Kyle, Texas

Kyle is in eastern Hays County at 29°59′21″N 97°52′33″W (29.989080, –97.875947).[8] It is bordered to the south by San Marcos and to the northwest by Mountain City. Kyle is 21 mi (34 km) southwest of downtown Austin and 58 mi (93 km) northeast of San Antonio on Interstate 35.[9]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 19.3 square miles (50.0 km²), of which 19.1 sq mi (49.4 km²) is land and 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²), 1.06%, is covered by water.[10] The Blanco River runs through the western side of the city, while the central and eastern parts of the city drain east to Plum Creek. Both waterways are tributaries of the San Marcos River.

Kyle is served by the Hays Consolidated Independent School District, with high-school students attending either Jack C. Hays High School, Lehman High School or Johnson High School. Also near Kyle, the Hays campus of the Austin Community College District has been fully operational since 2014.[11]

Austin–Bergstrom International Airport is 25 mi (40 km) northeast of Kyle, San Marcos Regional Airport is 10 mi (16 km) to the south, and San Antonio International Airport is 53 mi (85 km) to the southwest. Residents have access to I-35, SH 45 toll road, FM 150, FM 1626, SH 21, and SH 123. The MoPac rail line runs through downtown Kyle. The Amtrak passenger train has a stop 10 mi (16 km) south of Kyle in San Marcos.[12]

• I-35
• FM 150
• FM 1626

Kyle City Hall

The city of Kyle is governed by a council-manager form of government. The city council consists of three members representing geographical districts, three at-large council members, and the mayor, who is also elected at-large. Each council member is elected to three-year terms.

Historic Kyle Railroad Depot

The town was established on July 24, 1880, when David E. Moore and Fergus Kyle (for whom the town was named) deeded 200 acres for a townsite to the International-Great Northern Railroad. The new town drew residents and businesses from Mountain City, three miles west, and Blanco, four miles west. Tom Martin operated the first business in Kyle. The community's population exceeded 500 by 1882, but later declined. Kyle was incorporated in 1928 as a general-law city with a mayor and five council members. In 1937, Mary Kyle Hartson, daughter of Fergus Kyle, was elected mayor by a write-in vote. In the early 1940s, Kyle was noted as the only Texas town with an all-woman government.

From 1892 to 1901, Kyle was the childhood home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Katherine Anne Porter. Many of her most famous short stories, such as "Noon Wine", are set in locations in and around Kyle. Her former home is now a writer's residence open to the public by appointment. The Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center hosts readings by visiting writers.

Kyle water tower

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 45,697 people, 14,701 households, and 10,370 families residing in the city.

Of the 14,701 households, 54.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were not families. About 14.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15, and the average family size was 3.51; 391 persons in the city lived in group quarters rather than households.[20]

In the city, the age distribution was 33.7% under 18, 7.4% were from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% were 65 or older. The median age was 30.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.[20]

For 2012–2016, the estimated median annual income for a household was $72,191, and for a family was $76,992. Male full-time workers had a median income of $50,235 versus $39,474 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,348. About 6.8% of the population and 5.4% of families were below the poverty line; 7.3% of the population under the age of 18 and 7.7% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.[21]

The Kyle Pie in the Sky Hot Air Balloon Festival has been an annual event in Kyle on Labor Day weekend since 2017 and attracts thousands of visitors from all over and outside of the state of Texas. The event features morning hot air balloon "mass ascensions” where balloons take off at sunrise flying over Kyle on Saturday and Sunday morning, as well as “glows” in the evenings, where tethered hot air balloons glow against the evening sky at Lake Kyle. Aside from glows and morning flights, the festival will also light up the night sky with two fireworks shows on Friday and Saturday night.

Every year, Pie in the Sky also features pie eating contests, a pie baking contest, a Pie Café, a vendor market with artisan crafts, unique products and food, libations, live music performances throughout the weekend, a children's zone with activities and the Gathering of the Kyles—the city of Kyle's annual attempt at the Guinness World Record for the most people with the same name in one place.

• Fitzhugh Andrews, composer
• Gary Clark Jr., musician[22]
• Otto Hofmann, organ builder
• Edwin Jackson Kyle, U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala (1945–48), namesake of Kyle Field
• Helen Michaelis, expert on Quarter Horses, first woman inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
• Katherine Anne Porter, author
• Cecil "Tex" Hughson, all-star baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox

• 
  The old D.A. Young Building, built 1881, is the oldest commercial building in Kyle.
• 
  Historic Kyle City Hall, built 1912
• 
  Texas Pie Company, opened 1987

• Strom, Ann (1981). The Prairie City: A History of Kyle, Texas, 1880–1980. Nortex Press. ISBN 978-0-89015-313-0.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kyle, Texas.

• City of Kyle official website
• Kyle from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Kyle Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitor's Bureau
• Kyle Economic Development
• Kyle tourism website
• Kyle Fair, Bull Ride, and Music Fest
• Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center
• Michaelis Ranch History – Early history of Kyle, and one of the oldest surviving ranches in the area