Texas is a Southern state situated in the south-central United States, boasting beautiful landscapes, consistently nice weather, and many attractive places both to live or visit. Let’s take a look at the 37 interesting Texas facts.
The next set of interesting facts about Texas is its nickname, the Lone Star State. Texas has always been an extremely proud state, and probably boasts the most history out of all 50 states as it used to be an independent nation and also was once a province of Mexico! Texans have always respected their heritage and the meaning of the nickname, as well as all the other famous Texas state symbols reflects the people of the state both past and present.
If you would like to learn how to register a business in Texas so you can start your entrepreneurial journey, we have created a checklist walking you through the process.
Texas is home to the iconic city of Houston. With a population of over 2.3 million in 2020, it is the largest city in Texas, not only in size (landmass) but in population too! Houston has the 4th largest population out of all U.S. cities and is growing at a rate of more than 0.33% annually. There are many interesting facts about Houston Texas, one being that more people eat out every week in Houston than in any other state in the whole of the U.S. Since there are over 10,000 restaurants within the city it’s easy to understand why Houston has one of the best culinary scenes in the country.
State Facts About Texas
Texas is one of the most popular states to move to in the U.S. Many believe this to be due to the opportunities presented to business owners (large, small, and everything in between), and the resurgence of tourism and migration within the state, stemming from the natural beauty and lucrative business climate Texas has to offer.
- Dr Pepper was invented in Texas, the world-famous fizzy drink was first invented by Charles Alderton in 1885.
- The first-ever frozen Margarita machine was invented in Dallas, north Texas.
- Another, less tasty fact about Texas that originates from Dallas is the famous Bugs Bunny quote, “What’s Up, Doc?”. Looney Tunes animator, Tex Avery, who attended Dallas High School introduced the world-renowned phrase.
- Texas actually uses its own power grid, which is separate from the rest of the United States – there are only 3 power grids in the whole of the US!
- The iconic Texas flag has no one to claim the creation of it – interestingly the designer of this flag is unknown. The Lone Star Flag was drawn by Dr. Charles B. Steward, however, nobody knows who actually designed the iconic state flag.
- In terms of state facts about Texas, this one is slightly more obvious; however, many people may not have actually noticed that Texas’ flag shares the exact same colors as the United States flag. This is not a common theme for state flags!
- The Texas state capitol building is the largest state capitol building out of all 50 states.
- Texas is larger in terms of landmass than any country in Europe (268,820 square miles). They say everything is bigger in Texas!
- Texas is home to 3 of the most heavily populated cities in the United States, Houston (over 2.3 million) is the largest in the entire state, Dallas (over 1.3 million), and San Antonio (over 1.5 million). The central Texas city of Austin also has a population of over 1 million.
- The Texas state nickname is the Lone Star State! However, there are many theories and reasons behind why Texas is called the Lone Star State!
- The maximum Texas speed limit is 85 MPH.
- Texas once went 10 years as an independent country before deciding to join the United States, breaking the Texas independence!
- It is totally illegal to milk someone else’s cow in Texas.
- There is a rare specific German dialect that is only spoken in Texas!
- The phrase, “don’t mess with Texas” stems from an anti-litter campaign that an advertising agency came up with within 1985 specifically for the Texas Department of Transportation.
- Texas has its own pledge of allegiance, the word “Texas” actually means “friends”.
- If you are after a true cowboy experience, you must visit the iconic city of Fort Worth.
- The famous Caddo Lake spans over 25,000 acres and is on the border between Texas and Louisiana.
- The Texas state motto is “friendship”.
- Texas’ state bird is the Northern Mockingbird.
- If you ever need to escape one of the famous Texas cities and surround yourself with the abundance of natural beauty the state has to offer, visiting east Texas might be for you. Due to an unusual amount of rainfall for the Lone Star State, east Texas is covered in rich forest, including some beautiful national forests such as Sam Houston National Forest and Angelina National Forest.
- These forests stretch across 12 counties, and in addition to this, the region contains 12 state parks and a beautiful state forest.
