Photo: Wikipedia
Demographics of Midland, TX
Affluence Level in Midland, TX
A middle-class area roughly in line with national averages across income, home values, education, and employment.
People of Midland, TX
The people of Midland, Texas today form a population of 133,998 that is nearly evenly split between non-Hispanic White residents (43.4%) and Hispanic or Latino residents (44.3%), with a smaller Black community (7.5%) and a growing East/Southeast Asian presence (2.0%). The city is notably less diverse than the national average in foreign-born share (7.8% versus 13.7% nationally) and has a college-educated rate of 33.7%, slightly above the Texas average. Midland’s identity is shaped by its role as the administrative and financial hub of the Permian Basin oil patch, producing a workforce that is transient, high-income, and politically conservative, with a distinctive blend of old-line West Texas ranching families and newer energy-sector arrivals.
How the city was settled and grew
Midland was founded in 1881 as a railroad stop on the Texas and Pacific Railway, originally named Midway for its position midway between Fort Worth and El Paso. The first permanent settlers were Anglo-American cattle ranchers and railroad workers, drawn by open range and the promise of rail access to eastern markets. By the 1890s, the discovery of shallow oil seeps along the Permian Basin’s eastern edge began attracting wildcatters, but the city’s explosive growth came after the 1923 discovery of the massive Yates Oil Field and the 1925 opening of the Big Lake Oil Field. The original Anglo population clustered in the Grasslands Estates and Country Club Estates neighborhoods, where ranch families built large homes on former grazing land. A small but significant Mexican-American community formed in the South Side district near the railroad tracks, working as laborers in the oil fields and on ranches. By 1930, Midland’s population had reached 5,484, overwhelmingly Anglo and native-born, with a tiny Black population (under 200) living in the West Side area near the industrial rail yards. The city remained a white-majority oil town through the 1950s, with the Northwest Hills neighborhood developing as the premier address for oil executives and their families.
Modern era (post-1965)
The post-1965 immigration reforms had a muted effect on Midland compared to coastal cities, as the oil boom cycles—particularly the 1970s boom and the 1980s bust—drove domestic migration more than international flows. The Hispanic population grew steadily from 1970 onward, rising from roughly 15% to 44.3% today, driven by natural increase and continued migration from South Texas and northern Mexico. This growth concentrated in the South Side and East Midland neighborhoods, where Hispanic families established churches, grocery stores, and small businesses. The Black population, historically small, grew modestly from under 3% in 1970 to 7.5% today, with most Black residents living in the West Side and Southwest Midland areas. The East/Southeast Asian community (2.0%) is a recent phenomenon, arriving primarily since 2000 as engineers and technicians for oilfield service companies like Halliburton and Schlumberger; they are concentrated in the Northwest Hills and newer subdivisions near the Midland International Air & Space Port. The Indian-subcontinent population remains negligible at 0.1%, reflecting the city’s lack of a tech or academic sector that typically draws that group. The foreign-born share of 7.8% is almost entirely Hispanic (from Mexico and Central America) and East/Southeast Asian, with very few European or Middle Eastern immigrants.
The future
Midland’s population is trending toward a Hispanic-majority future, driven by higher birth rates among Hispanic families and continued migration from the Rio Grande Valley. The non-Hispanic White share has fallen from over 70% in 1980 to 43.4% today, a decline that is likely to continue as older Anglo residents age out and younger White professionals are replaced by Hispanic workers in the oil fields. The city is not tribalizing into distinct ethnic enclaves—neighborhoods remain relatively mixed by income and race—but the South Side is becoming more uniformly Hispanic, while the Northwest Hills and Country Club Estates remain predominantly White and higher-income. The East/Southeast Asian community is small but growing, likely to reach 3-4% by 2035 as oilfield technology firms recruit from the Philippines and Vietnam. The Black population is stable, with little in-migration from other states. The foreign-born share is expected to rise slowly, possibly to 10-12% by 2040, but Midland will remain a predominantly native-born city compared to Houston or Dallas.
For someone moving to Midland today, the city is becoming a younger, more Hispanic, and slightly more diverse version of its oil-boom past, with a population that is transient, work-focused, and politically conservative. The key practical implication is that Spanish-language services and bilingual staff are increasingly common in schools, healthcare, and retail, while the city’s social and civic life remains centered on the oil industry, churches, and high school football. New arrivals should expect a community that is welcoming to those who work in energy but less integrated for those outside that sector, with neighborhoods that are safe but segregated by income rather than by race.
* Values derived from national, state, county, city and local statistics and may differ in a specific area. Last updated: 2026-04-18T19:25:16.000Z
Narrative content on this page is AI-generated and may contain mistakes. Verify any details that matter before acting on them.
ReloMaps may earn a commission from affiliate links at no extra cost to you.
