Fort Hood is a census-designated place and US Army base located in Texas. As of the 2000 census, the base had a total population of 33,711.

Geography

Fort Hood is located at 31°7'48" North, 97°46'49" West (31.130072, -97.780260)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 38.8 km² (15.0 mi²). 38.7 km² (14.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.33% water. Please note that these figures are for the main cantonment only, not the entire reservation.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 33,711 people, 5,819 households, and 5,679 families residing on the base. The population density is 870.6/km² (2,255.7/mi²). There are 5,941 housing units at an average density of 153.4/km² (397.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 50.73% White, 31.60% African American, 1.21% Native American, 2.13% Asian, 0.84% Pacific Islander, 8.72% from other races, and 4.77% from two or more races. 16.70% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 5,819 households out of which 87.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 87.1% are married couples living together, 8.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 2.4% are non-families. 2.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.92 and the average family size is 3.95.

The age distribution is 33.3% under the age of 18, 32.3% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 1.2% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 21 years. For every 100 females there are 163.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 209.4 males. All these statistics are typical for military bases.

The median income for a household on the base is $32,552, and the median income for a family is $32,296. Males have a median income of $18,884 versus $17,101 for females. The per capita income for the base is $11,078. 9.5% of the population and 8.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 11.0% of those under the age of 18 and 25.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Details

Fort Hood, located halfway between Austin and Waco, is the only 2-division post in the United States, and is the home of III Corps. The two divisions on the base are the 1st Cavalry Division and the 4th Infantry Division.

Before the breakup of the Soviet Union, it was billed as the largest military base in the free world. During peacetime, Fort Hood is an open base, and has two military museums (one for each division), the Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area (BLORA), and a number of other recreational faciliies that are open to the public. As of 2004, access to the main cantonment has been restricted, but the lake area is still open to the public.

Shortly after the 2000 census, responsibility for post housing was turned over to a partnership. Under the terms of the contract, most of the housing has been remodeled or rebuilt, and hundreds of new units have been built or are in the process of being built.

The schools are handled by the Killeen Independent School District. Due to closures of other bases in the US and the subsequent rearranging of troops, KISD is one of the fastest-growing school districts in Texas, and the metropolitan area surrounding Fort Hood is one of the fastest growing.

Fort Hood is in three sections, consisting of the main cantonment, West Fort Hood, and North Fort Hood. The main cantonment is bounded by Killeen on the east and Copperas Cove on the west. North Forth Hood is bounded by Gatesville to the northwest. West Fort Hood includes Robert Gray Army Airfield, which is being expanded for civilian use, as of 2004, and is the airport used by President Bush when going to or from his ranch.

External links

• Fort Hood Family Housing (http://actusmilitaryhousing.com/Hood/default.asp)
• Fort Hood official homepage (http://www.hood.army.mil/fthood)
• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=31.130072&longitude=-97.78026&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=31.130072&lon=-97.78026&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-97.78026&lat=31.130072&w=750&h=500)