Starr County, Texas Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Starr County, Texas, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Starr County, Texas. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Starr County, Texas. The estimated population of Starr County, Texas is 65,568 people, with a median age of 28.8.

We can look at the total population in Starr County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
65,568
+2.4%
+3.39%
2020
64,032
 -0.07% -
2019
64,078
+0.29%
-
2018
63,894
+0.75%
-
2017
63,420
 - -

Population of Starr County, Texas by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
3.2%
0.6%
 +433.33%
Black/African American
0%
0%
 0.00%
Native
0%
0%
 0.00%
Hispanic
96.3%
99.2%
 -2.92%
Asian
0%
0.1%
 -100.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
0.2%
0%
 0.00%
Other
0.2%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Starr County, Texas by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 28.8 -0.69% 27.4 +0.74% 29.8 -0.67%
2020 29 +0.69% 27.2 -0.73% 30 0%
2019 28.8 +0.35% 27.4 0% 30 -0.33%
2018 28.7 -0.35% 27.4 0% 30.1 -0.33%
2017 28.8 - 27.4 - 30.2 -

The median age of Starr County, Texas gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 6,071 +8.35% 5,942 -5.5% 6,590 5,614
10 to 19 5,534 -1.22% 5,660 +7.82% 5,455 6,106
20 to 29 4,890 +5.74% 4,651 +8.8% 5,176 5,070
30 to 39 3,912 +5.69% 3,800 +0.53% 4,136 3,816
40 to 49 3,442 +1.61% 4,062 -5.42% 3,488 3,843
50 to 59 2,732 +1.92% 3,088 +5.72% 2,781 3,255
60 to 69 2,117 +19.64% 2,536 +17.31% 2,536 2,990
70+ 2,117 -4.84% 2,866 -5.68% 2,008 2,704

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Starr County, Texas is $33,334.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Starr County.

  • Under 25
    $13,942.00
  • 25 to 44
    $45,674.00
  • 45 to 64
    $36,492.00
  • 65 and over
    $19,730.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Starr County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Starr County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Starr County, Texas is currently $50,334.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

2.18% of households in Starr County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Starr County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    40.70%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    25.37%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    13.43%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    7.73%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    8.30%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2.30%
  • $200,000 or more
    2.18%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Starr County is $16,137.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Starr County by the total population of Starr County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Starr County, Texas, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Starr County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    6.21%
  • Bachelor's degree
    21.39%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    13.94%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    52.31%
  • Less than high school diploma
    6.16%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Starr County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Starr County over the age of 16 is 46,421.

Of those people, a total of 58.20% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Starr County is 51.20%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 4,618 24.20% 29.40%
20 to 24 years 5,336 65.50% 21.00%
25 to 29 years 4,910 74.20% 15.70%
30 to 34 years 3,866 72.60% 7.50%
35 to 44 years 7,732 81.80% 11.10%
45 to 54 years 7,089 80.60% 6.90%
55 to 59 years 2,632 63.90% 11.20%
60 to 64 years 2,748 46.60% 8.00%
65 to 74 years 4,376 20.40% 4.30%
75 years and over 3,114 2.00% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Starr County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 32,605 60.90% 12.30%
Black or African American 44 2.30% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 50 48.00% 0.00%
Asian 5 0.00% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 2,267 58.70% 8.50%
Two or more races 11,450 50.80% 12.30%
Hispanic or Latino 44,602 58.50% 12.50%
Not Hispanic or Latino 1,525 42.50% 0.00%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Starr County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Starr County is 23,748, with median earnings of $22,539.00.

Women in Starr County, Texas earning approximately 62.20% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 23,748 $22,539.00
Male 12,544 $30,044.00
Female 11,204 $18,677.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 1,408 $36,739.00
Business and Financial 408 $41,875.00
Computer and Mathematical 57 $40,398.00
Architecture and Engineering 61 $39,375.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 171 $36,516.00
Community and Social Service 267 $36,875.00
Legal 125 $130,134.00
Educational and Library 2,270 $41,376.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 176 $27,880.00
Healthcare Practitioners 1,043 $35,046.00
Healthcare Support 2,632 $13,252.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 198 $26,324.00
Law Enforcement 184 $40,789.00
Food Preparation and Serving 1,628 $13,331.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 1,335 $11,349.00
Personal Care and Service 421 $16,657.00
Sales 2,007 $15,362.00
Office and Administrative Support 1,526 $26,229.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 249 $12,827.00
Construction and Extraction 2,890 $34,400.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 880 $32,302.00
Production 1,282 $37,105.00
Transportation and Material Moving 1,583 $35,865.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 840 $63,295.00 568 $28,421.00
Business and Financial 160 $31,304.00 248 $42,835.00
Computer and Mathematical 32 $0.00 25 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 44 $0.00 17 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 60 $0.00 111 $22,434.00
Community and Social Service 87 $49,913.00 180 $28,110.00
Legal 82 $131,250.00 43 $75,417.00
Educational and Library 340 $55,682.00 1,930 $40,138.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 118 $28,668.00 58 $17,583.00
Healthcare Practitioners 340 $33,720.00 703 $36,326.00
Healthcare Support 479 $11,290.00 2,153 $13,498.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 154 $32,143.00 44 $21,389.00
Law Enforcement 126 $40,407.00 58 $41,964.00
Food Preparation and Serving 521 $13,109.00 1,107 $13,447.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 692 $12,352.00 643 $10,746.00
Personal Care and Service 135 $28,025.00 286 $16,047.00
Sales 896 $17,421.00 1,111 $12,892.00
Office and Administrative Support 275 $26,808.00 1,251 $26,049.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 227 $13,482.00 22 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 2,871 $34,536.00 19 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 880 $32,302.00 0 $0.00
Production 1,048 $38,263.00 234 $18,813.00
Transportation and Material Moving 1,337 $39,761.00 246 $13,750.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 18,599 households in Starr County, with an average household size of 3.49 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 14,552 families in Starr County with an average family size of 4.11 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 8,589 785 5,178 4,047
Average Household Size 4.16 4.03 4.22 1.05
Total Families 8,589 785 5,178 0
Average Household Size 4.14 3.68 4.13 0

Poverty

Of the 14,552 families in Starr County, 30.10% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Starr County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 22,551 housing units in Starr County, Texas.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 18,599 82.48%
Vacant 3,952 17.52%

16.53% of the total 22,551 housing units in Starr County are rental units. This is approximately 3,727 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 13,817 are occupied by the owner - or 61.27% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Starr County is $599.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Starr County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    1,055
  • Less than $500
    1,206
  • $500 to $999
    2,237
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    284
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    0
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Starr County is $80,300.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Starr County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    3,935
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    4,573
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    2,334
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,169
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    1,198
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    499
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    76
  • $1,000,000 or more
    33

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Starr County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Starr County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    351
  • 1940 to 1949
    350
  • 1950 to 1959
    829
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,444
  • 1970 to 1979
    2,988
  • 1980 to 1989
    4,684
  • 1990 to 1999
    4,426
  • 2000 to 2009
    4,749
  • 2010 to 2013
    2,702
  • 2014 or later
    28

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Starr County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    1,996
  • 1 vehicle available
    6,303
  • 2 vehicles available
    6,210
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    4,090

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Starr County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Starr County that commute to work in a particular way.

27 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Starr County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    1,638
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    2,661
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    4,265
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    3,476
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    2,461
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    913
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    2,318
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    150
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    194
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    722
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    1,093
  • 90 or more minutes
    1,247

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Starr County, Texas in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Starr County, Texas

We have data for 117 places in Starr County, Texas. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.