Sweetwater is a city in Nolan County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,415 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Nolan CountyTemplate:GR.

Much of the community was devastated by tornadoes that swept through west Texas in 1985.

Sweetwater, like Freer in Duval County in south Texas, hosts an annual Rattlesnake Roundup in the early spring.

The city is increasingly a Republican stronghold in Texas.

Geography

Sweetwater is located at 32°28′5″N 100°24′26″W / 32.46806°N 100.40722°W / 32.46806; -100.40722Invalid arguments have been passed to the ((#coordinates:)) function (32.468147, -100.407125)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.0 km² (10.0 mi²), all land.

Sweetwater is the center of the Western Hemisphere's leading wind power energy generation region and West Texas has more than 4,000 MW of operational wind energy. Nolan County alone would currently rank as the seventh largest "nation" in terms of wind energy generation - with more than 1,500 MW installed.

Trivia

• Sammy Baugh began playing football in Sweetwater in the 1920s and had his high school jersey number retired in 2006.
• Lew Jenkins, world champion boxer, lived and trained in Sweetwater during the Depression.
• B.J. Starr and Ali Kleevaj are two famous strippers who attended Sweetwater High School. They are especially known for their stripping abilities.
• Ranch home of Louis Brooks , World Champion All-Around Cowboy in 1943 and 1944.
• A recent Myspace controversy forced the high school teachers to probe students MYSPACE pages in attempt to lower teen drinking.
• Women Airforce Service Pilots or WASP WWII training program was based at Avenger Field.
• Birthplace of several well-known professional wrestlers: Blackjack Mulligan and his sons Barry Windham and Kendall Windham, as well as John "Bradshaw" Layfield.
• Birthplace of mathematician and network engineer Robert C. Prim.
• Home of trial lawyer and state legislator Temple Dickson (1934-2006), a Democrat.
• The film The Beautiful Country is set in Sweetwater late in the film.
• Home of the world's largest wind turbine farm.
• Fastball (band) has a song titled 'Sweetwater, Texas' from the album All the Pain Money Can Buy.
• Home of the West Texas campus of the Texas State Technical College System.
• Libby Thompson, also known as "Squirrel Tooth Alice," was a famous brothel madam in Sweetwater until her retirement in 1921
• Over twenty people have died from attending Sweetwater's annual RattleSnake Roundup. In one case, a pit of snakes broke loose and attacked an elderly 92 year-old woman. ^{[citation needed]}

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 11,415 people, 4,545 households, and 3,017 families residing in the city. The population density was 439.9/km² (1,139.4/mi²). There were 5,202 housing units at an average density of 200.4/km² (519.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.29% White, 5.83% African American, 0.58% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 15.71% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.70% of the population.

There were 4,545 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,293, and the median income for a family was $29,953. Males had a median income of $27,722 versus $18,064 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,065. About 20.5% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.5% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Sweetwater is served by the Sweetwater Independent School District.