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Cameron County, Texas
2018
…In a Snapshot

  • The southernmost county in Texas, U.S.  Located 26º 5′ N and 97º33’

  • County seat is Brownsville, Texas. Population 183,046 (2014)

  • Other major cities and towns are Harlingen, San Benito, Los Fresnos, La Feria, Rio Hondo, Port Isabel, South Padre Island, Primera, Santa Rosa, Bayview, Rancho Viejo, Combes, Los Indios, Palm Valley, Laguna Vista and Indian Lake.

  • Population is 406,220 based upon the 2010 U.S. Census.  Current population in 2014 is estimated to be 420,392, a 3.5% rise.

  • The county encompasses 1,276 square miles.  891 square miles is dry land, 385 square miles are submerged by shallow bays, estuaries, and rivers.

  • Bordered on the East by the Gulf of Mexico, on the South by the Mexican State of Tamaulipas, Mexico, and the West by the Texas County of Hidalgo, and on the North by the Texas County of Willacy.

  • The property tax rate for Cameron county for 2014 is $0.399291.

  • Total market value of property in the county is $18,089,734,557 with taxable valuation totaling $16,903,041,130.  The total tax levy is $67,492,322.

  • Some 48.3% of residents were male (202,933) and 51.7% were female (217,459).

  • The median age in the area was 31.4, with men being 29.4 and women 33.3.

  • About 31.6% of the population was younger than age 18 and 12.4% was aged 65 years or older. By comparison, 26.4% of the Texas population was younger than 18 and 11.5% over 65.

  • The median household income in Cameron County in 2013 was $34,374, significantly lower than median levels for the United States ($52,250) or Texas ($51,704).

  • About 23.4% of households had incomes below $15,000 (compared to 12.9% in the US and 12.6% in Texas).

  • Some 4.5% of households in the county had incomes above $150,000, less than half the proportion in the United States (9.9%) and Texas (9.9%).

  • About 47.8% of the population age 16 and over was employed in 2013 and 45.2% was not in the labor force, reflecting a much lower employment rate and much higher level of the population outside the labor force than the corresponding rates for the United States (57.9% and 36.4%, respectively) and Texas (59.9% employed and 35.1% not in the labor force).

  • Of those employed, approximately 74.2% were private wage and salary workers, while 17.7% were government workers. Another 7.8% were self-employed in non-incorporated businesses.

  • In 2013, 64.1% of people age 25 and older in Cameron County had at least graduated high school. An estimated 17.1% had a Bachelor’s degree or higher. These levels of educational attainment are somewhat lower than those for Texas or the United States as a whole.

  • There were 118,546 households in Cameron County as of 2013. The average household size was 3.5 people. About 78.5% of the households were family households with 68.5% of those being married couple families. In addition, 46.2% of all households had at least one person under the age of 18, and 38.7% had at least one person 60 years or older.

  • Cameron County had a total of 144,522 housing units in 2013, approximately 18.0% of which were vacant. Of the total housing units, about 67.7% were single-unit structures, 20.9% were multi-unit structures, and 11.4% were mobile homes. Some 40.9% of the units were built since 1990, and 76.4% of the housing units have 3 or more bedrooms.

  • Of the 118,546 occupied housing units, 81,426 (68.7%) were owner occupied and 37,120 (31.3%) were renter occupied.

  • For homeowners with a mortgage, the median monthly housing cost was $1,026; for owners without a mortgage it was $354. For renters, the median monthly housing cost was $612.

  • About 29.5% of owners with mortgages, 12.2% of owners without mortgages, and 52.7% of renters spent 30% or more of household income on housing.