Panhandle Information

The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost twenty-six counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. The Handbook of Texas defines the southern border of Swisher County as the southern boundary of the Texas Panhandle region, though some consider the region to extend as far south as Lubbock County.[1] The Texas Panhandle Press Association accepts members in the actual panhandle and a triangle formed by its southern tier, the southeastern border of New Mexico and a diagonal to the beginning, which includes Lubbock County.

Its land area is 25,823.89 sq mi (66,883.58 km2), or nearly 10 percent of the state's total. The Texas Panhandle is slightly larger in size than the US State of West Virginia. There is an additional 62.75 sq mi (162.53 km2) of water area. Its population as of the 2010 census was 427,927 residents, or 1.7 percent of the state's total population. As of the 2010 census, the population density for the region was 16.6 per square mile (6.4/km2). The Panhandle is distinct from North Texas, which is farther southeast.