Starr County, Texas#Micropolitan Statistical Area

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Starr County

| state = Texas

| type = County

| founded = 1848

| seat wl = Rio Grande City

| largest city wl = Rio Grande City

| area_total_sq_mi = 1229

| area_land_sq_mi = 1223

| area_water_sq_mi = 88.5

| area percentage = 0.5%

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 65920

| density_sq_mi = auto

| seal = Starr County, TX Seal.png

| ex image = File:Architect Stanley Bliss designed the brick Starr County Courthouse, which opened in 1939 in Rio Grande City, Texas LCCN2014631828.tif

| ex image cap = The Starr County Courthouse in Rio Grande City

| ex image size = 250px

| web = www.co.starr.tx.us

| leader_title = Sheriff

| leader_name = Rene "Orta" Fuentes

| time zone = Central

| named for = James Harper Starr

| district = 28th

}}

Starr County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 65,920.{{Cite web |title=QuickFacts: Starr County, Texas |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/starrcountytexas/PST045221 |access-date=March 27, 2022 |website=U.S. Census Bureau}} Its county seat is Rio Grande City.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|archive-date=May 31, 2011}} The county was created in 1848.{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=Texas: Individual County Chronologies|work=Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|publisher=The Newberry Library|date=2008|access-date=May 26, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513024355/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/TX_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|archive-date=May 13, 2015}} It is named for James Harper Starr, who served as secretary of the treasury of the Republic of Texas.

Starr County comprises the Rio Grande City micropolitan statistical area, which also includes other small cities, which itself is part of the larger Rio Grande Valley region. It is directly northeast of the Mexican border.

The county population is almost entirely Hispanic or Latino, with 97.7% of its population identifying as such. It is the county with the highest proportion of Hispanics{{cite web |title=P2: HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=P2%3A%20HISPANIC%20OR%20LATINO,%20AND%20NOT%20HISPANIC%20OR%20LATINO%20BY%20RACE&g=0100000US%240500000&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2&hidePreview=true |website=2020 Census |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=October 10, 2021 }} in the contiguous United States. It had continuously voted Democratic for president between 1896 and 2020, but flipped Republican in 2024.

History

From 2000 to 2010, the population of Starr County increased from 53,597 to 60,968.Grinberg, Emmanuella. "[http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/05/texas.colonias/index.html?hpt=hp_c1 Impoverished border town grows from shacks into community] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110074052/http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/05/texas.colonias/index.html?hpt=hp_c1 |date=2012-11-10 }}." CNN. July 8, 2011. Retrieved on July 9, 2011.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|1229|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|5.9|sqmi}} (0.5%) are covered by water.{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 10, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419031755/http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt|archive-date=April 19, 2015}}

=Major highways=

20px U.S. Highway 83

=Adjacent counties and municipalities=

Jim Hogg County (north)
Brooks County (northeast)
Hidalgo County (east)
Zapata County (northwest)
Camargo Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico (northwest)
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
Mier Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
Miguel Alemán Municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)

=National protected area=

Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1860= 2406

|1870= 4154

|1880= 8304

|1890= 10749

|1900= 11469

|1910= 13151

|1920= 11089

|1930= 11409

|1940= 13312

|1950= 13948

|1960= 17137

|1970= 17707

|1980= 27266

|1990= 40518

|2000= 53597

|2010= 60968

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1850–2010{{cite web|url=http://texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf|title=Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010|publisher=Texas Almanac|access-date=May 10, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226003918/http://www.texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/topics/ctypophistweb2010.pdf|archive-date=February 26, 2015}} 2010–2014{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48427.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 24, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018035046/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48427.html|archive-date=October 18, 2011}}

|2020=65920}}

=2020 census=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Starr County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
{{nobold|Note: the US 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{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Starr County, Texas |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=050XX00US48427&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 26, 2024}}

!Pop 2010{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Starr County, Texas |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US48427&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 26, 2024}}

!{{partial|Pop 2020}}{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Starr County, Texas |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US48427&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 26, 2024}}

