Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety55#7,084/15,637
Economy1#15,461/15,631
Housing36#9,635/14,977
Health34#10,341/15,609
Healthcare0#15,643/15,650
Environment9#13,986/15,453
Education32#10,568/15,649
Infrastructure10#14,121/15,650
Community0#15,637/15,651
Leisure & amenities4#14,965/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Rio Grande City, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Starr County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Injury deaths · low40 /100k
99/100Texas 69 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStarr County value
Drug overdose deaths · low4.5 /100k
96/100Texas 13.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataStarr County value
Job growth · high3.1%
94/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataStarr County value
Suicide rate · low8.4 /100k
91/100Texas 14.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataStarr County value
Math scores · high3.34
86/100Texas 3.15United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStarr County value
Average commute time · low19.3 min
83/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Hot days · high192 days
0/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationStarr County value
Mammography screening · low18.0%
0/100Texas 42.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStarr County value
Food environment index · low3.2
0/100Texas 5.7United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStarr County value
Physical inactivity · high47.2%
0/100Texas 29.6%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high32.7%
1/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Social associations · low2.0 /10k
1/100Texas 7.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStarr County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
14,408 (2015-2019) → 15,396 (2020-2024)
+6.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
59.5% (2015-2019) → 85.3% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
58.3% (2015-2019) → 69.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
14.9% (2015-2019) → 6.8% (2020-2024)
−8 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
60.7% (2015-2019) → 53.0% (2020-2024)
−7.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$33,084 (2015-2019) → $44,577 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Rio Grande City, Texas improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Unemployment−8 points14.9% → 6.8%
High school++11 points58.3% → 69.5%
Broadband+26 points59.5% → 85.3%
Household income+35%$33,084 → $44,577

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Rio Grande City, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.5 min2015-2019	19.3 min2020-2024	−2.2 min	Within the margin of error	72%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.9%2015-2019	18.8%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Broadband subscriptions	59.5%2015-2019	85.3%2020-2024	+26 points	Improved	96%
Child poverty rate	40.5%2015-2019	38.9%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Effective property tax rate	1.62%2015-2019	1.51%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	39%
High school diploma or higher	58.3%2015-2019	69.5%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	97%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	57%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5472015-2019	0.4892020-2024	−0.059	Within the margin of error	87%
Median household income	$33,0842015-2019	$44,5772020-2024	+35%	Improved	65%
Poverty rate	34.1%2015-2019	30.8%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	35.8%2015-2019	31.5%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Rent-burdened households	60.7%2015-2019	53.0%2020-2024	−7.7 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Unemployment rate	14.9%2015-2019	6.8%2020-2024	−8 points	Improved	99%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	39.5%2015-2019	32.7%2020-2024	−6.7 points	Within the margin of error	91%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Rio Grande City, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Rio Grande City, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Rio Grande City, Texas itself moved +9.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

15,396 residents (±33)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 60–69 women (−2.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

15,396 residents (±33)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

White3.0%†457
Black0.4%†64
Hispanic or Latino96%14,778

Education

8,998 residents (±665)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

No high school diploma31%2,745
High school or GED26%2,335
Some college20%1,802

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,525 households (±321)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k32%1,463
$25k–50k24%1,097
$50k–75k14%†616
$75k–100k7.5%†339
$100k–150k16%†735
$150k–200k3.6%†165
$200k or more2.4%†110

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (+12.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,525 households (±321)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

Own69%3,140
Rent31%1,385

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

1,147 households (±264)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

Under $75046%†533
$750–1,00039%†442
$1,000–1,50014%†164

Home values

3,140 homes (±343)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

Under $150k63%1,963
$150k–250k26%†803
$250k–400k9.4%†295

Age of homes

5,168 homes (±330)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

2010 or later19%977
2000–200918%916
1980–199939%2,020

Size of homes

5,168 homes (±330)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

Studio2.8%†144
1 bedroom9.3%†481
2 bedrooms27%1,373

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

5,706 workers (±470)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone80%4,547
Carpool11%†619
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.1%†62
Bike0.0%0
Work from home7.3%†416
Other1.1%†62

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (+17.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

5,290 workers (±515)

Rio Grande City, Texas
Texas share

Under 15 min47%2,509
15–29 min34%1,801
30–44 min4.0%†213

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Rio Grande City-Roma, TX

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Starr County, the county holding most of Rio Grande City's residents.

Starr County has 594 employer establishments, 89.9 for every 10,000 residents (0.36× the US rate of 248; 0.41× Texas's), with 8,704 paid employees at an average annual pay of $26,981. The Census Bureau also counts 9,522 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 594; 9,522 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 89.9; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 8,704
Average annual pay: $26,981; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Starr County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	71	10.7	0.52×Fewer than typical	869	$36,116	332
Restaurants and other eating places	58	8.8	0.48×Fewer than typical	1,053	$15,519	166
Limited-service restaurants	37	5.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	819	$15,560	23
Individual and family services	25	3.8	1.35×More than typical	2,752	$14,976	43
Grocery and convenience stores	22	3.3	1.12×About typical	576	$29,905	78
Offices of physicians	21	3.2	0.49×Fewer than typical	185	$64,476	27
Offices of other health practitioners	20	3	0.50×Fewer than typical	125	$34,456	104
General merchandise stores	19	2.9	1.63×More than typical	379	$30,559	43
Full-service restaurants	18	2.7	0.35×Fewer than typical	220	$15,986	74
Gasoline stations	17	2.6	0.79×Fewer than typical	166	$21,687	3
Insurance agencies and brokerages	17	2.6	0.59×Fewer than typical	70	$31,357	117
Health and personal care stores	16	2.4	0.91×About typical	143	$37,294	48

Rank places for an industry Open Starr County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 66,062 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $37.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Rio Grande City, Texas: $2,440 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $37.6M; +1,514% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,440; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Customs and Border Protection$37.6M100.0%
Department of the Army$1,9480.0%
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service$2180.0%

Top recipients

SPENCER CONSTRUCTION LLC$33.3M89%
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL CORPORATION$3.2M8.4%
SLSCO, LTD.$730.4K1.9%
GULF SOUTH RESEARCH CORP$88.7K0.2%
SUNDANCE CONSULTANTS, LLC$80.2K0.2%

Spending by fiscal year

122.9KFY2017
21.1KFY2018
7.3MFY2019
6.6MFY2020
98.5KFY2021
-2.7MFY2022
2.4MFY2023
826.4KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$37.2M99%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$169K0.4%
Individual and family services · 6241$79.9K0.2%
Facilities support services · 5612$72.6K0.2%
Special food services · 7223$26.1K0.1%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$1,999

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Rio Grande City, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Rio Grande City, Texas's figures are part of those of Starr County, TX ($2.5B in FY2026), never added to them: 1.5% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Rio Grande City is mostly in Starr County.

See federal money in Starr County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Rio Grande City, Texas is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Henry CuellarD-TX-28 · 100% of residentsWith party 65%Missed 1.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Starr County2100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Rio Grande City-Roma, TX1

Other cities and towns in Starr County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4862168

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends