Victoria Airfares (VCT) - Texas

Victoria, Texas - City Overview and Airfare Information

Victoria TX

Victoria is a city in Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60603 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Victoria, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the county seat of Victoria County^GR6. It is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria in Texas. Victoria is home to Victoria College, the University of Houston–Victoria, MLB players Doug Drabek and Ron Gant and WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Victoria is located at 28°49′1″N, 96°59′36″W (28.816866, -96.993462)^GR1. It is one of the state's old, historic cities. The original colony founded in 1824 was named for the first president of Mexico, Don Guadalupe Victoria.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 85.8 km² (33.1 mi²). 85.4 km² (33.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.45%) is water.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 60,603 people, 22,129 households, and 15,755 families residing in the city. The population density was 709.7/km² (1,838.3/mi²). There were 24,192 housing units at an average density of 283.3/km² (733.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.18% White, 42.92% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 17.31% from other races, 7.59% African American, 2.35% from two or more races, 1.01% Asian, 0.51% Native American, and 0.04% Pacific Islander.

There were 22,129 households out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,829, and the median income for a family was $42,866. Males had a median income of $34,184 versus $21,161 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,009. About 12.2% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.

Victoria, Texas, is located 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico and is within a two-hour drive of Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. Victoria is a regional hub for a seven county area and serves a retail trade area of over 250,000 people.

The school district for Victoria is Victoria Independent School District.

A career and technology center offers vocational training in 12 areas including electronics, building trades, computer networking, cosmetology, and Process Operation Technology for petrochemical plants.

More than 60 colleges and universities are located within a 125-mile radius of Victoria including the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, Rice University and the University of Houston. Within the city limits are Victoria Community College and University of Houston-Victoria.

Victoria’s 562 acre Riverside Park is home to the National Zoo of Texas which houses more than 200 species of animals and plants that are indigenous to Texas, exhibiting them in their natural habitat.

There are three golf courses located in Victoria. The Victoria Country Club, Riverside Golf Course and Colony Creek Country Club.

The Victoria Public Library contains approximately 127,000 volumes at its downtown location. Victoria College and the University of Houston-Victoria share a library on their joint campus.

Victoria has 1,260 hotel/motel rooms for visitors. The Victoria Community Center is the largest enclosed convention/exhibit facility in the Golden Crescent region, with over 68,000 square feet. The Victoria Chamber of Commerce, Victoria African-American Chamber of Commerce, and the Victoria Convention and Visitors Bureau can assist with tourism-related inquires.

Known as the South Texas Crossroads, Victoria is located at the intersection of three major U. S. highways:

• US Highway 59 (future Interstate 69) is a four-lane divided interstate quality highway extending southwest to Laredo and northeast to Houston where it meets Interstate 10 and Interstate 45.

• US Highway 77 travels north from Victoria to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex intersecting Interstate 10, Interstate 35, and Interstate 37. US 77 travels south via a four-lane divided highway to the Rio Grande Valley.

• US Highway 87 travels northwest connecting Victoria to San Antonio providing access to Interstate 35. US 87 also connects with Port Lavaca to the southeast.

Victoria is a regional transportation hub for the surrounding counties with local access to major large and small freight carriers, Victoria Regional Airport, railway terminals, the shallow draft Port of Victoria, and the deep water Port of Port Lavaca-Point Comfort.