County outline
Where Crane County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 99.9% of Crane County’s measured area and water for 0.1%. Its combined area converts to 2,035 square kilometers or approximately 502,863 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 785.069 | 2,033.319 | 502,444.2 |
| Water | 0.655 | 1.696 | 419.2 |
| Total | 785.724 | 2,035.016 | 502,863.4 |
How Crane County compares
By original Census land area, Crane County ranks #201 of 254 in Texas and #1103 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 0.864 times the Texas county-equivalent median of 908.7 square miles. It accounts for 0.3% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Texas ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Crane County
The Census Bureau estimates that 4,554 people lived in Crane County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,928 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #205 of 254 in Texas. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 4,673, the population has declined by 119 (−2.5%), compared with +8.8% for Texas as a whole.
With 785.1 square miles of land, that is 5.8 people per square mile (2.2 per km²), placing Crane County #2,814 nationally for density and #190 in Texas. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Texas median is 22. Put another way, there are about 110 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 4,671 | 4,630 | 4,552 | 4,574 | 4,591 | 4,554 |
| Change | — | −41 | −78 | +22 | +17 | −37 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Crane County
1 incorporated place lies at least partly in Crane County. Together they are home to 3,303 people (72.5%); the other 1,251 (27.5%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.
The largest is Crane city, with 3,303 residents in the county.
Metropolitan area
Crane County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.
ZIP codes
2 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Crane County; 1 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
7973179766
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Crane County
Crane County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents. Each of them has more land than Crane County. The largest neighbor is Pecos County (4,763.8 mi²) and the smallest is Ward County (835.6 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Crane County forms a block of 11,331 mi² of land, of which it holds 6.9%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Crane | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pecos County | 4,763.8 | 6.1× larger | Compare |
| Crockett County | 2,807.3 | 3.6× larger | Compare |
| Upton County | 1,241.3 | 1.6× larger | Compare |
| Ector County | 897.9 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
| Ward County | 835.6 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
How big is Crane County compared with U.S. states?
Crane County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.3 times as much. Texas’s county land could hold about 333 areas the size of Crane County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 28 miles (45.1 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Crane County?
Crane County has more land than 2,119 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Crane County at #1,209 nationally by total area, 106 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 0.1%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 1.1 percentage points lower. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Crane County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1102 | Montgomery County, Alabama | 785.4 | Compare |
| #1103 | Crane County, Texas | 785.1 | This county |
| #1104 | Walker County, Texas | 784.2 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 31.446338, -102.551690. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 2,033,319,792 m²; AWATER: 1,695,980 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Crane County?
Crane County, Texas has 785.1 square miles (2,033.3 km²) of land and 0.655 square miles of water, for a total area of 785.7 square miles. It ranks #1103 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Crane County the largest county in Texas?
No. Crane County ranks #201 of 254 in Texas by land area. The largest is Brewster County, with 6,183.8 square miles of land.
What counties border Crane County?
Crane County shares a land border with Upton County, Pecos County, Ector County, Ward County, and Crockett County.
What is the population of Crane County?
The Census Bureau estimates Crane County had 4,554 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,928 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 5.8 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Crane County?
The county seat of Crane County is Crane.
Is Crane County part of a metropolitan area?
No. Crane County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Crane County?
2 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Crane County, and 1 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Crane County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.3 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Crane County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 502,444 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 502,863 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.