecting the founders' distrust of government. The governor has relatively limited formal powers compared to other large states.

Economy: The largest state economy after California, with a GDP exceeding $2 trillion. Major sectors include energy (oil, gas, wind), technology, aerospace, agriculture, and healthcare.

Texas has no state income tax, funding its government primarily through property taxes and sales taxes. This, combined with warm weather and a growing economy, has made it one of the top destinations for domestic migration in the 2020s.