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Edinburg
City
The Hidalgo County Courthouse as seen from University Drive in late 2024
The Hidalgo County Courthouse as seen from University Drive in late 2024
Nickname(s): 
"Gateway City to the Rio Grande Valley"
Location of Edinburg, Texas
Location of Edinburg, Texas
Country United States
State Texas
County Hidalgo
Founded October 10, 1908
Incorporated September 19, 1919
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
Area
 • City 44.78 sq mi (115.98 km2)
 • Land 44.72 sq mi (115.83 km2)
 • Water 0.06 sq mi (0.15 km2)
Elevation
95 ft (29 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City 100,243
 • Estimate 
(2022)
 104,294
 • Rank US: 308th
TX: 40th
 • Density 2,332/sq mi (900.4/km2)
 • Urban
779,553 (US: 56th)
 • Urban density 2,389.7/sq mi (922.7/km2)
 • Metro
888,367 (US: 65th)
Time zone UTC–6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC–5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
78504, 78539, 78540, 78541, 78542
Area code(s) 956
Sales tax 8.25%
GNIS feature ID 1335095

Edinburg (/ˈɛdɪnbɜːrɡ/ ed-IN-burg) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 100,243 at the 2020 census, and in 2022, its estimated population was 104,294, making it the second-largest city in Hidalgo County, and the third-largest city in the larger Rio Grande Valley region.

Edinburg is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas. Edinburg is home to the main campus of University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

History

In 1908, John Closner, William Briggs, Argyle McAllen, Plutarco de la Viña, and Dennis B. Chapin developed a new community at this site. The town square was located at the current crossroads of U.S. Highway 281 and State Highway 107. The town was named "Chapin" in honor of one of the developers. A local myth relates that Edinburg became the county seat of Hidalgo County in a dramatic, nighttime covert operation in which the county records were removed from the previous county seat. However, historical records show more practical reasons. The 1886 Hidalgo County Courthouse in the city of Hidalgo was under frequent danger of flooding because it stood just a few yards away from the banks of the Rio Grande. Additionally, the county was over 80 miles long at this time, and state law required that the courthouse be close to the geographic center of a county. A wood-frame courthouse was designed and built beside the Chapin courthouse square in 1908; construction on a grand courthouse within the square began in 1910 under the supervision of San Antonio builders and a partnership of San Antonio architects. When Dennis Chapin was involved in the shooting death of Oscar J. Rountree at the Dan Breen Saloon in San Antonio, the community changed its name to "Edinburg" to honor John Young, a prominent businessman who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. The town was officially renamed in 1911 and incorporated in 1919.

Geography

Edinburg is located in south-central Hidalgo County at 26°18′15″N 98°9′50″W / 26.30417°N 98.16389°W / 26.30417; -98.16389 (26.304225, –98.163751). It is bordered to the south by Pharr and to the southwest by McAllen, the largest city in the county. U.S. Route 281 (Interstate 69C) runs through the east side of Edinburg. US 281 leads north 103 miles (166 km) to Alice and 229 miles (369 km) to San Antonio. Downtown McAllen is 10 miles (16 km) to the south and west.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Edinburg has a total area of 37.7 square miles (97.6 km2), of which 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2), or 0.16%, is covered by water.

Climate data for Edinburg, Texas (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 70.1
(21.2)		 73.5
(23.1)		 80.0
(26.7)		 85.3
(29.6)		 89.9
(32.2)		 94.5
(34.7)		 96.5
(35.8)		 97.1
(36.2)		 92.6
(33.7)		 86.8
(30.4)		 79.0
(26.1)		 71.0
(21.7)		 84.7
(29.3)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 48.2
(9.0)		 51.4
(10.8)		 56.6
(13.7)		 64.2
(17.9)		 70.1
(21.2)		 74.7
(23.7)		 75.4
(24.1)		 75.6
(24.2)		 72.7
(22.6)		 65.5
(18.6)		 56.5
(13.6)		 48.6
(9.2)		 63.3
(17.4)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.58
(40)		 1.36
(35)		 1.10
(28)		 1.35
(34)		 2.69
(68)		 2.53
(64)		 2.79
(71)		 1.98
(50)		 3.87
(98)		 2.62
(67)		 1.14
(29)		 1.06
(27)		 24.07
(611)
Source: NOAA


Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1920 1,406 —
1930 4,821 242.9%
1940 6,718 39.3%
1950 12,383 84.3%
1960 18,706 51.1%
1970 17,163 −8.2%
1980 24,075 40.3%
1990 29,885 24.1%
2000 48,465 62.2%
2010 77,100 59.1%
2020 100,243 30.0%
2022 (est.) 104,294 35.3%
U.S. Decennial Census
2020 Census
Edinburg, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the U.S. census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000 Pop 2010 Pop 2020 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 4,772 6,177 6,793 9.85% 8.01% 6.78%
Black or African American alone (NH) 196 1,033 1,389 0.40% 1.34% 1.39%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 57 59 110 0.12% 0.08% 0.11%
Asian alone (NH) 293 1,618 2,563 0.60% 2.10% 2.56%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 5 7 3 0.01% 0.01% 0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 29 45 250 0.06% 0.06% 0.25%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH) 132 172 477 0.27% 0.22% 0.48%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 42,981 67,989 88,658 88.68% 88.18% 88.44%
Total 48,465 77,100 100,243 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

As of the census of 2020, there were 100,243 people, 29,899 households, and 21,635 families were residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 77,100 people, _ households, and _ families in the city.

Economy

Several state agencies have offices in Edinburg. This includes the Thirteenth Court of Appeals, the Texas Attorney General's Child Support Unit, the Texas Departments of Health Services, Human Services, Protective and Regulatory Services, and Public Safety. The Texas Youth Commission has a facility near Edinburg. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates two facilities, the Lopez Unit and the Segovia Unit, in Edinburg.

Arts and culture

Public libraries

The City of Edinburg operates the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library.

Museums

Edinburg is home to the Museum of South Texas History, formerly the Hidalgo County Historical Museum.

Tourism

The Edinburg Scenic Wetlands comprise one of nine sites of the World Birding Center, a native habitat site and wildlife refuge.

Sports

This city was the home of the Edinburg Roadrunners, an independent league baseball team in the North American League, but after numerous ownership changes, the team disbanded. Currently, UTRGV is the only major baseball team in Edinburg.

In 2013, the city of Edinburg and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation announced plans for the construction of an events arena in which the NBA Development League champions, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, would be the anchor tenants. It opened in 2018. The team also has its practice facility at the Edinburg Sports and Wellness Center. The city also opened a six-city-block stretch of green pedestrian walkway space known as the McIntyre Street Project in April 2014; it is expected to be the beginning of a proposed arts and restaurant district extending through the heart of Edinburg.

Since 2016, the city has been home to the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros soccer club in the USL Championship, who play at H-E-B Park. The city is also home to the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Academy, the best youth soccer club in the area and a pioneer in youth development for the Rio Grande Valley. The Toros Academy plays in the MLS Next league against the best academies in the nation and provides fully funded programs for U-15, U-17, and U-19 boys.

Stadiums and arenas

Bert Ogden Arena was originally opened in August 2018, is the home for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. The capacity for basketball games is 7,688 and 9,000 for concerts. The construction cost was $88 million.

UTRGV Baseball Stadium, commonly known as Edinburg Stadium, had its groundbreaking take place in 2000., and it opened in 2001. The stadium's capacity is 4,000 people. It was the home for the Edinburg Roadrunners (2001 to 2013). The Edinburg Roadrunners were a member of the United League Baseball 2006 to 2010 and the North American League from 2011 to 2012. The land was owned by the City of Edinburg in years prior to 2014, was donated to the University of Texas System.

Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium is a 9,700-seat soccer-specific stadium home for the rio Grande Valley FC Toros of the USL Championship. The construction of the stadium was completed in 2016 and officially opened on March 22, 2017.

