About the Community

Community Profile

Harlingen is a dynamic and growing city, located at the crossroads of the booming Lower Rio Grande Valley. As the most southern point in Texas, the Valley forms the vital cultural and economic link between the US and Mexico. This two-county area, which includes Cameron and Hidalgo Counties, has seen its population increase dramatically in the last several years. From 2000 to 2004, the Valley’s population increased approximately 14 percent, double the rate for Texas, whose growth was twice that of the nation.

The principle driver for this growth is the Valley’s vibrant regional economy with strong international ties, which provides a strong draw for young workers. Once firmly established in the area, this youthful talent is often eager to start a family and build a home in the Valley. For example, not only does the Valley enjoy higher migration rates than both the state and nation, but also higher birth rates. As a result, Harlingen ---like the rest of the Valley---enjoys a significantly younger population than the rest of the country. The Valley’s population boom is expected to continue through the foreseeable future, doubling by 2025 over its 2000 population.

Further evidence for the growing number of families in Harlingen and Cameron County is dramatic rise of single family building permits. For the past three years, over 3,000 home starts were permitted, double the annual figures for the mid-1990s. Additionally, the last four years saw the number of existing homes sold in Harlingen increase 155 percent, a much larger increase than Brownsville on the southern side of the county. This strong rise indicates that Harlingen is poised to become the preferred location for new residents in Cameron County.

Labor market conditions in the Valley have improved dramatically as well. Since 2000, the Valley’s labor force increased at a rate more than double Texas’ rapid growth. More importantly, the number of employed persons living in the region has grown even faster, resulting in a remarkable decrease in the Valley’s unemployment rate. Notably, Harlingen’s unemployment rate in 2005 was lower than the Valley’s and comparable to the statewide rate.

The largest sector in Cameron County’s dynamic economy is health services, followed by government (including state, local, and federal). Other major sectors include retail trade and leisure and hospitality, bolstered by South Padre Island and among other visitor attractions. While each of these sectors grew substantially during the last five years, they also were joined by a healthy growth in professional services.

Cameron County’s economic growth has not just been a recent phenomenon. In fact, the county has outpaced both the state and nation in job growth since 1990. That gap is expected to increase further in the coming decade with continued strong growth projected in health services, leisure and hospitality, retail trade, government, and professional services.

Wages within Cameron County rose steadily over the course of the last decade. In 1990, the average wage per job was just over $15,000. By 2003, that figured topped $23,000. In fact, Cameron County’s nine percent wage growth from 2000 to 2003 exceeded both the state and the nation. The highest wages in the county are in government, information, manufacturing, transportation, and health services, which are among the fastest growing sectors in the local economy.

In 1999 (the last date for which reliable data are available), Harlingen’s median household income, $30,296, was higher that for Cameron County as a whole. Moreover, nearly a third of Harlingen’s households fell within the middle class range of $25,000 to $50,000 in 1999. Significantly, an additional third of the city’s households earned more than $50,000, and rising local wages suggest that local household incomes have risen steadily since. The rise in incomes, coupled with the Valley’s lower cost of living, suggests that area households have significant disposable income.

Retail sales figures for Harlingen and the Valley reinforce this. From 2000 to 2003, retail sales per capita in Harlingen held steady at above $8,000 per person. By comparison, per capita sales for Cameron and Hidalgo Counties was approximately half that. In essence, Harlingen enjoys the position as one of the Valley’s leading retail hubs. A recent analysis estimates Harlingen’s retail trade area to be approximately 190,000, triple the actual population of the city.

Cities located in the Valley are uniquely positioned to benefit from an even larger retail market due to its close proximity and strong historical ties to the sizeable population that lives just south of the border. In 2000, (the latest year for which data are available), the population for Mexican cities across the river totaled at least 1 million persons, making the entire Valley’s bi-national population approximately 2 million---and growing.

This large pool of Mexican consumers has been demonstrated to have a strong affect on retail spending on the American side of the border. In a recent study, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas estimated that from 1978 to 2001, over a quarter of nearby Brownsville’s retail sales could be counted as “exports” to Mexico (Harlingen was not included in this study). In addition, they estimated that approximately 35 percent of expenditures in McAllen were due to Mexican shoppers. Figures for Harlingen, located between Brownsville and McAllen, are most likely similar.

Harlingen and the Valley also offer retailers another unique consumer base. Each year, approximately 143,000 “Winter Texans” migrate to the Valley to escape the cold weather of the Midwest to enjoy the region’s warm sub-tropical climate. These visitors, however, cannot be classified as mere tourists. More appropriately, they could be called temporary residents due to their three-and-a-half month long average stay. Their direct economic impact on the region is a significant $329 million annually.

With the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement amongst the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, the Rio Grande Valley is attracting worldwide attention. Hundreds of international manufacturers are operating maquiladora or twin-plant facilities in the valley, producing goods ranging from automotive components to television sets for worldwide export markets. Because of its strategic location, Harlingen is the regional center of technology-based manufacturing and home to such world-class firms as Lockheed Martin, Gibbs Texas Die Casting, and Universal Lighting. Harlingen’s strong labor force is complemented by its ideal location, three established industrial parks, easy access to major highways, air and rail service, and inter-coastal canal, a deep water port, and a nearby international bridge providing convenient access to industrial centers in Mexico.