Tyler is the county seat of Smith County in East Texas, United States. The city is named for President John Tyler in recognition of his support for Texas' admission to the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 83,650, though a 2005 demographics study commissioned by the city pegged the population at 101,106.
Tyler is referred to as the Rose Capital of America because of its large role in the rose-growing industry; about 20% of commercial rose bushes produced in the U.S. are grown in Tyler and Smith County and more than half of the rose bushes are packaged and shipped from the area. It boasts the nation's largest municipal rose garden and hosts the Texas Rose Festival each October, which draws more than 100,000 spectators. [1]
In 1985, the international Adopt-a-Highway movement originated in Tyler when, after appeals by local Texas Department of Transportation officials, the local Civitan chapter adopted a 2-mile (3-km) stretch of U.S. Highway 69. Tyler is also home to the Caldwell Zoo.
Since 1877 the Tyler-based T.B. Butler Publishing Company has published the city's main newspaper, Tyler Morning Telegraph.
GeographyTyler is located at (32.334249, -95.299927)GR1. Tyler is surrounded by many smaller suburbs including: Jacksonville, Whitehouse, Lindale, New Chapel Hill, Bullard, Edom, Brownsboro, Chandler, and Mineola.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 128.0 km² (49.4 mi²). 127.7 km² (49.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.22%) is water.
DemographicsAs of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 83,650 people, 32,525 households, and 21,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 655.1/km² (1,696.7/mi²). There were 35,337 housing units at an average density of 276.7/km² (716.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.92% White, 26.63% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 8.46% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races. 15.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 32,525 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 26% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 20% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,163, and the median income for a family was $43,618. Males had a median income of $31,728 versus $22,397 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,184. 16.8% of the population and 13.0% of families were below the poverty line. 23.3% of those under the age of 18 and 12.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
EconomyIn addition to its role in the rose-growing industry, Tyler is the headquarters for Brookshire Grocery Company (website), which operates Brookshire's and Super 1 Foods supermarkets in four states. The company's main distribution center is located in south Tyler, while SouthWest Foods, a subsidiary that produces dairy products, is located just north-east of the city.
The manufacturing sector includes:
Also produced in Tyler are John Soules Foods' fajita and other meat products; Distant Lands Coffee Roasters coffee (website); Tyler Candle Co. jar candles (website), which are known for their strong fragrance; and a variety of small high-tech businesses including Synthesizers.com (website), Group M7 (website), CBI (website), Azalea Technology (website), Power-Up (website) and Arrick Robotics (website).
Recreation/TourismTyler is home to a zoo, several museums, 2 lakes, and numerous golf courses[2]. There is also an 'Azalea Trail,' which are 2 officially designated routes within the city that showcase homes or other landscaped venues adorned with azalea shrubs.
On the shores of nearby Lake Tyler is the 2005 HGTV Dream Home. The 6,500 square feet (600 m²) house briefy boosted tourism and interest in the community.
MediaThere are currently 13 media stations and one newspaper located in Tyler, as well as many more in the surrounding areas.
NewspaperTyler Pounds Regional Airport (website) offers service to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport via American Eagle and to Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport via Colgan Air Continental Connection.
The city's Tyler Transit (website) buses run daily, excluding Sundays and holidays. Greyhound Lines bus service is available through a downtown terminal.
Tyler is located adjacent to several major highways. Interstate 20 runs along the north edge of the city, and U.S. Highway 69 runs north-south through the center of town. The city also has access to U.S. Highway 271, Texas State Highway 31, Texas State Highway 155, and Texas State Highway 110.
Texas State Highway Loop 323 was established in 1957 and originally encircled the city, which has continued to grow outside of the loop. Texas State Highway Loop 49, designed to be an 'outer loop' around the city, is currently in the process of construction, with the first five-mile segment open for use on August 17, 2006.
Utilities Gas and ElectricHospitals located in Tyler include East Texas Medical Center (website), Trinity Mother Frances Health System (website), University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, and Texas Spine & Joint Hospital (website).
Education Colleges and universitiesTyler's higher education institutions include the University of Texas at Tyler (website) and the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler (website), both part of the University of Texas System; Tyler Junior College (website), and Texas College, (website), a historically black four-year college affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Public schoolsPublic primary and secondary education for much of the city is provided by the Tyler Independent School District (website), which includes two high schools, John Tyler and Robert E. Lee; several Tyler ISD schools offer International Baccalaureate and Advance Placement programmes.
Portions of incorporated Tyler are served by surrounding school districts. These include sections of southeast Tyler by the Whitehouse Independent School District, and some sections in the east which are served by the Chapel Hill Independent School District.
Private schoolsThe Tyler Catholic School System of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler consists of St. Gregory Elementary (website) and Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Middle/High School (website).
There are several other private schools, including Grace Community School (website), East Texas Christian Academy (website), All Saints Episcopal School (website), and Good Shepherd School (website).
Professional Sports Teams Baseball