!% 2000

!% 2010

!{{partial|% 2020}}

White alone (NH)

|1,082

|2,449

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,171

|2.02%

|4.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.78%

Black or African American alone (NH)

|15

|style='background: #ffffe6; |31

|0.01%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%

Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|27

|17

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8

|0.05%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

Asian alone (NH)

|141

|119

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100

|0.26%

|0.20%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.15%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|15

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.03%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

Other Race alone (NH)

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |98

|0.02%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.15%

Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|37

|26

|style='background: #ffffe6; |119

|0.07%

|0.04%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.18%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|52,278

|58,337

|style='background: #ffffe6; |64,393

|97.54%

|95.68%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |97.68%

Total

|53,597

|60,968

|style='background: #ffffe6; |65,920

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, 65,920 people, 16,281 households, and 12,836 families were residing in the county. As of the 2010 United States census, 60,968 people 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). According to the Census Bureau, Starr County had the highest percentage of Hispanic residents of any county in the United States,{{Cite news|last=Villarreal|first=Alexandra|date=July 10, 2020|title=Texas border county had 'model' Covid-19 response – then the governor stepped in|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/10/texas-starr-county-covid-19-model-greg-abbott|access-date=July 10, 2020|issn=0261-3077}} and the lowest percentage of non-Hispanic White residents.Census Bureau data, cited in "Minorities now in the majority in nearly 10% of U.S. counties", Associated Press August 8, 2007, Lexington Herald-Leader p A8

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}} of 2000, 53,597 people, 14,410 households, and 12,666 families were living in the county. The population density was {{convert|44|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|}}. The 17,589 housing units had an average density of {{convert|14|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. 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.

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."{{cite web|last=Herrera|first=Jack|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/democrats-losing-texas-latinos-trump/|title=Why Democrats Are Losing Texas Latinos |magazine=Texas Monthly|date=October 2021|access-date=2024-11-26|quote=[...]and the county had shifted more dramatically toward Trump than any other in America.}}

Economy

Starr County is especially known for oilseeds and dry beans, one of the highest-producing counties in the state.{{cite web |date=2017 |title=2017 Census - Volume 1, Chapter 1: State Level Data |url=https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Texas/ |access-date=July 29, 2022 |website=United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS) |issue=Part A}}{{rp|page=431}}

Education

Residents of eastern Starr County are zoned to schools in the Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District. Residents of western Starr County are zoned to schools in the Roma Independent School District. Residents of northeastern Starr County are zoned to schools in the San Isidro Independent School District.{{cite web |title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Starr County, TX |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48427_starr/DC20SD_C48427.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48427_starr/DC20SD_C48427.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |accessdate=June 29, 2022 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st48_tx/schooldistrict_maps/c48427_starr/DC20SD_C48427_SD2MS.txt list]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville operates area Catholic schools. [http://www.icsrio.org 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.[https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.130.htm Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.199. SOUTH TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.].

Government and politics

=Law enforcement=

In the 1970s and into the 1980s, federal law-enforcement officials concentrated their efforts against drug smuggling on Starr County.Miller, Tom. On the Border: Portraits of America’s Southwestern Frontier, pp. 27-34.

On May 1, 2009, the former sheriff of Starr County, Reymundo Guerra, a Democrat, pleaded guilty in federal court to a narcotics conspiracy charge.{{cite web|url=http://www.poligazette.com/2009/05/22/a-counterintelligence-approach-to-controlling-cartel-corruption/|title=A Counterintelligence Approach To Controlling Cartel Corruption|website=www.poligazette.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20090526234904/http://www.poligazette.com/2009/05/22/a-counterintelligence-approach-to-controlling-cartel-corruption/|archive-date=May 26, 2009}}

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.Aaron Nelsen, "Star County JP faces jail for bribery", San Antonio Express-News, April 16, 2016, p. A7

