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 97.6% of its population identifying as such. It is the county with the highest proportion of Hispanics in the continental 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. July 8, 2011. Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
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 Spur 200
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
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 65,920 and 12,836 families residing within its borders. The median age was 31.9 years. 30.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.2 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 33.1% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 19.1% from some other race, and 47.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 97.7% of the population.
71.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 28.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 19,868 households in the county, of which 47.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 52.1% were married-couple households, 14.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 17.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 22,980 housing units, of which 13.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 75.1% were owner-occupied and 24.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%.
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.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
Racial and ethnic composition +Starr County, Texas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980 Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)8121,0011,0822,4491,1712.98%2.47%2.02%4.02%1.78%Black or African American alone (NH)39615310.01%0.02%0.01%0.02%0.05%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)96271780.03%0.01%0.05%0.03%0.01%Asian alone (NH)14131411191000.05%0.03%0.26%0.20%0.15%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census1500xx0.03%0.00%0.00%Other race alone (NH)099115980.00%0.24%0.02%0.01%0.15%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census3726119xx0.07%0.04%0.18%Hispanic or Latino (any race)26,42839,39052,27858,33764,39396.93%97.22%97.54%95.68%97.68%Total27,26640,51853,59760,96865,920 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, 60,968 people were 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).
2000 census 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.
A key group of Hispanics and Latinos in the county, Tejanos, 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 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 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. - list
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.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.199. SOUTH TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA..
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.Miller, Tom. On the Border: Portraits of America’s Southwestern Frontier, pp. 27-34.
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.Aaron Nelsen, "Star County JP faces jail for bribery", San Antonio Express-News, April 16, 2016, p. A7
Presidential elections Starr County had long been a strongly Democratic county. However, in 2024, Donald Trump became the first Republican since 1892 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. In 1988, the county gave Michael Dukakis his highest vote share in the nation, as well as Bill Clinton in 1996.
In 2008, Barack Obama won Starr County with 8,274 votes, or 84 percent of the total vote. In 2020, 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 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, winning it by a 16% margin, which was larger than Trump's 14% margin statewide. Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz also concurrently won Starr County in the 2024 U.S. Senate election in Texas. 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 from 2012 to 2024, having done so by 89 percentage points.
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 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 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