Cotulla, Texas

---

title: "Cotulla, Texas" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cities-in-texas", "cities-in-la-salle-county,-texas", "county-seats-in-texas", "populated-places-established-in-1882", "1882-establishments-in-texas"] topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotulla,_Texas" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
official_name	Cotulla, Texas
settlement_type	City
image_skyline	Downtown Cotulla2 (1 of 1).jpg
imagesize	250px
image_caption	Downtown Cotulla
pushpin_map	Texas#United States
mapsize	250px
map_caption	Location of Cotulla, Texas
image_map1	LaSalle County Cotulla.svg
mapsize1	250px
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	United States
subdivision_type1	State
subdivision_name1	Texas
subdivision_type2	County
subdivision_name2	La Salle
unit_pref	Imperial
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	5.21
area_land_km2	5.21
area_water_km2	0.00
area_total_sq_mi	2.01
area_land_sq_mi	2.01
area_water_sq_mi	0.00
population_as_of	2020
population_total	3718
population_density_km2	auto
timezone	Central (CST)
utc_offset	-6
timezone_DST	CDT
utc_offset_DST	-5
elevation_footnotes
elevation_ft	440
coordinates
postal_code_type	ZIP codes
postal_code	78001, 78014
area_code	830
blank_name	FIPS code
blank_info	48-17216
blank1_name	GNIS feature ID
blank1_info	2410247
website	https://www.cityofcotulla.org/
::

|official_name = Cotulla, Texas |settlement_type = City |image_skyline = Downtown Cotulla2 (1 of 1).jpg |imagesize = 250px |image_caption = Downtown Cotulla |image_flag = |image_seal = |pushpin_map = Texas#United States |mapsize = 250px |map_caption = Location of Cotulla, Texas |image_map1 = LaSalle County Cotulla.svg |mapsize1 = 250px |map_caption1 = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = United States |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_name1 = Texas |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = La Salle |unit_pref = Imperial |area_footnotes = |area_magnitude = |area_total_km2 = 5.21 |area_land_km2 = 5.21 |area_water_km2 = 0.00 |area_total_sq_mi = 2.01 |area_land_sq_mi = 2.01 |area_water_sq_mi = 0.00 |population_as_of = 2020 |population_footnotes = |population_total = 3718 |population_density_km2 = auto |population_density_sq_mi = |timezone = Central (CST) |utc_offset = -6 |timezone_DST = CDT |utc_offset_DST = -5 |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_ft = 440 |coordinates = |postal_code_type = ZIP codes |postal_code = 78001, 78014 |area_code = 830 |blank_name = FIPS code |blank_info = 48-17216 |blank1_name = GNIS feature ID |blank1_info = 2410247 |website = https://www.cityofcotulla.org/

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Cotulla,_TX_Historic_District_sign_IMG_7715_1_1_1.jpg" caption="Cotulla Historic District sign downtown (erected 2013)"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/At_higher_level,_the_Nueces_River_in_Cotulla,_TX_IMG_2475.JPG" caption="The [[Nueces River"] ::

Cotulla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of La Salle County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,718 as of the 2020 census.

History

Immigrant Joseph Cotulla, who was reared in Silesia, then a part of Prussia, migrated to the United States in the 1850s. He joined the Union Army in Brownsville, Texas. He lived in Atascosa County, but arrived in La Salle County in 1868 to establish what became a large ranching operation. After learning that the International-Great Northern Railroad intended to lay tracks in La Salle County, he worked to establish the town that bears his name.

In 1881, Cotulla donated 120 acres of his land to the railroad, and in 1882, a depot was constructed there. In 1883, the town was granted a post office. The same year, Cotulla became the county seat by special election.

In 1928, after completing his freshman year at Southwest Texas State Teachers College, Lyndon Baines Johnson taught 5th, 6th, and 7th graders at the Welhausen School. He commented when he returned in 1965:

Joseph Cotulla's great-grandson, William Lawrence Cotulla (born around 1936), a former storekeeper in Cotulla, is a rancher in La Salle, Dimmit, and Webb Counties. In a 2013 interview with the Laredo Morning Times, William Cotulla noted the community of his birth has changed completely in less than 80 years, having gone through several phases, beginning with emphasis on farming, then ranching, thereafter hunting leases, and now petroleum and natural gas through the Eagle Ford Shale boom. With declining gasoline prices, though, the Eagle Ford boom took a sharp downturn by the fall of 2015.

In 1973, two railroad locomotives collided in Cotulla, and three people were killed as a result. In 2008, the area around Cotulla burned in a huge grass fire.

