Texan here. I’ve been aware of the Loving County’s sparse population for quite a while - decades. But I had no idea it was breaking this record on a national scale.
I’d say it’s because Texas counties tend to be so small on average, compared to the county geographical sizes in other states. Smaller counties can tend to have smaller populations, and in sparsely populated regions, these small numbers are amplified.
It is 3/5’s the size of Rhode Island. That makes it a going-concern. They have two commie senators.