Watauga received a railroad station and a post office in 1883. The population was 65 in the mid-1930s and 1940s, when the railroad station had closed. The population then grew due to defense plants to over 1000 in the 1960s. The population continued to grow to 7,050 in 1976, and 20,000 in 1990.[6]
The city is entirely surrounded by the cities of Keller to the north, Fort Worth to the west, Haltom City to the southwest and North Richland Hills to the south and east. Almost all of the city's land area is located east of US 377, though a portion extends west of that highway and includes homes and some city offices.
No public transportation organization works within in Watauga. The city may choose to operate under the jurisdiction of Trinity Metro due to being a neighbor city of both Fort Worth and North Richland Hills (both are members of Trinity Metro).
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 23,650 people, 7,827 households, and 6,100 families residing in the city.
Local government
Watauga is a full-service city, providing police, fire and emergency services, parks and recreation, a library, building inspection, economic development, city planning, and public works. The city operates under a Mayor-Council-Manager form of government. According to the city's 2013-2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $25.5 million in revenues, $23.3 million in expenditures, $102.8 million in total assets, $32.8 million in total liabilities, and $27.5 million in cash and investments.[13]
The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:[14]
City Department
Director
City Manager
Joshua Jones
Finance Director
Sandra Gibson
Police Chief
Robert Parker
Fire Chief
Shawn Fannan
Human Resources & Civil Service Director
Juliet Rodriguez
Chief Information Officer / PIO
Bradley Fraley
Library Director
Lana Ewell
Municipal Court Judge
J. Stewart Bass
Parks and Community Services Director
Sal Torres
Education
Watauga is served by two independent school districts. Birdville serves a majority of the city, while Keller serves the northwestern portion.
Economy
Top employers
According to Watauga's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[15] the top employers in the city are:
^Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[11][12]