Cameron County, officially the County of Cameron, is the southernmost

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 421,017. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Brownsville. The county was founded in 1848 and is named for Captain Ewen Cameron, a soldier during the Texas Revolution and in the ill-fated Mier Expedition. During the later 19th century and through World War II,

Fort Brown Fort Brown (originally Fort Texas) was a military post of the United States Army in Cameron County, Texas, during the latter half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Established in 1846, it was the first US Army military ...

was a US Army outpost here, stimulating the development of the city of Brownsville. Cameron County comprises the Brownsville– Harlingen, TX

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

, as well as the Brownsville–Harlingen– Raymondville

combined statistical area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

, which itself is part of the larger Rio Grande Valley region.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (30%) are covered by water. To the east, the county borders the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

Major highways

Interstate 2 Interstate 2 (I-2) is a partially completed Interstate Highway running through the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. It begins at the intersection of U.S. Highway 83 (US 83) and Business U.S. Highway 83 (Bus. US 83) ...

* Interstate 69E/ U.S. Highway 77 * Interstate 169/ State Highway 550 * U.S. Highway 83 * U.S. Highway 281 * State Highway 4 * State Highway 48 * State Highway 100 * State Highway 107 * State Highway 345

Adjacent counties and municipalities

* Willacy County (north) *

(east) * Matamoros Municipality,

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(south) * Hidalgo County (west)

National protected areas

Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is the largest protected area of natural habitat left in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The refuge is located almost entirely in Cameron County, Texas (near Harlingen), although a very small part of its n ...

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

Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park near Brownsville, Texas is a National Park Service unit which preserves the grounds of the May 8, 1846, Battle of Palo Alto. It was the first major conflict in a border dispute that soon precipitate ...

Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, 406,220 people, 119,631 households, and 96,579 families were residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 370 people per square mile (143/km²). The 141,924 housing units averaged 132 per square mile (51/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 87.0% White, 0.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 9.8% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. About 88.1% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 119,631 households, 50.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.3% were not families. About 16.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.36, and the average family size was 3.80. In the county, the age distribution was 33.0% under the age of18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 86.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,264, and for a family was $33,770. Males had a median income of $21,410 versus $15,597 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $13,695. About 30.0% of families and 34.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 46.8% of those under age 18 and 24.8% of those age 65 or over. A 2000

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

study stated that of the residents of Cameron County, 43% do not have basic literacy skills. Within the

2010s decade File:2010s collage v21.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed; Crimea is an ...

, a noticeable trend in the county population showed that growth among the county's northern cities (defined as major towns whose city limits lie entirely north or east of U.S. Highway 83 in the county) on average has been greater than those cities on U.S. Highway 83 in the county, suggesting a possible desire among both locals and new residents from outside the Rio Grande Valley to move away from the population centers of the county. This trend has also been shared by nearby Hidalgo County. Los Fresnos, for example, grew by 42.2% from 2010 to 2018. Other major cities, such as Indian Lake, Primera, and Rio Hondo, all grew by more than 15% in the same period. In contrast, the cities of Harlingen, La Feria, and San Benito, all cities along U.S. Highway 83, have seen growths less than 1% in the same period. The city that grew the most among the Highway 83 cities in the county was Brownsville, which grew by 4.4% from 2010 to 2019.

Government and infrastructure

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates the Port Isabel Service Processing Center, located in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

adjacent to the Port Isabel-Cameron County Airport, which is itself owned and operated by the county. The airport has four runways and offers fuel and other

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

services.. Federal Aviation Administration, Effective 26 April 2018. U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen stated in 2013 that the corruption in the county judiciary and legal system was so pervasive that most people would not believe it "unless they heard it themselves."

Politics

Cameron County leans toward the Democratic Party in presidential elections. The last

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to win the county was George W. Bush in 2004.

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's 2016 showing of 32.0% was the lowest received by a Republican candidate in the county since

Alf Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential el ...

in 1936. However in 2020, Trump's performance of 43% was the best for a Republican in the county since 2004. As of 2006, officeholders tend to be Democrats. As of 2006, about 20,000 to 30,000 people in Cameron County vote in primary elections, and presidential elections have higher turnouts. ''Politiqueras'', women hired to help elderly people vote, are crucial in South Texas elections.

Education

Cameron County is served by several

school districts A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, whic ...

. They include: * Brownsville Independent School District *

Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Harlingen, Texas ( USA). It was founded August 5, 1950 via the merger of the Harlingen Independent School District and the Stuart Place Independent School D ...

