Matagorda County, Texas
County seat: Bay City · Population 36,463 (2025) · 1,093 sq mi
Matagorda County is the 87th most populous of Texas's 254 counties, with 36,463 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Bay City. It is part of the Gulf Coast region, one of the 12 Texas Comptroller economic regions. The map shows its 2 cities and towns and the 4 neighboring counties.
Matagorda County facts
- County seat
- Bay City
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 36,463 +0.6% since 2020
- Land area
- 1,093 sq mi 49th largest of 254
- Water area
- 519 sq mi
- Population density
- 33 per sq mi
- Established
- 1836
- Named after
- canebrakes thicket of any of a variety of Arundinaria grasses
- Largest city
- Bay City 17,488
- Median household income
- $58,628
- Cities and towns
- 2 plus 7 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 14
- Time zone
- Central
- FIPS code
- 48321
Cities and towns in Matagorda County
Matagorda County has 2 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Matagorda County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay City (county seat) | City | 17,488 | |
| Palacios | City | 4,370 |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Van Vleck | 1,763 | |
| Sargent | 1,422 | |
| Markham | 873 | |
| Blessing | 418 | |
| Wadsworth | 366 | |
| Matagorda | 182 | |
| Midfield | 0 |
ZIP codes in Matagorda County
14 ZIP codes reach into Matagorda County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 77414
- 77415
- 77419
- 77420 also Wharton and Fort Bend counties
- 77428
- 77440
- 77456
- 77457
- 77458
- 77465 also Jackson and Calhoun counties
- 77468
- 77480 also Brazoria County
- 77482
- 77483
Population of Matagorda County, 2020–2025
Matagorda County grew by 209 people (+0.6%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 197 more births than deaths and a net loss of 28 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 36,287 |
| 2021 | 36,339 |
| 2022 | 36,107 |
| 2023 | 36,252 |
| 2024 | 36,190 |
| 2025 | 36,463 |
Neighboring counties
- Brazoria County northeast · 419,080 people
- Wharton County north · 42,060 people
- Calhoun County southwest · 19,599 people
- Jackson County west · 15,393 people
Printable Matagorda County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (147 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (88 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
Back to the Texas county map with all 254 counties. Found an error? Tell us.