Alpine, Texas

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Alpine has a semiarid climate, BSk on climate maps.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, 6,035 people, 2,586 households, and 1,414 families resided in the city.

The median age was 37.4 years. About 18.5% of residents were under 18 and 19.2% of residents were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males, and for every 100 females 18 and over, there were 100.0 males 18 and over.

About 97.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.3% lived in rural areas.

Of the 2,586 households in Alpine, 24.0% had children under 18 living in them, 35.7% were married-couple households, 25.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 40.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.

About 18.8% of the 3,185 housing units were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 56.5% were owner-occupied and 43.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%, and the rental vacancy rate was 14.3%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 5,786 people, 2,429 households, and 1,435 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,416.5 inhabitants per square mile (546.9/km²). The 2,852 housing units averaged 698.2 per square mile (269.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.19% White, 1.33% African American, 0.81% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 15.45% from other races, and 2.70% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 50.31% of the population.

Of the 2,429 households, 28.7% had children under 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were not families. About 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city, the population was distributed as 24.3% under the age of 18, 14.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,979 and for a family was $31,658. Males had a median income of $27,720 versus $19,575 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,587. About 15.5% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under 18 and 17.1% of those 65 or over.

Museum

The Museum of the Big Bend on the Sul Ross campus uses exhibits of Native American artifacts, cultural history, geology, paleontology, and Western art to introduce the visitor to the Big Bend region. Subjects include the area's Indian tribes, the Buffalo soldiers, the mining era, the stagecoach, the railroad, and the history of Big Bend National Park. The overview includes historic photographs and short videos. The building was constructed in 1937 with local stone. Funding came from the Texas Centennial Commission and the Works Progress Administration, a federal make-work program during the Depression.

National Register of Historic Places

Brewster County Courthouse, built in 1887, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The adjoining Brewster County Jail features a crenelated brick parapet wall, suggesting "a fortress-like impregnability".

Annual events

• Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering, usually late February, is a celebration of the oral tradition of working cowboys in poetry, song, and music.
• Trappings of Texas, in April, is an exhibit and sale of custom gear and Western art held at the Museum of the Big Bend.
• Big Bend Gem and Mineral Show, in April, is held at the Civic Center.
• 'Cinco de Mayo includes a parade, enchilada dinner, music and dancing, car show, and Grand Mercado at Kokernot Field.
• Alpine Cowboys professional baseball games take place at historic Kokernot Field.
• Theater of the Big Bend, for over 50 years, this local theater troupe has performed various plays and musicals at the Kokernot Lodge outdoor amphitheater.
• Fourth of July/Fiestas Barrios, July 4, parade, food, music, fireworks
• Viva Big Bend, music festival, in July, more than 50 bands play at venues from Marathon to Marfa, Fort Davis to Alpine.
• Drive Big Bend has driving tours, music, parties, and a car show at Kokernot Field for antique, classic, and performance automobiles.
• Big Bend Ranch Rodeo, in August, displays the skills of working cowboys (rather than rodeo professionals).
• National Intercollegiate Rodeo
• Big Bend Octane Fest, hosted by The Stable Performance Cars in early October. This weekend-long festival includes a car show, driving tours around the Big Bend, Marfa, Alpine, Fort Davis, and Marathon areas, auctions, and more, for antique, classic, and performance automobiles.
• No Country For Old Men, in October, this bike race lists itself as "America's Premiere 1000 Mile Road Race".
• ARTWALK, The weekend before Thanksgiving, art spills from the galleries onto the streets and Arbolitos Park, with chalk art on the sidewalks, live music, and a parade of flags.
• Parade of Lights, December

Public art

A mural in the former post office at 109 West E St was painted as part of the New Deal public works programs during the Great Depression. Surviving murals from the project are found in 60 or so Texas cities and towns. Completed in 1940, this mural is by a Spanish-born and trained artist, Jose Moya del Pino, who was living and working in San Francisco. In the foreground, three figures recline on a rocky overlook. They are each reading: a book, a magazine, and a tabloid newspaper, celebrating how the post office brings information and education to small towns and cattle ranches. On the horizon, the Twin Sisters Mountain marks the location, with the town in the middle distance, including, at the behest of townspeople, the characteristic red-brick buildings of the Sul Ross State campus.

Library

Begun by volunteers in 1947, the Alpine Public Library remains an independent entity with its own board of directors, and supported by the taxpayers of Brewster County and the City of Alpine. The Alpine Public Library opened a new facility in 2012.^{[citation needed]}

University

Sul Ross State University began as a teachers' college in 1920, with its original campus in Alpine. Named for Lawrence Sullivan Ross, a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, Texas' 19th governor and later president of the new land grant college which became Texas A&M, it is now a member of the Texas State University System. About 2,000 students attend the university. Sul Ross was the founding location of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association in 1949. The Sul Ross Rodeo Club competes in 10 NIRA rodeos each year. The NIRA rodeo hosted in Alpine is a big event for the school and the community.

Brewster County is within the Odessa College District for community college.

Schools

Alpine Independent School District serves more than 1,000 local students attending Alpine Elementary School, Alpine Middle School, and Alpine High School, in classes from prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first through 12th grades.

Alpine Montessori School is a private, nonsectarian, nonprofit school which serves prekindergarten through sixth grade.

Alpine Christian School is a nondenominational Christian school serving prekindergarten through grade 12.^{[citation needed]}

Filming location

• Boyhood, the 2014 movie featured places in and around Alpine.

Transportation

Rail

Amtrak's Sunset Limited long-distance train stops three times a week at the Alpine station on the former Southern Pacific Railroad's Sunset Line, the nation's second transcontinental route, now part of Union Pacific. Alpine is a crew change location for Union Pacific freight trains, making for constant activity along the tracks. In the past, Alpine was also served by the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway.

Hospital

Big Bend Regional Medical Center is a 25-bed facility. Inpatient and outpatient services are provided.