Starr County, Texas

Starr County, Texas
Starr County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 65,920. Its county seat is Rio Grande City. The county was created in 1848. It is named for James Harper Starr, who served as secretary of the treasury of the Republic of Texas.
Starr County comprises the Rio Grande City micropolitan statistical area, which also includes other small cities, which itself is part of the larger Rio Grande Valley region. It is directly northeast of the Mexican border.
The county population is almost entirely Hispanic or Latino. With 97.7% of its population identifying as such, it is the county with the highest proportion of Hispanics in the continental United States.
History
From 2000 to 2010, the population of Starr County increased from 53,597 to 60,968.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.5%) are covered by water.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 83
Adjacent counties and municipalities
Jim Hogg County (north)
Brooks County (northeast)
Hidalgo County (east)
Zapata County (northwest)
Camargo Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico (northwest)
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
Mier Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
Miguel Alemán Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
National protected area
Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, 65,920 people, 16,281 households, and 12,836 families were residing in the county. As of the 2010 United States Census, 60,968 people living in the county. About 0.4% were Non-Hispanic White, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% Black or African American, 3.0% of some other race, and 0.5% of two or more races; 95.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). According to the Census Bureau, Starr County had the highest percentage of Hispanic residents of any county in the United States, and the lowest percentage of non-Hispanic White residents.
As of the census of 2000, 53,597 people, 14,410 households, and 12,666 families were living in the county. The population density was . The 17,589 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.92% White, 0.15% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 9.95% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races.
Of the 14,410 households, 54.7% had children under 18 living with them, 66.5% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.1% were not families. About 11.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65or older. The average household size was 3.69, and the average family size was 4.01.
In the county, the age distribution was 37.4% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 88.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $16,504, and for a family was $17,556. Males had a median income of $17,398 versus $13,533 for females. The per capita income for the county was $7,069, which is the third-lowest in the United States. About 47.40% of families and 50.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 59.40% of those under age 18 and 43.30% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2009 the median household income was $22,418.
Economy
Starr is especially known for oilseeds and dry beans, one of the highest-producing counties in the state.
Education
Residents of eastern Starr County are zoned to schools in the Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District. Residents of western Starr County are zoned to schools in the Roma Independent School District. Residents of northeastern Starr County are zoned to schools in the San Isidro Independent School District.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville operates area Catholic schools. Immaculate Conception School, located in Rio Grande City and founded in 1884, is the only Catholic school in Starr County and provides a faith-based pre-K through eighth-grade education to approximately 250 students each year.
All of the county is in the service area of South Texas College.
Government and Politics
Law enforcement
In the 1970s and into the 1980s, federal law-enforcement officials concentrated their efforts against drug smuggling on Starr County.
On May 1, 2009, the former sheriff of Starr County, Reymundo Guerra, a Democrat, pleaded guilty in federal court to a narcotics conspiracy charge.
In April 2016, Starr County Justice of the Peace Salvador Zarate Jr., faced up to 20 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine on two counts of bribery for accepting a $500 bribe in exchange for reducing bond on two persons arrested on narcotics charges in an incident on Christmas Eve 2014. He was found not guilty of possession of a controlled substance. Zarate was expected to appeal any sentence rendered.
Presidential elections
Starr County has long been a strongly Democratic county, but has suffered from low voter turnout with only about 20% of its 53,000 residents voting. No Republican has won the county for president since incumbent Benjamin Harrison in 1892; as of 2020, Starr has the longest streak of voting for Democrats in the entire country. Its streak is currently almost triple the length of Minnesota's Democratic streak, which began in 1976. In 1988, the county gave Michael Dukakis his highest vote share in the nation. In 2008, Illinois Senator Barack H. Obama won Starr County with 8,233 votes (84 percent). In the most recent election, Donald Trump came within five points of winning the county, receiving 8,224 votes (47 percent) to Joe Biden's 9,099 (52 percent). This was a major shift from Hillary Clinton's 60-point margin of victory four years earlier, and represented the strongest pro-Trump swing of any county in the nation.
Communities
As of 2011, Starr County has about 55 colonias. By 2011, many families were moving to the colonias.
Between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, Starr County went through many changes. Four CDPs were deleted, one gained area, 12 lost area, and 92 new CDPs were created. Only 11 remained unchanged.
Cities
Escobares
La Grulla
Rio Grande City (county seat)
Roma
Unincorporated communities
La Gloria
La Reforma
Santa Catarina
Santa Elena
Former communities
Viboras
Census-designated places
Airport Heights
Alto Bonito Heights
Amada Acres
Anacua
B and E
Barrera
Benjamin Perez
Buena Vista
Camargito
Campo Verde
Casa Blanca
Casas
Chaparrito
Chapeno
Delmita
East Alto Bonito
East Lopez
El Brazil
El Castillo
El Cenizo
El Chaparral
El Mesquite
El Quiote
El Rancho Vela
El Refugio
El Socio
Elias-Fela Solis
Escobar I (former)
Eugenio Saenz
Evergreen
Falcon Heights
Falcon Village
Falconaire
Fernando Salinas
Flor del Rio
Fronton
Fronton Ranchettes
Garceno
Garciasville
Garza-Salinas II
Guadalupe-Guerra
Gutierrez
H. Cuellar Estates
Hilltop
Indio
Jardin de San Julian
JF Villarreal
La Carla
La Casita
La Chuparosa
La Escondida
La Esperanza
La Loma de Falcon
La Minita
La Paloma Ranchettes
La Puerta
La Rosita
La Victoria
Lago Vista
Las Lomas
Loma Linda East
Loma Linda West
Loma Vista
Longoria
Los Alvarez
Los Arrieros
Los Barreras
Los Ebanos
Manuel Garcia
Manuel Garcia II
Martinez
Mesquite
Mi Ranchito Estate
Miguel Barrera
Mikes
Moraida
Narciso Pena
Netos
Nina
North Escobares
Northridge
Old Escobares (former)
Olivia Lopez de Gutierrez
Olmito and Olmito
Pablo Pena
Palo Blanco
Pena
Quesada
Rafael Pena
Ramirez-Perez
Ramos
Ranchitos del Norte
Rancho Viejo
Regino Ramirez
Rivera (former)
Rivereno
Roma Creek
Salineño
Salineño North
Sammy Martinez
San Fernando
San Isidro
San Juan
Sandoval
Santa Anna
Santa Cruz
Santa Rosa
Santel
Sunset
Tierra Dorada
Valle Hermoso
Valle Vista
Victoria Vera
Villarreal
West Alto Bonito
Zarate
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Starr County, Texas
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Starr County
References
External links
Starr County Government
Starr County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
Starr County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
Lower Rio Grande Valley
1848 establishments in Texas
Populated places established in 1848
Majority-minority counties in Texas
Hispanic and Latino American culture in Texas