According to theUnited States Census Bureau, Pharr has a total area of 23.4 square miles (60.7 km2), of which 0.03 square miles (0.07 km2), or 0.12%, is covered by water.
The community was named after sugar planter Henry Newton Pharr (1872-1966).[9] For a number of years, centering around early 1900, Henry N. Pharr was director of the State National Bank ofNew Iberia, Louisiana, and was a former president of the Louisiana–Rio Grande Sugar Company and the Louisiana–Rio Grande Canal Company, which at one time owned 8,000 acres (32.4 km2) and which, in 1910, built the town of Pharr on this land. Pharr was the Republican nominee forLouisiana governor in 1908, as his father John Newton Pharr had been in1896.
Pharr has grown rapidly since the late 20th century, from a population of 32,921 in 1990[10] to an estimated 77,320 in 2016[11] and 79,112 in 2019.
Pharr has ahumid subtropical climate, similar to that of theTampa Bay Area ofFlorida, but with less precipitation and slightly higher summer maximum temperatures. The average high in January is 68 °F (20 °C), and the average low is 47 °F (8 °C). In August, the average high is 100 °F (38 °C), and the average low is 80 °F (27 °C). The warm season is long, with average highs and lows similar to August's from June through September.
The average annual precipitation is 21.0 inches (530 mm). Most precipitation occurs in the warm season, with the least precipitation distinctly occurring in the cooler winter. As September is the peak of the northAtlantic hurricane season and tropical storms and hurricanes occasionally drop copious amounts of rainfall on the region, this month tends to be by far the wettest, averaging 3.6 inches (91 mm) of precipitation. The driest month is March, with 0.7 inches (18 mm) of precipitation.
Despite frequent temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C), occasionally as early as February and as late as the end of October, the highest temperature ever recorded in Pharr is 110 °F (43 °C), once in 1998 and once in 1999. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Pharr is 13 °F (−11 °C), on January 12, 1962, which is far lower than would be expected at the same latitude in Florida or on the west coast of North America, due to Pharr's location closer to the middle of the continent.
As of thecensus[4] of 2000, 46,660 people, 12,798 households, and 10,878 families were residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 2,240.2 people/sq mi (864.9/km2). The 16,537 housing units averaged 794.0/sq mi (306.5/km2). Theracial makeup of the city was 79.46% White, 0.24% African American, 0.72% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 17.32% from other races, and 2.04% from two or more races. About 90.62% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 12,798 households, 47.1% had children under 18 living with them, 64.2% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.0% were not families. About 13.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.64 and the average family size was 4.02.
In the city, the age distribution was 34.8% under 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,333, and for a family was $25,916. Males had a median income of $19,169 versus $16,737 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $9,462. 35.5% of the population and 30.8% of families were below thepoverty line. Of the total population, 46.6% of those under 18 and 23.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Pharr City Hall is located at 118 S Cage Blvd, Pharr, Texas 78577. The Innovation and Technology Department operates its official website (http://pharr-tx.gov), as well as its local government television on Time Warner Cable channel 17.12. All current social media platforms are used to allow for interactive governmental operations.
Pharr hasI-2/U.S. 83 as its major east–west artery.U.S. 281 runs north–south through the city and intersects I-2/U.S. 83 at the center of the city and continues south to the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. From I-2/U.S. 83 at the center of the city north to Edinburg (and eventually to George West), U.S. 281 is co-signed withI-69C.
^Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[15][16]