Fort Bend County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 585,375, making it the tenth-most populous county in Texas. Fort Bend County is the wealthiest county in Texas with a median household income of $95,389 and a median family income of $105,944, having surpassed Collin and Rockwall counties (Dallas suburbs) since the 2000 census. The county seat is Richmond, while its largest city is Sugar Land. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River; the fort was the start of the community in early days.Fort Bend County is included in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was listed by Forbes as the 5th fastest-growing county in the United States. The 2016 Census Bureau estimate for Fort Bend County's population is 741,237.HistoryPrior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Karankawa Indians. Mexican colonists had generally not reached this area, settling more in south Texas.After Mexico achieved independence from Spain, Anglo-Americans started entering from the east. In 1822, a group of Stephen F. Austin's colonists, headed by William Travis, built a fort at the present site of Richmond. The fort was called "Fort Bend", since it was built in the bend of the Brazos River. The city of Richmond was incorporated under the Republic of Texas along with nineteen other towns in 1837. Fort Bend County was created from parts of Austin, Harris, and Brazoria counties in 1838.
