Starr County is located 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 so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 65,920. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Rio Grande City Rio Grande City is a city in and the county seat of Starr County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,317 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is west of McAllen. It is connected to Camargo, Tamaulipas, via the Rio Grande City–C ...

. The county was created in 1848. It is named for James Harper Starr, who served as

secretary of the treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

. 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 Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

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 contiguous United States. It had continuously voted Democratic for president between 1896 and 2020, but flipped Republican in 2024.

History

From 2000 to 2010, the population of Starr County increased from 53,597 to 60,968.Grinberg, Emmanuella.
Impoverished border town grows from shacks into community
." ''

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

''. July 8, 2011. Retrieved on July 9, 2011.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, 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 Camargo is a municipality in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the US border, across from Rio Grande City, Texas. It has an official population of 14,933 inhabitants (2010 census). The municipal seat is Ciudad Camargo, with a po ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(south) * Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico (northwest) *

Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas Gustavo Díaz Ordaz is a municipality located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Towns and villages The largest localities (cities, towns, and villages) are:

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, Mexico (south) *

Mier Municipality Mier Municipality is one of the municipalities of Tamaulipas, Mexico. The seat is at Ciudad Mier. According to the 2010 census, the entire population of the municipality resides in the municipal seat, as both have an official count of 4,762 i ...

, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south) *

Miguel Alemán Municipality Miguel Alemán Municipality is a municipality located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the ...

, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)

National protected area

* Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2020 census

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 Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 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 ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

(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 A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 53,597 people, 14,410 households, and 12,666 families were living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 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 ...

, 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. A key group of Hispanics and Latinos in the county,

Tejanos Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead o ...

, are, compared to other groups of Hispanics and Latinos, are more likely to describe their race as white. If Hispanic/Latino is not counted as a race, the county is majority white, as 99% of the residents, circa 2021, counted themselves as white. Jack Herrera of ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' stated that "That means the county isn’t just one of the most Hispanic in the country. It’s also one of the whitest."

Economy

Starr County is especially known for

oilseed Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...

s and

dry bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...

s, 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 Roma Independent School District is a public school district based in Roma, Texas (USA). The district currently serves over 6,000 students. In 2009, the school district was rated " academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency. Ca ...

. Residents of northeastern Starr County are zoned to schools in the

San Isidro Independent School District The San Isidro Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of San Isidro, Texas, United States. In addition to San Isidro, the district also serves several other unincorporated communities in rural northeas ...

. The

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville The Diocese of Brownsville (, ) is a Latin Church diocese in southeastern Texas in the United States. The Diocese of Brownsville is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. The dioc ...

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 Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, pleaded guilty in federal court to a

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

conspiracy charge. In April 2016, Starr County Justice of the Peace Salvador Zarate Jr., faced up to 20 years

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

and a $10,000 fine on two counts of

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

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 had long been a strongly Democratic county. However, in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Donald Trump became the first Republican since

1892 In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west. Events January * January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...

to carry the county, ending over 130 years of Democratic dominance. Starr had the longest streak of voting for Democrats in the entire country. Its streak was triple the length of Minnesota's Democratic streak, which began in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. In

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, the county gave

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis ( ; born November 3, 1933) is an American politician and lawyer who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the s ...

his highest vote share in the nation, as well as

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

won Starr County with 8,274 votes, or 84 percent of the total vote. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

came within five points of winning the county, receiving 8,247 votes (47 percent) to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's 9,123 (52 percent). This was a major shift from

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

's 60-point margin of victory four years earlier, and it represented the strongest pro-Trump swing of any county in the nation. Trump received more than three times as many votes in 2020 compared to 2016 in the county. In 2024, Trump received a majority of the votes in Starr County. Republican U.S. Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

also concurrently won Starr County in the concurrent U.S. Senate election. Starr County was the lowest-income county in Texas that Trump won, with a median household income of $38,824 in 2023. It is also the county that shifted furthest to the right since

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, having done so by 89 percentage points as of 2024.

Communities

As of 2011, Starr County had approximately 55 ''colonias''. By that year, 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 *

(county seat) *

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

Unincorporated communities

* La Gloria *

La Reforma In History of Mexico, the history of Mexico, (from Spanish language, Spanish: "The Reform"), or reform laws, refers to a pivotal set of laws, including a Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857, new constitution, that were ...

* Santa Catarina * Santa Elena

Former communities

* Viboras

Census-designated places

Airport Heights Airport Heights is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Starr County, Texas, United States. This was a new CDP for the 2010 census, with a population of 161. Geography Airport Heights is located at (26.408735, -98. ...

* Alto Bonito Heights * Amada Acres * Anacua * B and E * Barrera *

Benjamin Perez Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...

* Buena Vista * Camargito *

Campo Verde Campo Verde is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil. The municipality contains 13% of the Rio da Casca Ecological Station, a strictly protected conservation unit created in 1994. History The region b ...

* Casa Blanca * Casas * Chaparrito * Chapeno * Delmita * East Alto Bonito * East Lopez * El Brazil * El Castillo * El Cenizo *

El Chaparral El Chaparral ( Spanish: ''Puerta México el Chaparral'') is a southbound vehicle crossing from San Diego into Tijuana. It is part of the San Ysidro Port of Entry __NOTOC__ The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or t ...

* El Mesquite * El Quiote * El Rancho Vela * El Refugio * El Socio * Elias-Fela Solis * Eugenio Saenz *

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

* 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 Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índi ...

* 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 Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...

* Mi Ranchito Estate * Miguel Barrera *

Mikes Mikes may refer to: * Centre for Metrology and Accreditation, MIKES, Centre for Metrology and Accreditation, Finland, a research organisation * Mikes (restaurant), a Canadian restaurant chain * Mikes (surname), a surname * Mikes, the Hungarian nam ...

* Moraida * Narciso Pena * Netos * Nina * North Escobares * Olivia Lopez de Gutierrez * Olmito and Olmito * Pablo Pena * Palo Blanco * Pena * Quesada * Rafael Pena * Ramirez-Perez *

Ramos Ramos is a surname of Spanish and Portuguese origin that means "bouquets" or "branches". People with the surname Ramos are most likely found in Mexico, Brazil or Puerto Rico. Notable people and characters with the surname include: People ...

* Ranchitos del Norte * Rancho Viejo * Regino Ramirez * Rivereno * Salineño * Salineño North * Sammy Martinez *

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

* San Isidro *

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

Sandoval Sandoval is a habitational surname of Spanish language, Spanish origin. It primarily originates from Sandoval de la Reina, Spain, earlier called ''Sannoval'', which is a blend word of Latin ''saltus'' (meaning 'grove' or 'wood') and Latin ''novalis ...

Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to: Places * Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, US * Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas, US * Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, US Ships * San ...

* Santa Cruz *

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

* Santel *

Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

* Tierra Dorada * Valle Hermoso * Valle Vista *

Victoria Vera Victoria Vera is a census-designated place (CDP) in Starr County, Texas, United States. It is a new CDP, formed from part of the former La Casita-Garciasville CDP prior to the 2010 census, with a population of 110. Geography Victoria Vera is ...

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

* West Alto Bonito * Zarate

Former census-designated places

* Escobar I * Los Villareales * Northridge * Old Escobares *

Rivera Rivera () is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. The border with Brazil joins it with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, which is only a block away from it, at the north end of Route 5 (Uruguay), Route 5. Together, they form an ...

* Roma Creek * Santa Cruz (old)

References

External links

Starr County Government

Starr County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Starr County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties
{{coord, 26.57, -98.73, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 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