{"id":7842,"date":"2023-09-12T14:36:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T14:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7842"},"modified":"2026-08-07T10:28:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:28:34","slug":"cameron-county-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/cameron-county-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Cameron County, Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cameron County is a county in Texas, United States, at the state&#8217;s southern tip along the<br \/>\nGulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande border with Mexico. It had a population of 421,017 at the 2020<br \/>\ncensus, an estimated 433,946 by 2024, and covers 1,276 square miles (3,300 km2) centred near<br \/>\n26&#176;09&#8242;N 97&#176;27&#8242;W.<\/p>\n<p>Brownsville is the county seat and its largest city; its postal code is 78520. The county holds<br \/>\n9 incorporated cities, 9 incorporated towns, 34 census-designated places and roughly 200 further<br \/>\ncolonias and rural subdivisions, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 48061.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Cameron County<\/h2>\n<p>Cameron County has 18 incorporated cities and towns, plus 34 census-designated places (CDPs)<br \/>\nand close to 200 smaller colonias and platted subdivisions recorded by the Census Bureau &mdash;<br \/>\nsmall, often self-built settlements without formal city government, common along the Rio Grande<br \/>\nborder. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers a platted subdivision or colonia<br \/>\nwith no local government of its own.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Brownsville<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>186,738<\/td>\n<td>78520<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Harlingen<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>71,829<\/td>\n<td>78550<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>San Benito<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>24,861<\/td>\n<td>78586<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Los Fresnos<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>8,114<\/td>\n<td>78566<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>La Feria<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>6,817<\/td>\n<td>78559<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Port Isabel<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>5,028<\/td>\n<td>78578<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rio Hondo<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>2,021<\/td>\n<td>78583<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Palm Valley<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>1,413<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Starbase<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>500<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Primera<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>5,257<\/td>\n<td>78550<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Combes<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>2,999<\/td>\n<td>78535<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rancho Viejo<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>2,838<\/td>\n<td>78575<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>South Padre Island<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>2,066<\/td>\n<td>78597<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Santa Rosa<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>2,450<\/td>\n<td>78593<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Laguna Vista<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>3,520<\/td>\n<td>78578<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Los Indios<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>1,008<\/td>\n<td>78567<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Indian Lake<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>839<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bayview<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>475<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Cameron County&#8217;s five largest census-designated places, all unincorporated, are Cameron<br \/>\nPark (6,099), Olmito (1,021), Laguna Heights (962), Arroyo Colorado Estates (833) and Villa Pancho<br \/>\n(467) &mdash; all at the 2020 census. The other 29 CDPs and the nearly 200 remaining colonias and<br \/>\nrural subdivisions on the Census Bureau&#8217;s list are too small individually for a reliably<br \/>\nsourced 2020 count and are not ranked here. The county&#8217;s old settlement list, scraped years<br \/>\nago, repeated several names outright &mdash; Arroyo City and Combes each appeared twice under<br \/>\nslightly different colonia labels for the same place &mdash; and mixed unverified colonia names<br \/>\nin with real incorporated towns; those duplicates and unverifiable entries have been dropped from<br \/>\nthis page.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>78520 &mdash; Brownsville (also 78521&ndash;78523 and 78526, covering the rest of the city)<\/li>\n<li>78550 &mdash; Harlingen (also serves Primera)<\/li>\n<li>78586 &mdash; San Benito<\/li>\n<li>78566 &mdash; Los Fresnos<\/li>\n<li>78559 &mdash; La Feria<\/li>\n<li>78578 &mdash; Port Isabel (also serves Laguna Vista)<\/li>\n<li>78583 &mdash; Rio Hondo<\/li>\n<li>78535 &mdash; Combes<\/li>\n<li>78575 &mdash; Rancho Viejo<\/li>\n<li>78597 &mdash; South Padre Island<\/li>\n<li>78593 &mdash; Santa Rosa<\/li>\n<li>78567 &mdash; Los Indios<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Palm Valley, Starbase, Indian Lake, Bayview and the county&#8217;s CDPs have no ZIP code of<br \/>\ntheir own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated city or town&#8217;s code.