 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.As of the census of 2000, there were 23,185 people, 8,259 households, and 5,756 families residing in the county.The population density was 19 people per square mile (7/km²); it had the second lowest population density for all counties in Deep East Texas, behind only Newton County.