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 sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. 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 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 ...

Rio Grande City Rio Grande City is a city in and the county seat of Starr County, Texas. The population was 14,411 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is west of McAllen. The city also holds the March record high for the United States at . The city is 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 ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

. Starr County comprises the Rio Grande City, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes other small cities, which itself is part of the larger

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. Th ...

region. It is directly northeast of the Mexican border. The county population is almost entirely Hispanic. With 97.7% of its population identifying as such, it is the county with the highest proportion of Hispanics in the continental United States.

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 CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

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

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), 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 Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is 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) and an international bridge. The municipal seat ...

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) * 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 ( 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 (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, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)

National protected area

Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge The Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of southern Texas. It is along the northern banks and reaches of the Lower Rio Grande, north of the Mexico—Unit ...

(part)

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 65,920 people, 16,281 households, and 12,836 families residing in the county. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 60,968 people living in the county. 0.4% were

Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...

, 0.2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 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 the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...

(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 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 incl ...

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

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 44 people per square mile (17/km²). There were 17,589 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.92%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.15%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.28%

, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 9.91% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.46% from two or more races. There were 14,410 households, out of which 54.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.50% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 17.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.10% were non-families. 11.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.69 and the average family size was 4.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 37.40% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 16.30% from 45 to 64, and 8.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $16,504, and the median income 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 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 $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 t ...

, 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.

Politics

Law enforcement

In the 1970s and into the 1980s, federal law enforcement officials concentrated their anti-drug smuggling efforts 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, pleaded guilty in federal court to a

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to 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 A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

Salvador Zarate Jr., faced up to twenty years

imprisonment Imprisonment 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 "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

and a $10,000 fine on two counts of

bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

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 is expected to appeal any sentence rendered.

Presidential elections

Starr County has long been a strongly Democratic county but has suffered from low voter turnout with only approximately twenty percent of its 53,000 residents voting. No

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 ...

has won the county for president since incumbent

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

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, as of 2020. In 1988, the county gave

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

his highest vote share in the nation. In 2008,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Senator

Barack H. Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

won Starr County with 8,233 votes (84 percent). In the most recent election,

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 Pe ...

came within five points of winning the county, receiving 8,224 votes (47 percent) to Joe Biden's 9,099 (52 percent). This was a major shift from

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

's 60-point margin of victory four years earlier, and represented the strongest pro-Trump swing of any county in the nation.

Education

Residents of eastern Starr County are zoned to schools in the

Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District Rio Grande City Grulla Independent School District (RGCGISD), formerly Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District, is a public school district based in Rio Grande City, Texas, Rio Grande City, Texas (United States, USA). In 2009, t ...

. 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. Catchmen ...

. 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 northeaster ...

. The

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville ( la, Dioecesis Brownsvillensis, es, Diócesis de Brownsville) is a Latin Church suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, in Texas, USA. The ...

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 South Texas College (STC) is a public community college in the Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Bachelor of Applied Technology, ...

Communities

As of 2011 Starr County has about 55 colonias. By 2011 many families were moving to the colonias. Between the 2000 and 2010 census Starr County went through many changes. Four CDPs were deleted, one gained area, twelve lost area and ninety-two new CDPs were created. Only eleven remained unchanged.

Cities

* Escobares * La Grulla *

(county seat) *

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

Unincorporated communities

* La Gloria *

La Reforma ''La Reforma'' ( en, The Reform), refers to a pivotal set of laws, including a new constitution, that were enacted in Mexico during the 1850s after the Plan of Ayutla overthrew the dictatorship of Santa Anna. They were intended as modernizing m ...

* Santa Catarina * Santa Elena

Former communities

* Viboras

Census-designated places

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

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

Barrera Barrera is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian surname, meaning "barrier". . The name has many variant spellings of the name which include: Barrios, de Barrios, Barrio, de Barrio, Barro, Barros, de Barros, Barroso, Barrera, de Barrera, de la Barre ...

* Benjamin Perez *

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

* Camargito * Campo Verde * Casa Blanca *

Casas Casas may refer to: People *Casas (surname) Places Argentina * Casas, locality in Santa Fe Province Mexico * Casas Municipality, Tamaulipas * Casas Grandes, prehistoric archaeological site in Chihuahua * Casas Grandes, Chihuahua * Casas G ...

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

El Chaparral The El Chaparral port of entry or border crossing (''Puerto Fronterizo El Chaparral'') is as of 2012 the main vehicle crossing point from San Diego into Tijuana, Mexico, replacing the former entry point known as Puerta México which stood immediate ...

* El Mesquite * El Quiote * El Rancho Vela * El Refugio * El Socio * Elias-Fela Solis * Escobar I (former) * Eugenio Saenz *

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

* 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 * Índio ...

* 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 several plants in the genus ''Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under grou ...

* Mi Ranchito Estate *

Miguel Barrera Miguel Angel Barrera Estrada (born 15 November 1978 in San Jose de Canalete) is a former Colombian strawweight boxer, who once held the International Boxing Federation version of the Minimumweight world title. Pro career Known as "El Hurac ...

* Mikes * Moraida * Narciso Pena * Netos *

Nina Nina may refer to: * Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname Acronyms *National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq * Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology *No income, ...

* North Escobares * Northridge * Old Escobares (former) * 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". Notable people with the surname include: * Adrián Ramos (born 1986), Colombian footballer * Aldrech Ramos (born 1988), Filipino basketball player * Aleja ...

* Ranchitos del Norte * Rancho Viejo * Regino Ramirez *

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 street away from it, at the north end of Route 5. Together, they form an urban area of aro ...

(former) * Rivereno * Roma Creek * 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 *

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: * Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States * Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas * Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...

* 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, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

* Tierra Dorada * Valle Hermoso * Valle Vista * Victoria Vera *

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) 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 ...

* West Alto Bonito * Zarate

Economy

Starr is especially known for

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

s and dry beans, one of the highest-producing counties in the state.

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. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

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