Nueces County is part of the Corpus Christi metropolitan statistical area.

The Indian tribes that lived in and raided the county were the Lipan Apache, Karankawa, Coahuiltecan, Kickapoo, and the Seminole.

The final recorded Indian raid in the county happened in April of 1878, when Lipan Apache, Kickapoo, Seminole, Mexicans, and a white man briefly entered the county and onto ranches, before returning west to Laredo.

[17] Historically, Nueces County leaned Democratic in presidential elections, though in recent years has narrowly voted Republican.

Since Eisenhower's election, the only other Republicans to carry the county in the 20th century were Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984.

In 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the county with a plurality of 48.6% to 47.1%, or 1,568 votes, the closest race since 1956.

In 2020, Trump won the county again, this time with a slight majority and 2.9% margin, or 3,692 votes, over Joe Biden.

Republicans performed well in areas particularly in the suburbs of the city, North Padre Island and Port Aransas.