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The county was founded in 1848 and is named forCaptainEwen Cameron,[4] a soldier during theTexas Revolution and in the ill-fatedMier Expedition. During the later 19th century and through World War II,Fort Brown was a US Army outpost here, stimulating the development of the city of Brownsville.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,276 square miles (3,300 km2), of which 891 square miles (2,310 km2) are land and 386 square miles (1,000 km2) (30%) are covered by water.[6] To the east, the county borders theGulf of Mexico.
Cameron County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition 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 may be of any race.
As of the census[13] of 2010, 406,220 people, 119,631 households, and 96,579 families were residing in the county. The population density was 370 people per square mile (140 people/km2). The 141,924 housing units averaged 132 per square mile (51/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 87.0% White, 0.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 9.8% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. About 88.1% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 119,631 households, 50.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.3% were not families. About 16.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.36, and the average family size was 3.80.
In the county, the age distribution was 33.0% under the age of18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 86.30 males.
Themedian income for a household in the county was $31,264, and for a family was $33,770. Males had a median income of $21,410 versus $15,597 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,695. About 30.0% of families and 34.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.8% of those under age 18 and 24.8% of those age 65 or over.
A 2000Texas A&M study stated that of the residents of Cameron County, 43% do not have basic literacy skills.[14]
Within the 2010s decade, a noticeable trend in the county population showed that growth among the county's northern cities (defined as major towns whose city limits lie entirely north or east of U.S. Highway 83 in the county) on average has been greater than those cities on U.S. Highway 83 in the county, suggesting a possible desire among both locals and new residents from outside the Rio Grande Valley to move away from the population centers of the county. This trend has also been shared by nearbyHidalgo County.Los Fresnos, for example, grew by 42.2% from 2010 to 2018. Other major cities, such asIndian Lake,Primera, andRio Hondo, all grew by more than 15% in the same period. In contrast, the cities ofHarlingen,La Feria, andSan Benito, all cities along U.S. Highway 83, have seen growths less than 1% in the same period. The city that grew the most among the Highway 83 cities in the county wasBrownsville, which grew by 4.4% from 2010 to 2019.
U.S. District JudgeAndrew S. Hanen stated in 2013 that the corruption in the county judiciary and legal system was so pervasive that most people would not believe it "unless they heard it themselves."[18]
Cameron County has historically leaned toward theDemocratic Party in presidential elections, supporting the party in all but three between 1960 and 2020.Republican candidateGeorge W. Bush carried the county in the2004 election, but no Republican would do so again untilDonald Trump won in2024. Many voters supported Trump while voting for down-ballot Democratic politicians. Trump outperformedTed Cruz in the area in the 2024 election.[19] Trump's 2016 showing of 32.0% was the lowest received by a Republican candidate in the county sinceAlf Landon in 1936. Four years later, however, Trump's performance of 43% in2020 was the best for a Republican in the county since 2004, while in 2024, Trump won the county with a majority of 52.51% as part of the continued Republican trend in the Rio Grande Valley.[citation needed]The New York Times stated thatElon Musk placed significant economic development in the county, opposedillegal immigration, and did considerable campaigning for Trump in Cameron County, so "Mr. Trump didn't have to campaign very hard in Cameron."[19]
Cameron County has been considered one of the poorest urban counties in the US.[25][26]
TheFAA approved aSpaceX private spaceport east of Brownsville on the Gulf Coast.[27]
TheSpaceX South Texas Launch Site was originally projected to employ 75–100 full-time workers in the early years with up to 150 full-time employees/contractors by 2019.[28] In 2014, SpaceX acquired additional land near Boca Chica, which they consolidated into a subdivision called "Mars Crossing", possibly named after the novel by science-fiction writerGeoffrey A. Landis.[29]
The southern cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus) is invasive here.[30] Populations here have also become highlypermethrin resistant.[30] In 2014 the problem had become so severe that spread to neighboring counties was feared, and a Temporary Preventative Quarantine Area was established to preserve efficacy in those counties.[30] All quarantine efforts have been somewhat unsuccessful, due at least in part to the ticks' infestation of wildlife including whitetail (Odocoileus virginianus).[30]
A picture of theCameron County Courthouse (1912), the Dancy Building, in Brownsville, Texas, which served as the County Courthouse until the construction of a replacement: It was restored in 2006 and houses County Court at Law No 1, as well as some county offices.
^Staff, 107.9 Mix FM."107.9 Mix FM – KVLY".Archived from the original on November 2, 2006. RetrievedOctober 20, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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