Cameron County, Texas

Cameron County is a county in Texas, United States, at the state’s southern tip along the
Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande border with Mexico. It had a population of 421,017 at the 2020
census, an estimated 433,946 by 2024, and covers 1,276 square miles (3,300 km2) centred near
26°09′N 97°27′W.

Brownsville is the county seat and its largest city; its postal code is 78520. The county holds
9 incorporated cities, 9 incorporated towns, 34 census-designated places and roughly 200 further
colonias and rural subdivisions, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 48061.

Towns & Villages in Cameron County

Cameron County has 18 incorporated cities and towns, plus 34 census-designated places (CDPs)
and close to 200 smaller colonias and platted subdivisions recorded by the Census Bureau —
small, often self-built settlements without formal city government, common along the Rio Grande
border. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers a platted subdivision or colonia
with no local government of its own.

Cameron County’s five largest census-designated places, all unincorporated, are Cameron
Park (6,099), Olmito (1,021), Laguna Heights (962), Arroyo Colorado Estates (833) and Villa Pancho
(467) — all at the 2020 census. The other 29 CDPs and the nearly 200 remaining colonias and
rural subdivisions on the Census Bureau’s list are too small individually for a reliably
sourced 2020 count and are not ranked here. The county’s old settlement list, scraped years
ago, repeated several names outright — Arroyo City and Combes each appeared twice under
slightly different colonia labels for the same place — and mixed unverified colonia names
in with real incorporated towns; those duplicates and unverifiable entries have been dropped from
this page.

ZIP Codes

• 78520 — Brownsville (also 78521–78523 and 78526, covering the rest of the city)
• 78550 — Harlingen (also serves Primera)
• 78586 — San Benito
• 78566 — Los Fresnos
• 78559 — La Feria
• 78578 — Port Isabel (also serves Laguna Vista)
• 78583 — Rio Hondo
• 78535 — Combes
• 78575 — Rancho Viejo
• 78597 — South Padre Island
• 78593 — Santa Rosa
• 78567 — Los Indios

Palm Valley, Starbase, Indian Lake, Bayview and the county’s CDPs have no ZIP code of
their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated city or town’s code.

Geography

Cameron County sits on the flat, low-lying delta where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf of Mexico,
Texas’s southernmost county. Of its 1,276 square miles, 891 (2,310 km2) are land and 386
(1,000 km2), about 30 percent, are water — the Laguna Madre, the Rio Grande itself, and a
network of resacas, the old oxbow channels the river left behind as it shifted course over
centuries. South Padre Island, a barrier island on the county’s Gulf side, separates the
Laguna Madre from the open Gulf of Mexico.

Willacy County borders Cameron to the north, Hidalgo County lies to the west, the Gulf of
Mexico forms the eastern edge, and the Rio Grande marks the entire southern border with the
Mexican border state Tamaulipas and the city of Matamoros. Willacy County and Hidalgo County both border Cameron
directly.

Demographics

Cameron County had a population of 421,017 at the 2020 census, and the latest Census Bureau
estimate puts the county near 433,946 residents by 2024. Brownsville and Harlingen are by far the
two largest communities, together holding well over half the county’s population. Median
household income runs $52,601, well below Texas’s statewide figure of $75,780 and the
county has long ranked among the poorest urban counties in the United States. Population density
works out to roughly 473 people per square mile of land.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector at 32,013
workers, followed by educational services at 21,728 and retail trade at 19,367. Brownsville hosts
the Port of Brownsville, a deepwater seaport handling international trade with Mexico and Latin
America, and a campus of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. At Boca Chica, on the
county’s Gulf coast southeast of Brownsville, SpaceX operates the Starbase rocket-testing
and launch facility, which incorporated as its own city of Starbase in May 2025. South Padre
Island drives a separate tourism economy built on Gulf beaches, sport fishing and spring-break
visitors. The county’s biggest annual event is Charro Days in Brownsville each February, a
binational festival with Matamoros marking the two cities’ shared heritage with parades,
costumes and street fairs.

History

The Texas Legislature created Cameron County in 1848, shortly after the Mexican-American War,
naming it for Ewen Cameron, a Scottish-born captain in the Texas Revolution who was executed
after the failed 1842 Mier Expedition. Fort Brown, a US Army post established on the Rio Grande in
1846, gave Brownsville its start and its name, honoring the fort’s first commander, Major
Jacob Brown. The Battle of Palo Alto, fought on 8 May 1846 about five miles north of present-day
Brownsville, was the first major battle of the Mexican-American War and opened the conflict that
redrew the US-Mexico border along the Rio Grande. Fort Brown itself remained an active Army post
into World War II, anchoring Brownsville’s early growth as a river and border town.

Getting There

Interstate 2 and Interstate 69E/US 77 run the length of the county through Harlingen and
Brownsville. US 83 and US 281 also cross the county, along with Texas state highways 4, 48, 100 and 107.

• McAllen — about 45 miles northwest
• Corpus Christi — about 140 miles north
• Matamoros, Mexico — directly across the Rio Grande from Brownsville
• Padre Island National Seashore — about 100 miles north along the coast

Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport and Valley International Airport in
Harlingen both offer commercial service. Amtrak does not reach the Rio Grande Valley; the nearest
station is in San Antonio, roughly 240 miles northwest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Cameron County located?
It sits at the southern tip of Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico, bordered by Willacy and Hidalgo
counties and by Mexico across the Rio Grande.

What is the population of Cameron County?
421,017 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 433,946 by 2024.

How big is Cameron County?
1,276 square miles (3,300 km2), of which 891 square miles are land and 386 square miles are
water.

What is the county seat of Cameron County?
Brownsville is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Cameron County?
Nine incorporated cities and nine incorporated towns, plus 34 census-designated places and close
to 200 unincorporated colonias and rural subdivisions.

What ZIP codes does Cameron County use?
78520 and 78526 for Brownsville, 78550 for Harlingen and Primera, 78586 for San Benito, 78566 for
Los Fresnos, 78559 for La Feria, 78578 for Port Isabel and Laguna Vista, 78583 for Rio Hondo,
78535 for Combes, 78575 for Rancho Viejo, 78597 for South Padre Island, 78593 for Santa Rosa and
78567 for Los Indios.

What is Cameron County known for?
SpaceX’s Starbase launch site at Boca Chica, South Padre Island’s Gulf beaches, and
Brownsville’s Charro Days festival with Matamoros each February.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Texas.