Cedar Hill, Texas

Cedar Hill is a city located sixteen miles from downtown Dallas in the southwest corner of Dallas County in Texas and adjoined by Joe Pool Lake and Cedar Hill State Park to its west. It is sometimes referred to as the "hill country of Dallas" (in comparison to the "hill country" surrounding Austin and San Antonio). The city is full of native, eastern red cedar evergreen trees and stands at an elevation of about 500 feet above sea level--the highest point in a straight line from the Red River at the Texas-Oklahoma border to the Gulf Coast. The limestone uplift on which Cedar Hill is spread is covered with "gumbo"-cleche-clay topsoil from a few inches to many feet. As noted in the demographics below (and like some of the cities immediately surrounding it such as Duncanville and DeSoto), the city is significantly diverse compared to other cities around Dallas which tend to be predominately of one ethnic origin or another. In the last few years, the city has been booming with new construction as urban sprawl spreads south of Dallas.

Early in its history, Cedar Hill served as the capital of Dallas County and lied along [a famous cattle trail named?]. In [1854?] a tornado swept through the town killing several residents and destroying several buildings [including the town post office?]. The seat of the county was moved to Dallas not long after.

Midlothian, "the steel and cement capital of Texas", in Ellis County is about six miles southeast of Cedar Hill. The city houses one of the largest cement factories (and one of the largest polluters) in the United States. That same area was initially designated as the site for the superconducting super collider project which was eventually halted by the United States House of Representatives in 1993.

Geography

Cedar Hill is located at 32°35'18" North, 96°56'50" West (32.588454, -96.947325)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 91.3 km² (35.2 mi²). 91.0 km² (35.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.26% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 32,093 people, 10,748 households, and 8,738 families residing in the city. The population density is 352.5/km² (913.0/mi²). There are 11,075 housing units at an average density of 121.7/km² (315.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 56.67% White, 33.61% African American, 0.50% Native American, 1.98% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.87% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races. 11.91% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 10,748 households out of which 49.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.8% are married couples living together, 14.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 18.7% are non-families. 15.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.96 and the average family size is 3.30.

In the city the population is spread out with 32.6% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 35.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 4.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $60,136, and the median income for a family is $63,416. Males have a median income of $41,360 versus $32,207 for females. The per capita income for the city is $23,389. 5.5% of the population and 4.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 7.7% are under the age of 18 and 6.5% are 65 or older.