About the Rio Grande Valley

Editor’s note: I think it is important to have some understanding of the area we are visiting. Thanks to Susan for putting together a folder of information for us to further our education as we go about this week. I will add more information which will hopefully put some of our experiences into context.

The Rio Grande Valley sits at the very southern tip of Texas. The Valley is bordered by the Rio Grande River. On the Texas side (north side) of the river it is called the Rio Grande. On the Mexican side (southern side) it is called the Rio Bravo River.  It is really a delta area not a valley.  The early settlers thought the term Valley would be more enticing for northern investors and tourists. The Rio Grande Valley is also called “El Valle” the Valley. Another term used by locals is the “RGV”.

There are four main counties in this area: Cameron, Willacy, Hidalgo and Starr. Cameron and Hidalgo comprise 60% of the population. Hub cities are: Brownsville, Harlingen and McAllen. The total population of the RI Grande Valley is around 1.2 million. The population made up of 89% Hispanic and the population over 55 is 78% Hispanic.

The US News and World Report, in a fairly recent study showed the #1 Metro area for Lowest Real Income in the United States was McAllen, Edinburg and Mission Metro area. Out of 10 Metro Areas with the Highest Poverty Levels #2 was McAllen, Edinburg and Mission Metro area #1 was Harlingen, Brownsville and Mission Metro area. 

www.usnews.com/news/slideshows/10-metro-areas-with-the-highest-povery-levels/10

Colonia: The word comes from Spanish for neighborhood or community. Texas has both the largest number of colonias and the largest colonia population. There are colonias in New Mexico, Arizona and California.  Approximately 400,000 Texans live in colonias. Overall, the colonia population is predominately Hispanic; 64.4 percent of all colonia residents and 85 percent of those residents under 18 were born in the United States. There are more than 2,294 Texas colonias, located primarily along the state's 1,248 miles of border with Mexico. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines a colonia as an unincorporated community located within 150 miles of the US-Mexico border with a population of less than 10,000 with low income, which lacks, safe, sanitary housing and services as potable water, adequate sewage systems, drainage, streets and utilities. It is not usually in a city’s best interest to annex these areas due to the city services required. http://www.sos.state.tx.us/border/colonias/faqs.shtml