Hidalgo County | |
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Coordinates: 26°23′48″N 98°10′52″W / 26.39672°N 98.18107°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Texas |
Founded | January 24, 1852 |
Named for | Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla |
Seat | Edinburg |
Largest city | McAllen |
Area | |
• Total | 1,583 sq mi (4,100 km2) |
• Land | 1,571 sq mi (4,070 km2) |
• Water | 12 sq mi (30 km2) 0.81% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 870,781 |
• Estimate (2022) | 888,367 |
• Density | 550/sq mi (210/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Congressional districts | 15th, 34th |
Website | hidalgocounty.us |
[1] |
Hidalgo County (/hɪˈdælɡoʊ/; Spanish pronunciation: [iˈðalɣo]) is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 870,781,[2] making it the ninth-most populous county in Texas, and the most populous county outside of the counties in the Texas Triangle. The county seat is Edinburg[3] and the largest city is McAllen. The county is named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the priest who raised the call for Mexico's independence from Spain.[4] It is located in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. Hidalgo County is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission metropolitan statistical area, which itself is part of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission-Rio Grande City, Texas combined statistical area with neighboring Starr County.
With a population that is 91.9% Hispanic as of 2020, it is Texas' second-most populous majority-Hispanic county and the fifth-largest nationwide. It is also the largest county which is over 90% Hispanic.[5] It is also the southernmost landlocked county in the United States, and in 2021, it was the largest county in the nation with a total fertility rate above the replacement level (at 2.13).[6]