Starr County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 65,920.[1] Its county seat is Rio Grande City.[2] The county was created in 1848.[3] It is named for James Harper Starr, who served as secretary of the treasury of the Republic of Texas.
Starr County | |
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County | |
![]() The Starr County Courthouse in Rio Grande City | |
![]() Location within the U.S. state of Texas | |
![]() Texas's location within the U.S. | |
Coordinates: 26°34′N 98°44′W / 26.57°N 98.73°W | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
Founded | 1848 |
Named for | James Harper Starr |
Seat | Rio Grande City |
Largest city | Rio Grande City |
Government | |
• Sheriff | Rene "Orta" Fuentes |
Area | |
• Total | 1,229 sq mi (3,180 km2) |
• Land | 1,223 sq mi (3,170 km2) |
• Water | 88.5 sq mi (229 km2) 0.5% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 65,920 |
• Density | 54/sq mi (21/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Congressional district | 28th |
Website | www |
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[4] in the continental United States.
History
editFrom 2000 to 2010, the population of Starr County increased from 53,597 to 60,968.[5]
Geography
editAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,229 square miles (3,180 km2), of which 5.9 square miles (15 km2) (0.5%) are covered by water.[6]
Major highways
editAdjacent counties and municipalities
edit- 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
editDemographics
editCensus | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1860 | 2,406 | — | |
1870 | 4,154 | 72.7% | |
1880 | 8,304 | 99.9% | |
1890 | 10,749 | 29.4% | |
1900 | 11,469 | 6.7% | |
1910 | 13,151 | 14.7% | |
1920 | 11,089 | −15.7% | |
1930 | 11,409 | 2.9% | |
1940 | 13,312 | 16.7% | |
1950 | 13,948 | 4.8% | |
1960 | 17,137 | 22.9% | |
1970 | 17,707 | 3.3% | |
1980 | 27,266 | 54.0% | |
1990 | 40,518 | 48.6% | |
2000 | 53,597 | 32.3% | |
2010 | 60,968 | 13.8% | |
2020 | 65,920 | 8.1% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1850–2010[8] 2010–2014[9] |
2020 census
editRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[10] | Pop 2010[11] | Pop 2020[12] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White alone (NH) | 1,082 | 2,449 | 1,171 | 2.02% | 4.02% | 1.78% |
Black or African American alone (NH) | 6 | 15 | 31 | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.05% |
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 27 | 17 | 8 | 0.05% | 0.03% | 0.01% |
Asian alone (NH) | 141 | 119 | 100 | 0.26% | 0.20% | 0.15% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0.03% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Some Other Race alone (NH) | 11 | 5 | 98 | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.15% |
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 37 | 26 | 119 | 0.07% | 0.04% | 0.18% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 52,278 | 58,337 | 64,393 | 97.54% | 95.68% | 97.68% |
Total | 53,597 | 60,968 | 65,920 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
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,[13] and the lowest percentage of non-Hispanic White residents.[14]
As of the census[15] of 2000, 53,597 people, 14,410 households, and 12,666 families were living in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile (17 people/km2). The 17,589 housing units had an average density of 14 units per square mile (5.4 units/km2). 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.[5]
Economy
editStarr County is especially known for oilseeds and dry beans, one of the highest-producing counties in the state.[16]: 431
Education
editResidents 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.[17]
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.[18]
Government and Politics
editLaw enforcement
editIn the 1970s and into the 1980s, federal law-enforcement officials concentrated their efforts against drug smuggling on Starr County.[19]
On May 1, 2009, the former sheriff of Starr County, Reymundo Guerra, a Democrat, pleaded guilty in federal court to a narcotics conspiracy charge.[20]
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.[21]
Presidential elections
editStarr 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.[22] In 1988, the county gave Michael Dukakis his highest vote share in the nation.[23] In 2008, Illinois Senator Barack H. Obama won Starr County with 8,274 votes (84 percent). In the most recent election, Donald Trump came within five points of winning the county, receiving 8,247 votes (47 percent) to Joe Biden's 9,123 (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.[24][25]
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 8,247 | 47.06% | 9,123 | 52.06% | 155 | 0.88% |
