STARR County, TX

Starr County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 65,920. Its county seat is Rio Grande City. The county was created in 1848. 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, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included other small cities as well, which itself is part of the larger Rio Grande Valley region. It is directly northeast of the Mexican border.

The county is almost universally Hispanic. With 97.7% of its population identifying as such, it is the county with the highest proportion of Hispanics in the continental United States.

History

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

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties and municipalities

National protected area

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 60,968 people living in the county. 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, and the lowest percentage of non-Hispanic white residents.

As of the census of 2000, there were 53,597 people, 14,410 households, and 12,666 families living in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile (17/km²). There were 17,589 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.92% White, 0.15% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 9.91% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races.

There were 14,410 households, out of which 54.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.50% were married couples living together, 17.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.10% were non-families. 11.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.69 and the average family size was 4.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 37.40% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 16.30% from 45 to 64, and 8.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $16,504, and the median income 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.

Politics

Law enforcement

In the 1970s and into the 1980s, federal law enforcement officials concentrated their anti-drug smuggling efforts on Starr County.

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

In April 2016, Starr County Justice of the Peace Salvador Zarate Jr., faced up to twenty 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 is expected to appeal any sentence rendered.

Presidential elections

Starr County has long been a strongly Democratic county but has suffered from low voter turnout with only approximately twenty percent of its 53,000 residents voting. No Republican has won the county for president since incumbent Benjamin Harrison in 1892 – as of 2020 Starr has the longest streak of voting for Democrats in the entire country. Its streak is currently almost triple the length of Minnesota's Democratic streak, which began in 1976, as of 2020. In 1988, the county gave Michael Dukakis his highest vote share in the nation. In 2008, Illinois Senator Barack H. Obama won Starr County with 8,233 votes (84 percent). In the most recent election, Donald Trump came within five points of winning the county, receiving 8,224 votes (47 percent) to Joe Biden's 9,099 (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.

Education

Residents of eastern Starr County are zoned to schools in the Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District. [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.

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.

South Texas College

Founded in 1993, South Texas College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate and associate degrees. More than 29,000 students attend STC and a faculty and staff of more than 1,600 serve STC's five campuses, including a full-service campus located in Rio Grande City in Starr County. The county holds one seat on the college's seven member Board of Directors. The seat is currently filled by Rose Benavidez.

The college offers more than 100 degree and certificate program options, including associate degrees in a variety of art, science, technology, allied health and advanced manufacturing fields of study. The college also offers eight online associate degrees options.

STC offers a Bachelor of Applied Technology (BAT) degree in Technology Management, as well as a Bachelor of Applied Technology in Computer and Information Technologies. The college is one of only three Texas community colleges accredited to offer a BAT degree and the only community college in Texas accredited to offer two bachelor's degrees.

STC has instituted a variety of dual enrollment programs, including early college high schools, drop-out recovery programs and other unique initiatives with high schools throughout Hidalgo and Starr counties. The programs allow eligible students to take college courses while attending high school. Combined, more than 8,000 students are currently enrolled in these programs.

The college has also developed two intensive academic programs for students interested in pursuing degrees in the medical and engineering fields. The Dual Enrollment Medical Science Academy and the Dual Enrollment Engineering Academy consist of concentrated two-year programs of study and internship opportunities for qualified students to pursue an Associate of Science degree during their junior and senior years in high school.

The program provides opportunities for lifelong learners who want to upgrade their skills, change careers, renew licenses and certifications, or seek personal enrichment.

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

Communities

As of 2011 Starr County has about 55 colonias. By 2011 many families were moving to the colonias.

Between the 2000 and 2010 census Starr County went through many changes. Four CDPs were deleted, one gained area, twelve lost area and ninety-two new CDPs were created. Only eleven remained unchanged.

Cities

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities