Bandera (Spanish: "flag", ) is the county seat of Bandera County, Texas, United States, in the Texas Hill Country, which is part of the Edwards Plateau. The population was 829 at the 2020 census.
Bandera calls itself the "Cowboy Capital of the World".
History
A visitor to Bandera can see a sign on Main Street in front of the fire department that states that Bandera was founded by Polish Roman Catholic immigrants from Upper Silesia. St. Stanislaus Catholic Church was built by those immigrants, and the church is one of the oldest in Texas. Many of the residents are descended from those original Polish immigrants.
Several stories exist regarding the origin of the name "Bandera". One says that in the 19th century, a flag was placed at the top of a path that came to be called Bandera Pass, due to bandera being the Spanish word for flag.
Bandera was on the Great Western Cattle Trail, during the second half of the 19th century.
Bandera hosts a three-day Cowboy Mardi Gras that attracts over 15 thousand people from all over the world to the town of 829 residents.
Geography
Bandera is located in east-central Bandera County at (29.7258, −99.0750). It is northwest of downtown San Antonio, on the Medina River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.55%, is covered by water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 829 people, 240 households, and 118 families residing in the city.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, 957 people, 408 households, and 239 families were residing in the city. The population density was . The 488 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the city was 94.98% White, 0.21% African American, 0.52% Native American, 2.51% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 21.84% of the population.
Of the 408 households, 24.5% had children under 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were not families. About 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.22, and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city, the age distribution was 21.5% under 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 25.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,089, and for a family was $36,500. Males had a median income of $27,604 versus $17,813 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,502. About 11.0% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 17.1% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Bandera is served by the Bandera Independent School District and home to the Bandera High School Bulldogs.