Corpus Christi, Texas Population 2021

Corpus Christi is the county seat of Nueces County, Texas, with a large metropolitan area that extends into surrounding Kleberg, San Patricio, and Aransas counties. Corpus Christi is a coastal city in South Texas and the 9th largest city in the state, as well as home to the Port of Corpus Christi, the 5th largest port in the U.S. It's the central city of the three-county Corpus Christi metro area and part of the six-county Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice Combined Statistical Area (CSA).

Corpus Christi Literacy Facts

Corpus Christi was recently ranked as the second least literate city in the United States by Central Connecticut State University.

Corpus Christi Facts

Corpus Christi's economy is primarily driven by oil and tourism. Popular attractions in the area include the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay, the Texas State Aquarium, North Beach, and the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens and Nature Center.

Several major movies have been filmed in the city, including Selena (1997) about Corpus Christi native singer Selena, The King (2005), The Open Road (2009), and Pearl Harbor (2001), for which the USS Lexington was part of the set.

Corpus Christi has several high learning institutions, most notably Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Del Mar College.

Corpus Christi was the first major city to provide city-wide free Wi-Fi in 2005, although Earthlink later purchased the network and turned into a paid service two years later.

Corpus Christi Population Growth

While the explosion of gas and oil activity transformed most of South Texas, Corpus Christi was left mostly unaffected for some time as nearby cities experienced a massive population boom. Corpus Christi has remained chiefly a tourism city, although this has started to change as drillers have begun to migrate closer.

It's estimated that by 2020, the population of Corpus Christi's metropolitan area will reach 460,000 to 485,000.

The tribe that initially settled in the area were known as Karankawa. Numerous explorers came through the area or attempted settlements that were short-lived until Colonel Henry Kinney came in with a partner and built a trading post in 1839. The city of Corpus Christi was incorporated in September 1852.