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Cameron County sits on the flat, low-lying delta where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf of Mexico,<br \/>\nTexas&#8217;s southernmost county. Of its 1,276 square miles, 891 (2,310 km2) are land and 386<br \/>\n(1,000 km2), about 30 percent, are water &mdash; the Laguna Madre, the Rio Grande itself, and a<br \/>\nnetwork of resacas, the old oxbow channels the river left behind as it shifted course over<br \/>\ncenturies. South Padre Island, a barrier island on the county&#8217;s Gulf side, separates the<br \/>\nLaguna Madre from the open Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>Willacy County borders Cameron to the north, Hidalgo County lies to the west, the Gulf of<br \/>\nMexico forms the eastern edge, and the Rio Grande marks the entire southern border with the<br \/>\nMexican border state Tamaulipas and the city of Matamoros. <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/willacy-county\/\">Willacy County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hidalgo-county-texas\/\">Hidalgo County<\/a> both border Cameron<br \/>\ndirectly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Cameron County had a population of 421,017 at the 2020 census, and the latest Census Bureau<br \/>\nestimate puts the county near 433,946 residents by 2024. Brownsville and Harlingen are by far the<br \/>\ntwo largest communities, together holding well over half the county&#8217;s population. Median<br \/>\nhousehold income runs $52,601, well below Texas&#8217;s statewide figure of $75,780 and the<br \/>\ncounty has long ranked among the poorest urban counties in the United States. Population density<br \/>\nworks out to roughly 473 people per square mile of land.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Health care and social assistance is the county&#8217;s largest employment sector at 32,013<br \/>\nworkers, followed by educational services at 21,728 and retail trade at 19,367. Brownsville hosts<br \/>\nthe Port of Brownsville, a deepwater seaport handling international trade with Mexico and Latin<br \/>\nAmerica, and a campus of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. At Boca Chica, on the<br \/>\ncounty&#8217;s Gulf coast southeast of Brownsville, SpaceX operates the Starbase rocket-testing<br \/>\nand launch facility, which incorporated as its own city of Starbase in May 2025. South Padre<br \/>\nIsland drives a separate tourism economy built on Gulf beaches, sport fishing and spring-break<br \/>\nvisitors. The county&#8217;s biggest annual event is Charro Days in Brownsville each February, a<br \/>\nbinational festival with Matamoros marking the two cities&#8217; shared heritage with parades,<br \/>\ncostumes and street fairs.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The Texas Legislature created Cameron County in 1848, shortly after the Mexican-American War,<br \/>\nnaming it for Ewen Cameron, a Scottish-born captain in the Texas Revolution who was executed<br \/>\nafter the failed 1842 Mier Expedition. Fort Brown, a US Army post established on the Rio Grande in<br \/>\n1846, gave Brownsville its start and its name, honoring the fort&#8217;s first commander, Major<br \/>\nJacob Brown. The Battle of Palo Alto, fought on 8 May 1846 about five miles north of present-day<br \/>\nBrownsville, was the first major battle of the Mexican-American War and opened the conflict that<br \/>\nredrew the US-Mexico border along the Rio Grande. Fort Brown itself remained an active Army post<br \/>\ninto World War II, anchoring Brownsville&#8217;s early growth as a river and border town.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>Interstate 2 and Interstate 69E\/US 77 run the length of the county through Harlingen and<br \/>\nBrownsville. US 83 and US 281 also cross the county, along with Texas state highways 4, 48, 100 and 107.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>McAllen &mdash; about 45 miles northwest<\/li>\n<li>Corpus Christi &mdash; about 140 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Matamoros, Mexico &mdash; directly across the Rio Grande from Brownsville<\/li>\n<li>Padre Island National Seashore &mdash; about 100 miles north along the coast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport and Valley International Airport in<br \/>\nHarlingen both offer commercial service. Amtrak does not reach the Rio Grande Valley; the nearest<br \/>\nstation is in San Antonio, roughly 240 miles northwest.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Cameron County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits at the southern tip of Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico, bordered by Willacy and Hidalgo<br \/>\ncounties and by Mexico across the Rio Grande.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Cameron County?<\/strong><br \/>\n421,017 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 433,946 by 2024.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Cameron County?<\/strong><br \/>\n1,276 square miles (3,300 km2), of which 891 square miles are land and 386 square miles are<br \/>\nwater.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Cameron County?<\/strong><br \/>\nBrownsville is the county seat and largest city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and cities are in Cameron County?<\/strong><br \/>\nNine incorporated cities and nine incorporated towns, plus 34 census-designated places and close<br \/>\nto 200 unincorporated colonias and rural subdivisions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Cameron County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n78520 and 78526 for Brownsville, 78550 for Harlingen and Primera, 78586 for San Benito, 78566 for<br \/>\nLos Fresnos, 78559 for La Feria, 78578 for Port Isabel and Laguna Vista, 78583 for Rio Hondo,<br \/>\n78535 for Combes, 78575 for Rancho Viejo, 78597 for South Padre Island, 78593 for Santa Rosa and<br \/>\n78567 for Los Indios.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Cameron County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nSpaceX&#8217;s Starbase launch site at Boca Chica, South Padre Island&#8217;s Gulf beaches, and<br \/>\nBrownsville&#8217;s Charro Days festival with Matamoros each February.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/texas\/\">Towns and villages in Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cameron County is a county in Texas, United States, at the state&#8217;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&#176;09&#8242;N 97&#176;27&#8242;W. Brownsville is the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Cameron County, Texas","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 18 incorporated cities and towns in Cameron County, Texas, plus ZIP codes, top census-designated places and Starbase\/Charro Days history.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-7842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-texas","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7842"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9299,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7842\/revisions\/9299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}