2016 | 2,224 | 18.94% | 9,289 | 79.12% | 227 | 1.93% |
2012 | 1,547 | 13.02% | 10,260 | 86.34% | 76 | 0.64% |
2008 | 1,492 | 15.24% | 8,274 | 84.50% | 26 | 0.27% |
2004 | 2,552 | 26.09% | 7,199 | 73.60% | 30 | 0.31% |
2000 | 1,911 | 22.58% | 6,505 | 76.85% | 48 | 0.57% |
1996 | 756 | 10.41% | 6,312 | 86.94% | 192 | 2.64% |
1992 | 1,209 | 13.05% | 7,668 | 82.80% | 384 | 4.15% |
1988 | 1,218 | 14.83% | 6,958 | 84.74% | 35 | 0.43% |
1984 | 1,658 | 24.70% | 5,047 | 75.18% | 8 | 0.12% |
1980 | 1,389 | 22.21% | 4,782 | 76.48% | 82 | 1.31% |
1976 | 664 | 12.47% | 4,646 | 87.25% | 15 | 0.28% |
1972 | 2,389 | 41.82% | 3,320 | 58.11% | 4 | 0.07% |
1968 | 1,374 | 25.60% | 3,922 | 73.08% | 71 | 1.32% |
1964 | 678 | 14.30% | 4,056 | 85.53% | 8 | 0.17% |
1960 | 280 | 6.46% | 4,051 | 93.49% | 2 | 0.05% |
1956 | 547 | 16.71% | 2,727 | 83.29% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 620 | 16.87% | 3,055 | 83.13% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 179 | 8.18% | 1,996 | 91.22% | 13 | 0.59% |
1944 | 68 | 4.87% | 1,312 | 94.05% | 15 | 1.08% |
1940 | 68 | 5.36% | 1,200 | 94.64% | 0 | 0.00% |
1936 | 320 | 12.22% | 2,289 | 87.43% | 9 | 0.34% |
1932 | 32 | 4.07% | 754 | 95.93% | 0 | 0.00% |
1928 | 79 | 9.69% | 736 | 90.31% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 23 | 2.95% | 756 | 97.05% | 0 | 0.00% |
1920 | 89 | 17.55% | 418 | 82.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
1916 | 115 | 18.23% | 516 | 81.77% | 0 | 0.00% |
1912 | 252 | 27.16% | 674 | 72.63% | 2 | 0.22% |
Communities
editAs of 2011, Starr County had approximately 55 colonias. By that year, many families were moving to the colonias.[5]
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.[27]
Cities
edit- Escobares
- La Grulla
- Rio Grande City (county seat)
- Roma
Unincorporated communities
editFormer communities
editCensus-designated places
edit- 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
- 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
- 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
- Rivereno
- 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
Former census-designated places
edit
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "QuickFacts: Starr County, Texas". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- ^ "P2: HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE". 2020 Census. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
- ^ a b c Grinberg, Emmanuella. "Impoverished border town grows from shacks into community Archived 2012-11-10 at the Wayback Machine." CNN. July 8, 2011. Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade". US Census Bureau.
- ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Starr County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Starr County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Starr County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ Villarreal, Alexandra (July 10, 2020). "Texas border county had 'model' Covid-19 response – then the governor stepped in". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ Census Bureau data, cited in "Minorities now in the majority in nearly 10% of U.S. counties", Associated Press August 8, 2007, Lexington Herald-Leader p A8
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ "2017 Census - Volume 1, Chapter 1: State Level Data". United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS). 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
- ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Starr County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022. - list
- ^ Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.199. SOUTH TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA..
- ^ Miller, Tom. On the Border: Portraits of America’s Southwestern Frontier, pp. 27-34.
- ^ "A Counterintelligence Approach To Controlling Cartel Corruption". www.poligazette.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2009.
- ^ Aaron Nelsen, "Star County JP faces jail for bribery", San Antonio Express-News, April 16, 2016, p. A7
- ^ "Presidential election of 1892 - Map by counties". geoelections.free.fr. Archived from the original on March 7, 2006.
- ^ "David Leip's Presidential Atlas (1988 election statistics)". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on November 26, 2008.
- ^ "Texas Election Night Results". Texas Election Results. Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump nearly wins Starr County". KRGV.com. Mobile Video Tapes, Inc. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018.
- ^ "Population and Housing Unit Counts, 2010 Census of Population and Housing" (PDF). Texas: 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 13, 2017.