Starr County, Texas

Starr County
County
The Starr County Courthouse in Rio Grande City
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 26°34′N 98°44′W / 26.57°N 98.73°W / 26.57; -98.73
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1848
Named for	James Harper Starr
Seat	Rio Grande City
Largest city	Rio Grande City
Government
• Sheriff	Rene "Orta" Fuentes
Area
• Total	1,229 sq mi (3,180 km2)
• Land	1,223 sq mi (3,170 km2)
• Water	88.5 sq mi (229 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	65,920
• Density	54/sq mi (21/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	28th
Website	www.co.starr.tx.us

Starr County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 65,920.^[1] Its county seat is Rio Grande City.^[2] The county was created in 1848.^[3] 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^[4] in the contiguous United States.

From 2000 to 2010, the population of Starr County increased from 53,597 to 60,968.^[5]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,229 square miles (3,180 km²), of which 5.9 square miles (15 km²) (0.5%) are covered by water.^[6]

• U.S. Highway 83

• Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)

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,^[13] and the lowest percentage of non-Hispanic White residents.^[14]

As of the census^[15] 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]

Starr County is especially known for oilseeds and dry beans, one of the highest-producing counties in the state.^[16]: 431

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.^[17]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville 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.^[18]

In the 1970s and into the 1980s, federal law-enforcement officials concentrated their efforts against drug smuggling on Starr County.^[19]

On May 1, 2009, the former sheriff of Starr County, Reymundo Guerra, a Democrat, pleaded guilty in federal court to a narcotics conspiracy charge.^[20]

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.^[21]

Starr County had long been a strongly Democratic county, but has suffered from low voter turnout with only about 20% of its 53,000 residents voting. In 2024, Donald Trump became the first Republican since 1892 to carry the county, ending over 130 years of Democratic dominance.^[22] Starr had the longest streak of voting for Democrats in the entire country.^[23][24] Its streak was triple the length of Minnesota's Democratic streak, which began in 1976.^[25] In 1988, the county gave Michael Dukakis his highest vote share in the nation.^[26] In 2008, Barack Obama won Starr County with 8,274 votes (84 percent). 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). This was a major shift from Hillary Clinton's 60-point margin of victory four years earlier, and represented the strongest pro-Trump swing of any county in the nation.^[27][28]

As of 2011, Starr County had approximately 55 colonias. By that year, many families were moving to the colonias.^[5]

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.^[30]

• Escobares
• La Grulla
• Rio Grande City (county seat)
• Roma

• La Gloria
• La Reforma
• Santa Catarina
• Santa Elena

• Viboras

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

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Starr County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Starr County

• Starr County Government
• Starr County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
• Starr County Profile from the Texas Association of Counties

26°34′N 98°44′W / 26.57°N 98.73°W / 26.57; -98.73