Hidalgo County is a county in Texas, United States, in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, on the border with Mexico. It had a population of 870,781 at the 2020 census and covers 1,583 square miles (4,100 km2) centred near 26\u00b024\u2032N 98\u00b011\u2032W.<\/p>\n
Edinburg is the county seat, and its postal code is 78539. The county contains 22 incorporated cities and towns and 35 census-designated places, is served entirely by U.S. mail delivery in the Central time zone, and has no civil townships.<\/p>\n
Hidalgo County has 22 incorporated cities and 35 census-designated places (CDPs), listed below. In addition, state and federal agencies count several hundred more “colonias” scattered across the county — informal rural subdivisions, most just a few streets of house lots, platted without water or sewer service before Texas began regulating land subdivision near the border. Hidalgo County has more of these colonias than any other Texas county. They are not incorporated or separately named on the Census Bureau’s place list, so they are not broken out as individual rows here; many of the hundreds of numbered “Colonia” names that once circulated for this county (Basham Number 1 through Number 19, Olivarez Number 1 through Number 18, and similar strings) refer to these informal subdivisions rather than distinct towns.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburg<\/td>\n | City · seat<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78539<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| McAllen<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78501<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pharr<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78577<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mission<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78572<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Weslaco<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78596<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| San Juan<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78589<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Alamo<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78516<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Donna<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78537<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mercedes<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78570<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hidalgo<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 78557<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Alton<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Palmview<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Elsa<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| La Joya<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Peñitas<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Progreso<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sullivan City<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Edcouch<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Palmhurst<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| La Villa<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Progreso Lakes<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Granjeno<\/td>\n | City<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Abram<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| César Chávez<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Citrus City<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cuevitas<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Doffing<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Doolittle<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Harding Gill Tract<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hargill<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Havana<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Heidelberg<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Indian Hills<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| La Blanca<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| La Coma Heights<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| La Homa<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Laguna Seca<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Linn<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Llano Grande<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lopezville<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Los Ebanos<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Midway North<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Midway South<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mila Doce<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Monte Alto<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Muniz<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Murillo<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| North Alamo<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Olivarez<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Palmview South<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Perezville<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Relampago<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Salida del Sol Estates<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| San Carlos<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Scissors<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| South Alamo<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Villa Verde<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| West Sharyland<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Several places straddle names with nearby Cameron and Starr county communities — Progreso and Progreso Lakes are two separate cities here, and Los Ebanos is a small river-crossing community distinct from the hand-pulled Los Ebanos Ferry landing it is named for.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nMost of the county’s CDPs and smaller cities share a ZIP code with the nearest post-office town rather than having their own; McAllen alone covers several additional ZIP codes for its larger neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nHidalgo County lies in the flat, sub-tropical delta of the lower Rio Grande, in the eastern Rio Grande Valley. The Rio Grande forms the county’s entire southern border with Tamaulipas, Mexico; the terrain is otherwise level coastal plain, historically covered in native brushland now given over almost entirely to irrigated farmland and urban development. The Llano Grande and several oxbow resacas, old river channels cut off as the Rio Grande shifted course, dot the county’s southern half.<\/p>\n Hidalgo County borders Brooks County<\/a> to the north, Kenedy County<\/a> to the northeast, Willacy County<\/a> and Cameron County<\/a> to the east, and Starr County<\/a> to the west. Across the Rio Grande to the south lie the Mexican municipalities of Reynosa, Río Bravo, Valle Hermoso, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, and Matamoros, in Tamaulipas.<\/p>\n Hidalgo County had 870,781 residents at the 2020 census, making it one of the ten most populous counties in Texas. Its two largest cities, McAllen and Edinburg, each have well over 100,000 residents and anchor the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area. The county is 91.9% Hispanic or Latino, one of the highest shares of any large county in the United States. Median household income here runs well below the Texas median of $75,780, a gap typical of Rio Grande Valley border counties. Population density is about 554 people per square mile of land area.<\/p>\n Agriculture remains a major part of the county’s economy: Hidalgo County leads Texas in vegetable and citrus production, and total farm and ranch product value reached $11.5 billion in 2020. Cross-border trade through the county’s international bridges at Hidalgo, Pharr, Progreso, and Los Ebanos supports warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing tied to Mexican maquiladoras across the river in Reynosa. Health care is a large employer, centered on hospital systems in McAllen and Edinburg, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has its main campus in Edinburg. Each winter the county’s population swells with “Winter Texans,” retirees from the northern United States and Canada who spend the cold months in Rio Grande Valley RV parks and mobile-home communities.<\/p>\n Hidalgo County was organized on January 24, 1852, carved out of Cameron County territory shortly after the Mexican-American War fixed the Rio Grande as the international boundary. It is named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the priest who led the 1810 call for Mexican independence from Spain. Large-scale irrigation and rail access after 1904 turned the county’s brushland into commercial citrus and vegetable farms, drawing settlers and, later, the informal land subdivisions known as colonias that still mark much of the unincorporated county today. Population growth accelerated sharply from the late 20th century onward as the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area became one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country.<\/p>\n Interstate 2 (the former U.S. 83 expressway) runs east-west through the county’s core, linking McAllen, Pharr, Edinburg-area exits, Weslaco, and points toward Brownsville. U.S. 281 runs north-south through Edinburg toward San Antonio, and U.S. 83 and several farm-to-market roads serve the smaller cities and colonias.<\/p>\n McAllen International Airport (MFE) is the county’s commercial airport, with direct service to several major U.S. hubs.<\/p>\n Where is Hidalgo County, Texas?<\/strong> What is the population of Hidalgo County?<\/strong> How big is Hidalgo County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Hidalgo County?<\/strong> How many towns are in Hidalgo County?<\/strong> |