Nueces County, Texas Information Center Localized search for government and community services.

Nueces County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 340,223. The county seat is Corpus Christi. It is named for the Nueces River, which flows through the county. Nueces County is part of the Corpus Christi, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area. Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio Counties. The city's population was estimated to be 320,434 in 2014, making it the eighth-most populous city in Texas. The Corpus Christi metropolitan area had an estimated population of 442,600. It is also the hub of the six-county Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice Combined Statistical Area, with a 2013 estimated population of 516,793. The Port of Corpus Christi is the fifth-largest in the United States. The region is served by the Corpus Christi International Airport. The city's name means Body of Christ in Latin. The name was given to the settlement and surrounding bay by Spanish explorer Alonso Alvarez de Pineda in 1519, as he discovered the lush semitropical bay on the Catholic feast day of Corpus Christi. The nickname of the city is "Sparkling City by the Sea", particularly featured in tourist literature. In 1839, the first known permanent settlement of Corpus Christi was established by Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney and William P. Aubrey as Kinney's Trading Post, or Kinney's Ranch. It was a small trading post that sold supplies to a Mexican revolutionary army camped about 25 mi (40 km) west.[9] In July 1845, U.S. troops commanded by General Zachary Taylor set up camp there in preparation for war with Mexico, where they remained until March 1846. About a year later, the settlement was named Corpus Christi and was incorporated on September 9, 1852. Port Aransas is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States. This city is 180 miles southeast of San Antonio. The population was 3,480 at the 2010 census. Port Aransas is the only established town on Mustang Island. It is located north of Padre Island and is one of the longest barrier islands along the Texas coast. Corpus Christi Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, the Lydia Ann Ship Channel and the Corpus Christi Ship Channel make up the surrounding waters. Port Aransas has now become a fishing, beach, and resort village, with summer populations sometimes swelling to 60,000 or more, as well as a college spring-break destination. Every year in April Port Aransas hosts an event called Sand Fest. This event brings thousands of people to Port Aransas each year to watch sculptors build elaborate Sand Castles. There are food vendors, shopping, and live music as well. All of the money raised from the event goes to the community and local schools. The NuecesCounty.org community and government information center is brought to you as a public service of the Clear Choice Network.