Geography

Cotulla is located at (28.434144, –99.236343). This is 81 mi (147 km) southwest of San Antonio.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 sqmi, all land. The Nueces River flows through southern Cotulla in a southeastward direction to the Gulf of Mexico, near Corpus Christi.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cotulla has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

|location = Cotulla, Texas (Cotulla–La Salle County Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1901–present |single line = Yes

|Jan record high F = 94 |Feb record high F = 100 |Mar record high F = 106 |Apr record high F = 106 |May record high F = 109 |Jun record high F = 116 |Jul record high F = 111 |Aug record high F = 111 |Sep record high F = 112 |Oct record high F = 104 |Nov record high F = 98 |Dec record high F = 95

|Jan avg record high F = 85.9 |Feb avg record high F = 90.3 |Mar avg record high F = 93.6 |Apr avg record high F = 99.3 |May avg record high F = 103.2 |Jun avg record high F = 105.0 |Jul avg record high F = 104.5 |Aug avg record high F = 106.3 |Sep avg record high F = 102.4 |Oct avg record high F = 97.1 |Nov avg record high F = 89.7 |Dec avg record high F = 84.7 |year avg record high F = 108.1

|Jan high F = 67.4 |Feb high F = 73.6 |Mar high F = 79.7 |Apr high F = 86.0 |May high F = 92.8 |Jun high F = 97.9 |Jul high F = 99.2 |Aug high F = 100.3 |Sep high F = 93.9 |Oct high F = 86.6 |Nov high F = 75.7 |Dec high F = 68.7 |year high F =

|Jan mean F = 55.7 |Feb mean F = 60.9 |Mar mean F = 67.2 |Apr mean F = 73.4 |May mean F = 80.7 |Jun mean F = 85.7 |Jul mean F = 87.0 |Aug mean F = 87.7 |Sep mean F = 82.4 |Oct mean F = 74.7 |Nov mean F = 64.0 |Dec mean F = 56.8 |year mean F =

|Jan low F = 43.9 |Feb low F = 48.3 |Mar low F = 54.8 |Apr low F = 60.7 |May low F = 68.6 |Jun low F = 73.6 |Jul low F = 74.7 |Aug low F = 75.0 |Sep low F = 70.8 |Oct low F = 62.8 |Nov low F = 52.4 |Dec low F = 44.9 |year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = 27.9 |Feb avg record low F = 30.7 |Mar avg record low F = 35.9 |Apr avg record low F = 44.0 |May avg record low F = 54.8 |Jun avg record low F = 68.0 |Jul avg record low F = 70.1 |Aug avg record low F = 70.5 |Sep avg record low F = 60.1 |Oct avg record low F = 42.9 |Nov avg record low F = 33.1 |Dec avg record low F = 28.6 |year avg record low F = 25.3

|Jan record low F = 16 |Feb record low F = 16 |Mar record low F = 23 |Apr record low F = 36 |May record low F = 44 |Jun record low F = 56 |Jul record low F = 62 |Aug record low F = 63 |Sep record low F = 50 |Oct record low F = 35 |Nov record low F = 26 |Dec record low F = 20

|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 0.85 |Feb precipitation inch = 1.26 |Mar precipitation inch = 1.57 |Apr precipitation inch = 1.33 |May precipitation inch = 3.01 |Jun precipitation inch = 2.20 |Jul precipitation inch = 2.26 |Aug precipitation inch = 1.67 |Sep precipitation inch = 2.98 |Oct precipitation inch = 2.39 |Nov precipitation inch = 1.15 |Dec precipitation inch = 1.01 |year precipitation inch =

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in |Jan precipitation days = 6.1 |Feb precipitation days = 5.7 |Mar precipitation days = 5.4 |Apr precipitation days = 4.9 |May precipitation days = 6.3 |Jun precipitation days = 4.8 |Jul precipitation days = 5.9 |Aug precipitation days = 3.5 |Sep precipitation days = 7.1 |Oct precipitation days = 4.6 |Nov precipitation days = 4.4 |Dec precipitation days = 6.0

|Jan snow inch = |Feb snow inch = |Mar snow inch = |Apr snow inch = |May snow inch = |Jun snow inch = |Jul snow inch = |Aug snow inch = |Sep snow inch = |Oct snow inch = |Nov snow inch = |Dec snow inch = |year snow inch =

|unit snow days = 0.1 in |Jan snow days = |Feb snow days = |Mar snow days = |Apr snow days = |May snow days = |Jun snow days = |Jul snow days = |Aug snow days = |Sep snow days = |Oct snow days = |Nov snow days = |Dec snow days =

|source 1 = NOAA |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USW00012947&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Cotulla La Salle CO AP, TX |access-date = June 16, 2023 |source 2 = National Weather Service |url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=crp |publisher = National Weather Service |title = NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Corpus Christi |access-date = June 16, 2023

