# Hidalgo County, Texas

Hidalgo County (/hɪˈdælɡoʊ/; Spanish pronunciation:) is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 870,781, making it the ninth-most populous county in Texas, and the most populous county outside of the counties in the Texas Triangle. The county seat is Edinburg and the largest city is McAllen. The county is named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the priest who raised the call for Mexico's independence from Spain. It is located in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. Hidalgo County is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission metropolitan statistical area, which itself is part of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission-Rio Grande City, Texas combined statistical area with neighboring Starr County.
With a population that is 91.9% Hispanic as of 2020, it is Texas' second-most populous majority-Hispanic county and the fifth-largest nationwide. It is also the largest county which is over 90% Hispanic. It is also the southernmost landlocked county in the United States, and in 2021, it was the largest county in the nation with a total fertility rate above the replacement level (at 2.13).

## Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,583 sq mi (4,100 km$^2$), of which 12 sq mi (31 km$^2$) (0.8%) are covered by water. The northern part of the county has sandy and light loamy soils over deep reddish or mottled, clayey subsoils. In some areas, limestone lies within 40 in (1 m) of the surface. The southern part of the county has moderately deep to deep loamy surfaces over clayey subsoils. Along the Rio Grande, brown to red clays are found. Hidalgo County is in the South Texas Plains vegetation area, which features grasses, mesquite, live oaks, and chaparral. Native plants, reduced in recent years by extensive farming, include chapote, guayacán, ebony, huisache, brasil, and yucca.
Natural resources included caliche, sand, gravel, oil, and gas. Oil and gas production in 1982 totaled 98,487,211,000 cubic feet (2.7888472×10$^9$ m$^3$) of gas-well gas, 139,995 barrels of crude oil, 1,101,666 barrels of condensate, and 15,784,000 cubic feet (447,000 m$^3$) of casinghead gas. The climate is subtropical and humid. Temperatures range from an average low of 47 °F (8 °C) in January to an average high to 96 °F (36 °C) in July; the average annual temperature is 73 °F (23 °C). Rainfall averages 23 inches (580 mm) a year, and the growing season lasts for 320 days of the year.

### Major highways

* Interstate 2
* Interstate 69C (Under Construction)
* U.S. Highway 83
* U.S. Highway 281
* Texas State Highway 107
* Texas State Highway 186
* Texas State Highway 336
* Texas State Highway 495
* Farm to Market Road 364
* Farm to Market Road 490
* Farm to Market Road 492
* Farm to Market Road 493
* Farm to Market Road 494
* Farm to Market Road 676
* Farm to Market Road 681
* Farm to Market Road 907
* Farm to Market Road 1016
* Farm to Market Road 1017
* Farm to Market Road 1423
* Farm to Market Road 1426
* Farm to Market Road 1924
* Farm to Market Road 1925
* Farm to Market Road 2061
* Farm to Market Road 2557
* Farm to Market Road 3072

### Adjacent counties and municipalities

* Brooks County (north)
* Kenedy County (northeast)
* Willacy County (east)
* Cameron County (east)
* Starr County (west)
* Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
* Reynosa Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
* Río Bravo Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
* Matamoros Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
* Camargo Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)

### National protected areas

* Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)
* Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge

## Demographics

Hidalgo County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. Except for the 1930 census, where Latinos are included under "Some Other Race", this table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. :
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 1930 | Pop 1980 | Pop 1990 | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 1930 | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 34,933 | 51,719 | 54,259 | 59,423 | 60,553 | 53,338 | 45.37% | 18.26% | 14.15% | 10.43% | 7.82% | 6.13% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 491 | 422 | 518 | 1,934 | 2,777 | 3,364 | 0.64% | 0.15% | 0.14% | 0.34% | 0.36% | 0.39% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | | | 229 | 428 | 524 | 635 | | | 0.06% | 0.08% | 0.07% | 0.07% |
| Asian alone (NH) | | | 847 | 3,207 | 7,122 | 8,604 | | | 0.22% | 0.56% | 0.92% | 0.99% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | | | | 37 | 49 | 78 | | | | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 41,580 | 876 | 720 | 171 | 348 | 1,915 | 54.00% | 0.31% | 0.19% | 0.03% | 0.04% | 0.22% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | | | | 1,163 | 1,190 | 2,846 | | | | 0.20% | 0.15% | 0.33% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | | 230,212 | 326,972 | 503,100 | 702,206 | 800,001 | | 81.28% | 85.25% | 88.35% | 90.63% | 91.87% |
| Total | 77,004 | 283,229 | 383,545 | 569,463 | 774,769 | 870,781 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |

### 2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 774,769 people living in the county. 88.0% were White, 1.0% Asian, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 8.8% of some other race and 1.3% of two or more races. 90.6% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).
There were 216,471 households, and 179,668 families living in the county. The population density was 363 people per square mile (140 people/km$^2$). There were 248,287 housing units at an average density of 123 units per square mile (47/km$^2$). There were 216,471 households, out of which 54.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.00% were married couples living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.0% were non-families. 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.55 and the average family size was 3.94.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 34.7% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28.3 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,134, and the median income for a family was $31,760. Males had a median income of $22,635 versus $17,526 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,130. About 32.60% of families and 35.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 47.4% of those under age 18 and 29.8% of those age 65 or over. The county's per-capita income makes it one of the poorest counties in the United States. In 2009, it was tied with Bronx County, New York for "the greatest share of people receiving food stamps: 29 percent."
Las Milpas, previously unincorporated, was annexed by Pharr in 1987.

### Metropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Hidalgo County as the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area. The United States Census Bureau ranked the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 65th most populous metropolitan statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2022.
The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area as a component of the more extensive McAllen-Edinburg, TX Combined Statistical Area, the 63rd most populous combined statistical area and the 66th most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2022. It has the lowest per capita income of the 276 MSAs within the 50 states at $9,899. Its median household income is also the lowest within the states at $24,863. In a survey done in over 190 metropolitan areas it had the highest obesity rate of residents at 38.8 percent. Today, the states with the highest poverty rates (of over 20 million living on $2 a day) are all in the southern part of the country (Table 1) [7], and the nation's poorest large metropolitan area is McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas.

## Government and politics

Hidalgo County tends to vote for the Democratic Party, although there is representation of the Republican Party in some of the offices that affect the county. Hidalgo County is represented by Monica De La Cruz of Texas's 15th congressional district and Vicente González of Texas's 34th congressional district. In the 2012 presidential election, 70.4% voted for Barack Obama, while 28.6% voted for Mitt Romney. In the 2020 presidential election, Hidalgo County saw a significant shift to the Republican Party, with Donald Trump increasing the Republican vote from 27.9% in 2016 to 41%. However, as an urban county, the shift was not as large as nearby less densely populated counties. In 2024, on his third run, Trump won the county by 3 points, following a trend that resulted in many Hispanic-majority counties in Texas and Florida flipping red, the first time the county voted for the Republican nominee since 1972.
In the Texas House of Representatives, it is covered by districts 39, 40, and 41.
United States presidential election results for Hidalgo County, Texas :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 110,760 | 50.98% | 104,517 | 48.11% | 1,988 | 0.92% |
| 2020 | 90,527 | 40.98% | 128,199 | 58.04% | 2,158 | 0.98% |
| 2016 | 48,642 | 27.89% | 118,809 | 68.12% | 6,957 | 3.99% |
| 2012 | 39,865 | 28.61% | 97,969 | 70.32% | 1,488 | 1.07% |
| 2008 | 39,668 | 30.29% | 90,261 | 68.92% | 1,043 | 0.80% |
| 2004 | 50,931 | 44.80% | 62,369 | 54.86% | 383 | 0.34% |
| 2000 | 38,301 | 37.90% | 61,390 | 60.75% | 1,359 | 1.34% |
| 1996 | 24,437 | 28.84% | 56,335 | 66.49% | 3,955 | 4.67% |
| 1992 | 26,976 | 30.60% | 51,205 | 58.08% | 9,979 | 11.32% |
| 1988 | 29,246 | 34.87% | 54,330 | 64.78% | 294 | 0.35% |
| 1984 | 35,059 | 44.14% | 44,147 | 55.58% | 226 | 0.28% |
| 1980 | 25,808 | 41.82% | 34,542 | 55.97% | 1,367 | 2.21% |
| 1976 | 19,199 | 35.17% | 35,021 | 64.15% | 373 | 0.68% |
| 1972 | 22,920 | 55.23% | 18,366 | 44.26% | 213 | 0.51% |
| 1968 | 14,455 | 38.95% | 20,087 | 54.13% | 2,569 | 6.92% |
| 1964 | 11,563 | 34.25% | 22,110 | 65.50% | 83 | 0.25% |
| 1960 | 13,628 | 42.05% | 18,663 | 57.59% | 115 | 0.35% |
| 1956 | 13,270 | 56.89% | 9,804 | 42.03% | 253 | 1.08% |
| 1952 | 15,303 | 62.20% | 9,251 | 37.60% | 48 | 0.20% |
| 1948 | 6,220 | 38.83% | 9,526 | 59.47% | 272 | 1.70% |
| 1944 | 4,080 | 33.35% | 7,250 | 59.26% | 904 | 7.39% |
| 1940 | 4,787 | 38.97% | 7,471 | 60.81% | 27 | 0.22% |
| 1936 | 2,962 | 29.46% | 6,782 | 67.46% | 309 | 3.07% |
| 1932 | 2,969 | 23.22% | 9,695 | 75.84% | 120 | 0.94% |
| 1928 | 4,285 | 51.41% | 4,034 | 48.40% | 16 | 0.19% |
| 1924 | 996 | 20.44% | 3,662 | 75.16% | 214 | 4.39% |
| 1920 | 1,108 | 31.13% | 2,409 | 67.69% | 42 | 1.18% |
| 1916 | 260 | 15.69% | 1,364 | 82.32% | 33 | 1.99% |
| 1912 | 39 | 2.81% | 1,203 | 86.61% | 147 | 10.58% |

### County services

The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office operates jail facilities and is the primary provider of law enforcement services to the county's unincorporated areas.

