914,820 people (2024 Census estimate, +4.8% since 2020)
1,571 square miles of land · 582 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
25 active community water systems list Hidalgo County in the area they serve, reporting 878,105 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| NORTH ALAMO WSC surface water · local government · TX1080029 | 171,195 served |
| MCALLEN PUBLIC UTILITY surface water · local government · TX1080006 | 145,050 served |
| CITY OF EDINBURG surface water · local government · TX1080004 | 85,224 served |
| CITY OF PHARR surface water · local government · TX1080009 | 79,715 served |
| CITY OF MISSION surface water · local government · TX1080008 | 77,058 served |
| SHARYLAND WSC surface water · local government · TX1080033 | 68,562 served |
| AGUA SUD surface water · local government · TX1080022 | 53,796 served |
| CITY OF WESLACO surface water · local government · TX1080011 | 40,033 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 1,146 people were held in Hidalgo County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 1,182.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
16 school districts have their office in Hidalgo County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $510.3 million — $445.2 million to run schools, about $13,129 per student, plus $56.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $106.7 million local (mostly property tax), $250.3 million state, $147.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $123 million.
Spent $484.4 million — $432.4 million to run schools, about $14,411 per student, plus $39 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $87.7 million local (mostly property tax), $274.1 million state, $122.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $261.2 million.
Spent $400 million — $361.9 million to run schools, about $14,592 per student, plus $19.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $49.2 million local (mostly property tax), $238 million state, $146.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $199.5 million.
Spent $318.2 million — $273.5 million to run schools, about $13,409 per student, plus $38.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $110.2 million local (mostly property tax), $121.6 million state, $77.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $84.4 million.
Spent $216.3 million — $207.1 million to run schools, about $12,558 per student, plus $3.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $34.1 million local (mostly property tax), $130.1 million state, $67.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $54.1 million.
Spent $216.9 million — $202.4 million to run schools, about $13,955 per student, plus $8.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $39.6 million local (mostly property tax), $120.6 million state, $66.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $102 million.
Spent $233.7 million — $200.1 million to run schools, about $15,197 per student, plus $28 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $26.7 million local (mostly property tax), $127.6 million state, $87.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $52.6 million.
Spent $126.9 million — $114.6 million to run schools, about $11,777 per student, plus $7.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $51 million local (mostly property tax), $56.2 million state, $20.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $84.5 million.
And 8 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Hidalgo County about $309.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
421 bridges in Hidalgo County: 211 in good condition, 206 fair, and 4 poor (1.0%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| S VETERANS BLVD over S FLOODWATER CHANNEL · built 1975 | 3,813 vehicles a day |
| TOWER ROAD over S FLOODWATER CHANNEL · built 1950 | 400 vehicles a day |
| MILE 1 WEST ROAD over MAIN SUPPLY CANAL · built 1965 | 123 vehicles a day |
| MILE 17-1/2 N RD over DRAINAGE DITCH · built 1948 | 16 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $179.7 million of work in Hidalgo County in fiscal 2025, about $206 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-19 to 2026-10-30. Mail ballot application must be received: 2026-10-23. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Texas Secretary of State, Sept. 28, 2026 · VoteTexas.gov — early voting · VoteTexas.gov
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Hidalgo County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Hidalgo County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Texas: the state government and every county in Texas.
Nearby counties: Starr County (36 mi) · Willacy County (37 mi) · Brooks County (44 mi) · Cameron County (48 mi) · Kenedy County (50 mi) · Jim Hogg County (57 mi).