Demographics

|1890= 672 |1910= 1880 |1920= 1058 |1930= 3175 |1940= 3633 |1950= 4418 |1960= 3960 |1970= 3415 |1980= 3912 |1990= 3694 |2000= 3614 |2010= 3603 |2020= 3718 |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

::data[format=table title="'''Cotulla racial composition'''{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4817216&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=2022-05-20 |website=data.census.gov}}
(NH = Non-Hispanic){{efn|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.{{cite web |title=About the Hispanic Population and its Origin |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html |website=www.census.gov |access-date=18 May 2022}}}}"]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (NH)	424	11.4%
Black or African American (NH)	9	0.24%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	1	0.03%
Asian (NH)	4	0.11%
Some Other Race (NH)	5	0.13%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)	31	0.83%
Hispanic or Latino	3,244	87.25%
Total	3,718
::

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,718 people, 1,485 households, and 1,110 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 3,614 people, 1,208 households, and 901 families were residing in the city. The population density was 1,831.8 people per mi2 (708.3/km2). The 1,504 housing units averaged 762.3 per mi2 (294.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.45% White, 0.64% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 12.67% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 83.56% of the population.

Of the 1,208 households, 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were not families. About 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95, and the average family size was 3.50.

In the city, the age distribution was 33.6% under 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,250, and for a family was $25,951. Males had a median income of $21,199 versus $17,415 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,856. About 27.9% of families and 30.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.0% of those under age 18 and 28.1% of those age 65 or over.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Brush_Country_Museum_IMG_0460.JPG" caption="The Brush Country Museum in Cotulla preserves regional history."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/First_United_Methodist_Church_of_Cotulla,_TX_IMG_0461.JPG" caption="First [[United Methodist]] Church of Cotulla"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Revised_First_Baptist_Church_of_Cotulla,_TX_IMG_3327.JPG" caption="The First [[Baptist]] Church of Cotulla was established in the 1880s. The current sanctuary opened in 1948."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Prevailing_Word_Church,_Cotulla,_TX_IMG_2476.JPG" caption="The Prevailing Word Church (nondenominational) in Cotulla"] ::

Law and government

The La Salle County Courthouse in downtown Cotulla has undergone extensive renovation.

Education

• Cotulla is within the Cotulla Independent School District. Cotulla High School, with grades 9–12, is located east of town. The modern structure is divided into several noncontiguous units.

Notable people

• Josh Beckett, retired Major League Baseball pitcher, owns Herradura Ranch, a 7000 acre deer-hunting enclave located about 28 mi from Cotulla
• Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, was the wealthiest person in the world, as of December 2017. His maternal ancestors were settlers who lived in Texas. Over the generations, the family acquired a 25000 acre ranch in Cotulla
• John Lewis Gaddis, known as the "Dean of Cold War Historians", was born in Cotulla in 1941
• O. Henry, the short story writer, lived on a sheep ranch near Cotulla in the early 1880s with the successful goal of improving his health in the dry climate
• Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. President; taught public school in Cotulla from 1928 to 1929
• Hailey Kinsel, three-time world champion barrel racer, was born and raised on her parents' cattle ranch near Cotulla
• Phil Lyne, a former rodeo cowboy and 1979 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee, resides in Cotulla
• J.B. Mauney, an American professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bull riding, and competes in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuits, he is a two time PBR World Champion in 2013 and 2015. He resides in Cotulla.
• Kevin Patrick Yeary, judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, was born in Cotulla and raised in Laredo

Notes

References

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. {{GNIS. 2410247
4. (23 September 2014). "How to Pronounce: C Cities".
5. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
6. "Census - Geography Profile: Cotulla city, Texas".
7. Leffler, John. "Cotulla, TX - Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Association.
8. (24 December 2012). "LBJ in Cotulla".
9. Ricardo R. Villarreal, "City experiences tremendous growth, activity due to oil and gas production", ''Laredo Morning Times'', June 29, 2013, pp. 1, 12A
10. Jennifer Hiller, "Hard Times Hit Eagle Ford", ''[[San Antonio Express-News]]'', January 3, 2016, pp. 1, A20
11. Glenewinkel, Jay. "Missouri Pacific Disaster in Cotulla, Texas 1973". trainweb.org.
12. (2011-02-12). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
13. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
14. "Explore Census Data".
15. "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin".
16. (September 7, 2017). "Jeff Bezos' roots could give Texas an edge as Amazon.com looks for new HQ site". [[Puget Sound Business Journal]].
17. Caro, Robert A.. (1982). "The Path to Power". [[Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.]].
18. "Kinsel, Hailey". wpra.com.
19. Mahoney, Sylvia Gann. (2004). "College Rodeo: From Show to Sport". Texas A&M University Press.
20. "Cowboy Biographies". prorodeo.com.
21. "Kevin Patrick Yeary". [[Project Vote Smart]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::