= 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.{{Cite web |title=Donald Trump Flips Most Hispanic County in America |website=Newsweek |date=November 6, 2024 |url=https://www.newsweek.com/starr-county-texas-most-hispanic-county-donald-trump-1981230}} Starr had the longest streak of voting for Democrats in the entire country.{{Cite web |last=Meurer |first=Avery |date=2024-11-06 |title=Starr County flips red for the first time in over 100 years |url=https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2024/11/06/starr-county-flips-red-for-the-first-time-in-over-100-years/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=KSAT |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-11-06 |title=Trump wins South Texas county that Democrats have won since 1896 |url=https://www.kcbd.com/2024/11/06/trump-first-republican-win-starr-county-since-1896/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website= |language=en}} Its streak was triple the length of Minnesota's Democratic streak, which began in 1976.{{cite web|url=http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1892.htm|title=Presidential election of 1892 - Map by counties|website=geoelections.free.fr|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060307043020/http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1892.htm|archive-date=March 7, 2006}} In 1988, the county gave Michael Dukakis his highest vote share in the nation, as well as Bill Clinton in 1996.{{cite web|url=http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1988&f=1&off=0&elect=0|title=David Leip's Presidential Atlas (1988 election statistics)|website=uselectionatlas.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081126011121/http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1988&f=1&off=0&elect=0|archive-date=November 26, 2008}}

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).{{cite web |title=Texas Election Night Results |url=https://results.texas-election.com/contestdetails?officeID=1001&officeName=PRESIDENT%2FVICE-PRESIDENT&officeType=FEDERAL%20OFFICES&from=race |website=Texas Election Results |publisher=Texas Secretary of State |access-date=November 7, 2020}}{{cite web |title=President Donald J. Trump nearly wins Starr County |url=https://www.krgv.com/news/president-donald-j-trump-nearly-wins-starr-county/ |website=KRGV.com |publisher=Mobile Video Tapes, Inc. |access-date=November 7, 2020}} 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.

In 2024, Trump received a majority of the votes in Starr County. Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz also concurrently won Starr County in the concurrent U.S. Senate election.{{cite web|last1=Lathan|first1=Nadia|last2=Gonzalez|first2=Valerie|url=https://apnews.com/article/texas-election-border-house-trump-7b3c5adae15344dcb54f36e25890d1e2|title=A Texas border county backed Democrats for generations. Trump won it decisively|work=Associated Press News|date=2024-11-08|access-date=2024-11-26}} 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 since 2012, having done so by 89 percentage points as of 2024.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/25/us/politics/trump-politics-democrats.html|title=How Donald Trump Has Remade America's Political Landscape|publisher=The New York Times|date=May 25, 2025|accessdate=May 29, 2025|last=Goldmacher|first=Shane|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250527155827/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/25/us/politics/trump-politics-democrats.html|archive-date=May 27, 2025}}

{{PresHead|place=Starr County, Texas|source={{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323225526/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|archive-date=March 23, 2018}}}}

{{U.S. SenHead|place=Starr County, Texas|Seat=1|source={{cite news |title=2024 Senate Election (Official Returns) |website=Commonwealth of Texas by county |date=November 5, 2024 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/texas-senate-results}}}}

Communities

As of 2011, Starr County had approximately 55 colonias. By that year, many families were moving to the colonias.

Between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, Starr County went through many changes. Four CDPs were deleted, one gained area, 12 lost area, and 92 new CDPs were created. Only 11 remained unchanged.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-45.pdf|title=Population and Housing Unit Counts, 2010 Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Texas: 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213215724/http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-45.pdf|archive-date=February 13, 2017}}

=Cities=

=Unincorporated communities=

=Former communities=

Viboras

=Census-designated places=

=Former census-designated places=

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20061005093144/http://www.co.starr.tx.us/ips/cms Starr County Government]
[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcs13 Starr County in Handbook of Texas Online] at the University of Texas
[http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48427 Starr County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties]

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Starr County, Texas

|North = Jim Hogg County

|Northeast = Brooks County

|East = Hidalgo County

|Southeast =

|South = Gustavo Díaz Ordaz and Camargo Municipalities, Tamaulipas {{flagicon|Mexico}}

|Southwest = Miguel Alemán, Mier, and Guerrero Municipalities, Tamaulipas {{flagicon|Mexico}}

|West = Zapata County

|Northwest =

}}

{{coord|26.57|-98.73|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990}}