Starr County, Texas

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 83

Adjacent counties and municipalities

National protected area

• Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)

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.^[11][12]

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.^[12]

71.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 28.6% lived in rural areas.^[13]

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.^[11]

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%.^[11]

According to the Census Bureau, Starr County had the highest percentage of Hispanic residents of any county in the United States,^[14] and the lowest percentage of non-Hispanic White residents.^[15]

Racial and ethnic composition

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).^[17]

2000 census

As of the census^[19] 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]

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."^[20]

Law enforcement

In the 1970s and into the 1980s, federal law-enforcement officials concentrated their efforts against drug smuggling on Starr County.^[24]

On May 1, 2009, the former sheriff of Starr County, Reymundo Guerra, a Democrat, pleaded guilty in federal court to a narcotics conspiracy charge.^[25]

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.^[26]

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.^[27] Starr had the longest streak of voting for Democrats in the entire country.^[28][29] Its streak was triple the length of Minnesota's Democratic streak, which began in 1976.^[30] In 1988, the county gave Michael Dukakis his highest vote share in the nation, as well as Bill Clinton in 1996.^[31]

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).^[32][33] 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.^[20]

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.^[34] 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.^[35]

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

Former census-designated places

• Escobar I
• Los Villareales
• Northridge
• Old Escobares
• Rivera
• Roma Creek
• Santa Cruz (old)