13,819 people (2024 Census estimate, −0.4% since 2020)
998 square miles of land · 14 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.
4 active community water systems list Zapata County in the area they serve, reporting 17,126 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ZAPATA COUNTY WATERWORKS SWTP surface water · local government · TX2530002 | 13,736 served |
| SIESTA SHORES WCID surface water · local government · TX2530004 | 1,893 served |
| ZAPATA COUNTY SAN YGNACIO AND RAMIRENO surface water · local government · TX2530003 | 1,254 served |
| ZAPATA COUNTY WCID HWY 16 EAST buys surface water · local government · TX2530023 | 243 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 188 people were held in Zapata County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 136.
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.
1 school district has its office in Zapata County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $59.4 million — $45.9 million to run schools, about $13,602 per student, plus $12.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $15.3 million local (mostly property tax), $23.5 million state, $20.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $20.3 million.
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: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Zapata County about $5.5 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.
36 bridges in Zapata County: 24 in good condition, 12 fair, and 0 poor (0.0%). “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.
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $1.7 million of work in Zapata County in fiscal 2025, about $120 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 Zapata 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 Zapata County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Texas: the state government and every county in Texas.
Nearby counties: Jim Hogg County (27 mi) · Starr County (42 mi) · Webb County (54 mi) · Brooks County (60 mi) · Duval County (63 mi) · Hidalgo County (74 mi).