La Feria Independent School District The La Feria Independent School District (LFISD) comprises four elementary schools: Sam Houston, C.E. Vail, David G. Sanchez and Noemi Dominguez, one Middle School: W.B. Green Jr. High, and one High School: La Feria High School. LFISD is ranked a ...

* Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District *

Lyford Consolidated Independent School District Lyford Consolidated Independent School District (LCISD) is a school district headquartered in Lyford, Texas, United States. LCISD serves the city of Lyford and unincorporated areas in Willacy County, Cameron County, and Hidalgo County. Unincor ...

(partially) * Point Isabel Independent School District * Rio Hondo Independent School District * San Benito Consolidated Independent School District * Santa Maria Independent School District * Santa Rosa Independent School District In addition, residents are eligible to apply to South Texas Independent School District's magnet schools. All of the county is in the service area of Texas Southmost College.

Economy

SpaceX has been approved by the FAA to build a private spaceport east of Brownsville on the Gulf Coast. The

SpaceX South Texas Launch Site Starbase is a spaceport, production, and development facility for Starship rockets, located at Boca Chica, Texas, United States. It is in construction in the late 2010s and 2020s by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. When conceptuali ...

is projected to employ 75–100 full-time workers in the early years with up to 150 full-time employees/contractors by 2019. In 2014, SpaceX acquired additional land near Boca Chica, which they consolidated into a subdivision called " Mars Crossing", possibly named after the novel by science-fiction writer Geoffrey A. Landis. File:SpaceX Starbase launch facility (51438071556).jpg, View of SpaceX's launch pad at Boca Chica Village near Brownsville. File:USA - Texas - Boca Chica - Starbase (51286054441).jpg, SN15 and SN16. File:USA - Texas - Boca Chica - Starbase (51285307187).jpg, Starship and SuperHeavy production site. 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 that spread to neighboring counties was feared, and a Temporary Preventative Quarantine Area was established to preserve efficacy in those counties. All quarantine efforts have been somewhat unsuccessful, due at least in part to the ticks' infestation of wildlife including whitetail ('' Odocoileus virginianus'').

Media

Radio stations

* KFRQ 94.5FM * KKPS 99.5FM * KNVO 101.1FM * KVLY 107.9FM * KVMV 96.9FM

Newspapers

* ''The Brownsville Herald'' (A Freedom Communications, Inc. newspaper based in Brownsville, TX) * ''Valley Morning Star'' (A Freedom Communications, Inc. newspaper based in Harlingen, TX) * ''El Nuevo Heraldo'' (AIM Media Texas newspaper based in Brownsville, TX)

Communities

Cities

* Brownsville (county seat) * Harlingen * La Feria * Los Fresnos * Palm Valley * Port Isabel * Rio Hondo * San Benito

Towns

* Bayview * Combes * Indian Lake * Laguna Vista * Los Indios * Primera * Rancho Viejo * Santa Rosa *

South Padre Island South Padre Island is a barrier island in the U.S. state of Texas. The remote landform is located in Cameron County, Willacy County, and accessible by the Queen Isabella Causeway. South Padre Island was formed when the creation of the Port Man ...

Village

* Rangerville

Census-designated places

* Arroyo Colorado Estates * Arroyo Gardens * Bixby * Bluetown * Cameron Park *

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popu ...

* Del Mar Heights * El Camino Angosto * Encantada-Ranchito-El Calaboz * Grand Acres (former) * Green Valley Farms * Iglesia Antigua * Juarez * La Feria North *

La Paloma "La Paloma", "The Dove" in English, is a popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was written by the Spanish Basque composer Seb ...

* La Tina Ranch *

Lago __NOTOC__ Lago, which means "lake" in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Galician, may refer to: Places * Lago, Calabria, a ''comune'' in the Province of Cosenza, Italy * Lago, Mexico, a municipality zone in the State of Mexico * Lago District, a '' ...

* Laguna Heights * Las Palmas II * Lasana * Laureles * Lozano * Olmito * Orason *

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...

* Ratamosa * Reid Hope King * Rice Tracts * San Pedro * Santa Maria * Solis * South Point * Tierra Bonita * Villa del Sol * Villa Pancho * Yznaga

Other unincorporated communities

* Arroyo City * Boca Chica Village (to be incorporated as "Starbase")

Ghost town

* Santa Rita

References

External links

*
Cameron County at Texas State Historical Association
{{coord, 26.15, -97.45, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1848 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1848 Lower Rio Grande Valley Majority-minority counties in Texas Hispanic and Latino American culture in Texas