Welcome to Bay City ...
The city of Bay City is located on the Gulf Coast.
Bay City is located in Matagorda County<1> and is the County Seat for Matagorda County.
The location of Bay City has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Bay City, you might consider that their post office opened in 1894.
When the people of Bay City refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Bay Cityan<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Bay City has a population of 17,541 people<4> (see below for details).
The community of Bay City is 40 feet [12 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Bay City lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Bay City lies within the (979) area code.
The ZIP codes for Bay City: 77404, 77414<6>
Websites for Bay City ...
Official Website: www.cityofbaycity.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Bay City had an population of 17,541 people. This is a decrease of 0.41% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 6.03% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Bay City had a population of 17,614 people (which is 47.99% of the total population of Matagorda County). This makes Bay City the county's most populous community.
The population of Bay City represents 0.07% of the total population of Texas (which has 25,145,561 people), making it the state's 140th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 17,614 people, the population of Bay City decreased 5.64% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 18,667 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Bay City.
Communities Also Named Bay City ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 10 communities that are also named Bay City - they are located in Colorado, Florida (2), Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bay City.
Communities near Bay City ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Bay City.
- Sweeny
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeny
- Sweeny is located in Brazoria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,618 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sweeny <7>
- Van Vleck
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Vleck
- Van Vleck is located in Matagorda County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Van Vleck <7>
- Caney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Chalmers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalmers
- Chalmers is located in Matagorda County
- Markham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Markham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham
- Markham is located in Matagorda County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Markham <7>
- McCroskey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCroskey
- McCroskey is located in Matagorda County
- Wadsworth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadsworth
- Wadsworth is located in Matagorda County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadsworth <7>
- Elmaton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmaton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmaton
- Elmaton is located in Matagorda County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmaton <7>
- Cedar Lane
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lane
- Cedar Lane is located in Matagorda County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Lane <7>
- Old Ocean
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Ocean have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ocean
- Old Ocean is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Ocean <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Bay City. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Bay City.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Bay City. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bay City.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Bay City. Our list includes 7 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Bay City.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Bay City ...
Looking for more information about Bay City? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Bay City, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Bay City.
Adding Bay City to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Bay City in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Bay City was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Bay City post office opened in 1894.
We also found Bay City on a map titled Road Map for Texas (from Shell Oil, 1956).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Bay City.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bay City: www.cityofbaycity.org/
The official website for Matagorda County: www.co.matagorda.tx.us/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Texas' counties, including Matagorda, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Bay City refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Bay City may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Bay City. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bay City - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Bay City). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Bay City or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |