Cameron County, Texas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cameron County
County
The Cameron County Courthouse in Brownsville Administration Building
Seal Logo
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1848
Named for	Ewen Cameron
Seat	Brownsville
Largest city	Brownsville
Area
• Total	1,276 sq mi (3,300 km2)
• Land	891 sq mi (2,310 km2)
• Water	386 sq mi (1,000 km2)  30%
Population  (2020)
• Total	421,017
• Density	329.95/sq mi (127.39/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	34th

Cameron County, officially the County of Cameron, is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 421,017. Its county seat is Brownsville.

The county was founded in 1848 and is named for Captain Ewen Cameron, a soldier during the Texas Revolution and in the ill-fated Mier Expedition. During the later 19th century and through World War II, Fort Brown was a US Army outpost here, stimulating the development of the city of Brownsville.

Cameron County comprises the Brownsville–Harlingen, TX metropolitan statistical area, as well as the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville combined statistical area, which itself is part of the larger Rio Grande Valley region.

The second-largest city in the county is Harlingen.

The county is home to the SpaceX Starbase spaceport, situated in Boca Chica; it is also the residence of Elon Musk, the richest person in the world.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,276 square miles (3,300 km²), of which 891 square miles (2,310 km²) are land and 386 square miles (1,000 km²) (30%) are covered by water. To the east, the county borders the Gulf of Mexico.

Major highways

• Interstate 2
• Interstate 69E/U.S. Highway 77
• Interstate 169/State Highway 550
• U.S. Highway 83
• U.S. Highway 281
• State Highway 4
• State Highway 48
• State Highway 100
• State Highway 107
• State Highway 345

Adjacent counties and municipalities

• Willacy County (north)
• Gulf of Mexico (east)
• Matamoros Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
• Hidalgo County (west)

National protected areas

• Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, 406,220 people, 119,631 households, and 96,579 families were residing in the county. The population density was 370 people per square mile (140 people/km²). The 141,924 housing units averaged 132 per square mile (51/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.0% White, 0.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 9.8% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. About 88.1% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 119,631 households, 50.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.3% were not families. About 16.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.36, and the average family size was 3.80.

In the county, the age distribution was 33.0% under the age of18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 86.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,264, and for a family was $33,770. Males had a median income of $21,410 versus $15,597 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,695. About 30.0% of families and 34.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.8% of those under age 18 and 24.8% of those age 65 or over.

A 2000 Texas A&M study stated that of the residents of Cameron County, 43% do not have basic literacy skills.

Within the 2010s decade, a noticeable trend in the county population showed that growth among the county's northern cities (defined as major towns whose city limits lie entirely north or east of U.S. Highway 83 in the county) on average has been greater than those cities on U.S. Highway 83 in the county, suggesting a possible desire among both locals and new residents from outside the Rio Grande Valley to move away from the population centers of the county. This trend has also been shared by nearby Hidalgo County. Los Fresnos, for example, grew by 42.2% from 2010 to 2018. Other major cities, such as Indian Lake, Primera, and Rio Hondo, all grew by more than 15% in the same period. In contrast, the cities of Harlingen, La Feria, and San Benito, all cities along U.S. Highway 83, have seen growths less than 1% in the same period. The city that grew the most among the Highway 83 cities in the county was Brownsville, which grew by 4.4% from 2010 to 2019.

Education

Cameron County is served by several school districts. They include:

• Brownsville Independent School District
• Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District
• La Feria Independent School District
• Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District
• Lyford Consolidated Independent School District (partially)
• Point Isabel Independent School District
• Rio Hondo Independent School District
• San Benito Consolidated Independent School District
• Santa Maria Independent School District
• Santa Rosa Independent School District

In addition, residents are eligible to apply to South Texas Independent School District's magnet schools.

All of the county is in the service area of Texas Southmost College.

Economy

Cameron County has been considered one of the poorest urban counties in the US.

The FAA approved a SpaceX private spaceport east of Brownsville on the Gulf Coast.

The SpaceX South Texas Launch Site is projected to employ 75–100 full-time workers in the early years with up to 150 full-time employees/contractors by 2019. In 2014, SpaceX acquired additional land near Boca Chica, which they consolidated into a subdivision called "Mars Crossing", possibly named after the novel by science-fiction writer Geoffrey A. Landis.

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  View of SpaceX's launch pad at Boca Chica Village near Brownsville

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  SN15 and SN16

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  Starship and SuperHeavy production site

The southern cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus) is invasive here. Populations here have also become highly permethrin resistant. In 2014 the problem had become so severe that spread to neighboring counties was feared, and a Temporary Preventative Quarantine Area was established to preserve efficacy in those counties. All quarantine efforts have been somewhat unsuccessful, due at least in part to the ticks' infestation of wildlife including whitetail (Odocoileus virginianus).

Media

Radio stations

• KFRQ 94.5FM
• KKPS 99.5FM
• KNVO 101.1FM
• KVLY 107.9FM
• KVMV 96.9FM

Newspapers

• The Brownsville Herald (A Freedom Communications, Inc. newspaper based in Brownsville, TX)
• Valley Morning Star (A Freedom Communications, Inc. newspaper based in Harlingen, TX)
• El Nuevo Heraldo (AIM Media Texas newspaper based in Brownsville, TX)

Communities

Cities

Towns

A picture of the Cameron County Courthouse (1912), the Dancy Building, in Brownsville, Texas, which served as the County Courthouse until the construction of a replacement: It was restored in 2006 and houses County Court at Law No 1, as well as some county offices.

Village

• Rangerville

Census-designated places

Former census-designated places

• Arroyo Gardens-La Tina Ranch (split into the Arroyo Gardens and La Tina Ranch CDPs)
• Bluetown-Iglesia Antigua
• Chula Vista-Orason
• Grand Acres
• Las Palmas-Juarez

Other unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

• Del Mar
• La Leona
• Las Rusias
• Santa Rita
• Stuart Place

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Cameron (Texas) para niños