Education

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

In December 2012, officials announced the merger of the existing University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg and the University of Texas at Brownsville into a regional institution. A year later, in December 2013, University of Texas System officials decided to name the new institution the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. UTRGV's creation garnered much media attention because of its expected economic, social, and health-care impact on the region. UTRGV is unique in that it is the first time the UT System has merged existing campuses in such a way. UTRGV was to also bring the first medical school to the Rio Grande Valley region. The first class of UTRGV students began courses in fall 2015.

Colleges

Edinburg is also the home of the Rio Grande Bible Institute and is located in the South Texas College District.

Primary and secondary education

Almost all of the city is served by the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, comprising four high schools, one alternative secondary school, six middle schools, and 20 elementary schools. A small portion is served by the McAllen Independent School District, including Memorial High School, Cathey Middle School, and McAllen's Gonzalez Elementary.

In addition, the South Texas Independent School District operates magnet schools that serve Edinburg. South Texas Business Education & Technology Academy is in Edinburg. Students from Edinburg also have the chance to attend other South Texas ISD schools in Mercedes -South Texas High School for the Medical Professions and the Science Academy of South Texas.

The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville operates St. Joseph Catholic School, an elementary and middle school.

Media

Television stations

The Edinburg area is served by numerous local television affiliates.

Radio stations

  • KHID 88.1 FM (National Public Radio)
  • KOIR Radio Esperanza 88.5 FM (Spanish Christian) [Spanish]
  • XHRYA Mas Musica 90.9 FM (Hit Radio) [Spanish]
  • XHMLS Exitos 91.3 FM (All-Time Hits) [Spanish]
  • KCAS The New KCAS 91.5 FM (Religious)
  • XHAAA La Caliente 93.1 FM (Regional Mexican) [Spanish]
  • KFRQ 94.5 FM (Classic/Modern/Hard Rock)
  • XHRT Xtrema 95.3 FM (All-Time Hits) [Spanish]
  • KBTQ Radio Recuerdo 96.1 FM (Oldies) [Spanish]
  • KVMV Faith, Hope & Love 96.9 FM (Contemporary Christian)
  • KCYP-LP 97.7 FM LP | The city (Local Talent and Talk)
  • KKPS Que Pasa 99.5 FM (Regional Tejano) [Spanish]
  • KTEX-FM South Texas Country 100.3 FM (Country)
  • KNVO-FM Jose 101.1 FM (Contemporary Spanish)
  • XHAVO Digital 101.5 FM (International Music) [Spanish]
  • KBFM Wild 104.1 FM (Hip-Hop/R&B/Reggaeton)
  • KJAV 104.9 FM Ultra
  • KQXX The X 105.5 FM (Classic-rock)
  • KBIC 105.7 FM Radio Vida (Christian radio)
  • KHKZ Kiss 106.3 FM (Hot AC)
  • XHVTH La Mas Buena 107.1 FM (Regional Mexican) [Spanish]
  • KVLY Mix FM 107.9 FM (Adult Contemporary, TOP 40)
  • KURV 710 AM (Talk Radio) FOX News
  • XERDO-AM La Radio 1450 AM (News/Sports) [Spanish]
  • XEMS La Radio Mexicana 1490 AM (Regional Mexican) [Spanish]

Area newspapers

  • The Monitor
  • Valley Morning Star
  • Rio Grande Guardian

Infrastructure

Transportation

McIntyre Street Project plans also include a bus transportation hub for Valley Metro, the regional transit service.

Greyhound provides bus service to Edinburg.

Highways

  • Texas 107.svg State Highway 107
  • Texas 336.svg State Highway 336
  • US 281.svg U.S. Route 281
  • I-69C.svg Interstate 69C

Airports

Two major commercial airports are near Edinburg: McAllen Miller International Airport (MFE) at McAllen, 20 minutes from Edinburg and Valley International Airport, (HRL) in Harlingen, 40 minutes from Edinburg. The South Texas International Airport at Edinburg (KEBG) is a public-use airport owned and operated by the City of Edinburg.

Notable people

Resources

Historical databases

  • Hidalgo County Texas Genealogy and History - presented by Genealogy Trails
  • Edinburg, TX
  • Welcome

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Edinburg (Texas) para niños

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