### County government

| Position | Name | Party |
| County Judge | Richard Cortez | Democratic |
| Commissioner, Precinct 1 | David Fuentes | Democratic |
| Commissioner, Precinct 2 | Eduardo "Eddie" Cantu | Democratic |
| Commissioner, Precinct 3 | Everardo Villareal | Democratic |
| Commissioner, Precinct 4 | Ellie Torres | Democratic |
| Criminal District Attorney | Toribio "Terry" Palacios | Democratic |
| District Clerk | Laura Hinojosa | Democratic |
| County Clerk | Arturo Guajardo, Jr. | Democratic |
| Sheriff | J.E. "Eddie" Guerra | Democratic |
| Tax Assessor-Collector | Pablo "Paul" Villarreal | Democratic |
| Treasurer | Lita Leo | Democratic |
| Constable, Precinct 1 | Celestino Avila, Jr. | Democratic |
| Constable, Precinct 2 | Martin Cantu | Democratic |
| Constable, Precinct 3 | Lazaro Gallardo, Jr. | Democratic |
| Constable, Precinct 4 | Atanacio "J.R." Gaitan | Democratic |
| Constable, Precinct 5 | Danny Marichalar | Democratic |

## Education

The following school districts serve Hidalgo County:
* Donna Independent School District
* Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District
* Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District
* Hidalgo Independent School District
* La Joya Independent School District
* La Villa Independent School District
* Lyford Consolidated Independent School District (partial)
* McAllen Independent School District
* Mercedes Independent School District
* Mission Consolidated Independent School District
* Monte Alto Independent School District
* Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District
* Progreso Independent School District
* Sharyland Independent School District
* Valley View Independent School District
* Weslaco Independent School District
In addition, the county is served by the multi-county South Texas Independent School District. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville operates three PK-8th Grade schools, two lower-level elementary schools and two high schools.
The Edinburg campus of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (formerly University of Texas-Pan American) is located in Hidalgo County.
All of the county is in the service area of South Texas College. The Pecan, Mid-Valley, Technology, and Nursing & Allied Health campuses of South Texas College are located in Hidalgo County.

## Economy

In 2020, the total value of products produced in Hidalgo was $11.5 billion.
In 1982, 91% of the land was in farms and ranches, with 52% of the farmland under cultivation and 85% irrigated; 51 to 60% of the county was considered prime farmland. The primary crops were sorghum, cotton, corn, and vegetables; Hidalgo County led Texas counties in the production of cabbage, onions, cantaloupes, carrots, and watermelons. The primary fruits and nuts grown in the county were grapefruit, oranges, and pecans. Cattle, milk cows, and hogs were the primary livestock products. Hidalgo is the highest-producing county in the state for oilseeds and dry beans.
The Southern Cattle Tick (Rhipicephalus microplus) is invasive here. Populations here have also become highly permethrin resistant. In 2014 the problem had become so severe in Cameron that spread here (and to other neighboring counties) was feared. A Temporary Preventative Quarantine Area was established in Cameron to preserve efficacy in these counties. This was unsuccessful however, due at least in part to the ticks' infestation of wildlife including whitetail (Odocoileus virginianus).

## Media
### Newspapers

* The Community Press
* The Valley Town Crier
* The Monitor
* The Mercedes Enterprise
* RGV Business Journal
* The Progress Times
* Texas Border Business
* Mega Doctor News

### Radio stations

* KGBT 98.5 FM
* KYWW 1530 AM
* KBTQ 96.1 FM
* KFRQ 94.5 FM
* KKPS 99.5 FM
* KNVO 101.1 FM
* KVLY 107.9 FM
* KURV 710 AM
* KVMV 96.9 FM
* KTEX 100.3 FM
* KQXX 105.5 FM

### Magazine

* Contempo Magazine

## Communities
### Cities

* Alamo
* Alton
* Donna
* Edcouch
* Edinburg
* Elsa
* Granjeno
* Hidalgo
* La Joya
* La Villa
* McAllen
* Mercedes
* Mission
* Palmhurst
* Palmview
* Peñitas
* Pharr
* Progreso
* Progreso Lakes
* San Juan
* Sullivan City
* Weslaco

### Census-designated places

* Abram
* César Chávez
* Citrus City
* Cuevitas
* Doffing
* Doolittle
* Harding Gill Tract
* Hargill
* Havana
* Heidelberg
* Indian Hills
* La Blanca
* La Coma Heights
* La Homa
* Laguna Seca
* Linn
* Llano Grande
* Lopezville
* Los Ebanos
* Midway North
* Midway South
* Mila Doce
* Monte Alto
* Muniz
* Murillo
* North Alamo
* Olivarez
* Palmview South
* Perezville
* Relampago
* Salida del Sol Estates
* San Carlos
* Scissors
* South Alamo
* Villa Verde
* West Sharyland

### Former census-designated places

* Alton North (annexed to Alton)
* Faysville (annexed to Edinburg in 2015)

### Unincorporated community

* McCook