- Texas has multiple state animals that are all used to represent the state past and present, the Texas state animals are both the Armadillo and the Longhorn.
- The glorious Galveston Island is a barrier island located on the Texas Gulf Coast and is approximately 50 miles from the city of Houston. The entire island is considered to be within the city limits of Galveston, which is in Galveston County.
- Cherokee is an unincorporated native American community, located in Cherokee County, in central west Texas.
- The beautiful Bluebonnet is the Texas state flower.
- The name “Texas” actually came about during the year 1540 whe the Spanish explorers met the Caddo Indians. The Spanish were called “tayshas” by the Caddo Indians, which means “allies” or “friends”. This was then translated by the Spanish to “tejas”, and over time the name was converted to Texas by the U.S.
- The Texas state insect is the iconic Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus), which has been the insect to represent the state since 1995.
- The Lone Star State is the only one in the U.S. to have the flags of six different nations fly above it, Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States, and the United States, talk about diversity!
- There are over 70,000 miles of highway in Texas, which is more than some entire countries! Each year, the state itself uses up over 1.6 million gallons of white and yellow paint in order to correctly paint the lines on the highways.
- The Texas ruby grapefruit has been the official state fruit since 1993. For Texas, this is not just a citrus fruit, it holds historical and cultural significance dating way back to the early European settlers.
Facts About Texas
Texas’ business climate has always been healthy, but recent years have witnessed the state’s economy go from strength to strength. Attractive landscapes and a pro-business climate make it a popular place to live, and the economy remains one of the strongest in the country with an excelling workforce, solid infrastructure, access to capital, and low taxes.
There is no better time than now to register a business name in Texas so you can take advantage of the state’s economy that is consistently growing. Here are some highlights of the economic state facts about Texas that make it one of the leading economies in the U.S.
Economic Facts about Texas
- Ranked the No. 2 Best State for Business in the U.S. in 2019 by Forbes.
- Texas currently has the 10th largest economy in the world by GDP, if it was its own country!
- Texas produces over 40% of the United States’ oil.
- Texas is home to more miles of roads and rail tracks than any other state, with 313,200 miles of public roads, 16 seaports, and more than 380 airports.
- Texas produces a lot of wine – $13 billion of it each year.
- Texas leads the nation in job creation over the past 10 years and in population growth over the past 14 years.
- Texas is home to over 1 million women-owned businesses!
- Texas is ranked 4th in the U.S. for its current economic climate and 1st for its growth prospects (Forbes).
- There are over 100 of the 1,000 largest public and private companies in the U.S. based in Texas.
- The income tax percentage in Texas is 0%
- Texas is home to over 37,000 small business exporters.
- Both Whole Foods and 7-Eleven got their start in Texas.
- There are over 2.8 million small businesses in Texas.
- There are more than 4.8 million small business employees in Texas.
A snapshot of facts about Texas above illustrates why it is considered one of the top states for businesses in the U.S.
Infographic – Cool Facts About Texas
Facts about Texas History
On December 29, 1845, Texas was admitted into the union, becoming the 28th state to help contribute to the inception of all 50 United States!
When considering facts about Texas history the best place to start is looking at how it was founded. The state of Texas was originally founded in 1684 when it subsequently became the French Colonization of Texas. The initial Texas settlement by Europeans was actually an accidental occurrence! In 1682, the French nobleman, Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, laid claim to the entire Mississippi River Valley on behalf of France. The year after this, he managed to convince King Louis XIV to establish a colony near the Mississippi River, splitting Spanish Florida from New Spain.
Texas has witnessed many changes, following the French Colonization of Texas which ended in 1689, it became known as the Spanish Texas which existed between 1690-1821. After this, the state we know now became Mexican Texas from 1821-1836, and finally, before Texas was granted membership into the union in 1845 it was known as The Republic of Texas between 1836-1845 (the Texas Revolution).
Final Thoughts
Texas is a truly remarkable state, from the people to the history, and present-day accomplishments, which is undoubtedly why it is such a popular place to visit and live. Interesting facts about Texas come in a plethora of different shapes and sizes, and we hope to have covered most of them!
