Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hidalgo earns a D, 457th of 640 graded towns in Texas, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $59K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it has 14 miles of trail. Hidalgo’s January low is 50°F, above both Texas’ towns (37°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). Hidalgo's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 100% of U.S. towns. Hidalgo has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Old Hidalgo Courthouse and Buildings and Old Hidalgo School.
Where Hidalgo beats most towns.
11,198 counted in 2010 and 13,964 in 2020; an estimated 15,376 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 10.1% since 2020, after 24.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Hidalgo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 259 in 1880, 13,964 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 4 maps from 1916 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hidalgo, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Hidalgo.
Hidalgo has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, has home values climbing faster than Texas’s and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
Hidalgo’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Hidalgo Park Museum, at 32 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge | 10.4 mi | 666 |
| 2. Hidalgo Park Museum | 0.7 mi | 32 |
| 3. Valle Alto Park - Hidalgo Municipal Park | 0.7 mi | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Valley View ISD. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diaz J HLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 615 | B− |
| Valley View H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,227 | C+ |
| Valley View South ElTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 353 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
36% of Hidalgo adults worry about having enough food. Hidalgo beats the Texas average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 36% of Hidalgo adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Hidalgo | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 20% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 24% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Hidalgo | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.7% | 6.1% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 18.5% | 21.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 36.3% | 19.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Home values rose 25% in five years, to about $189K, against 10% across Texas.
The typical Hidalgo home is worth about $189,000, down 2.4% in a year, 36% below the Texas typical home. The median rent in Hidalgo is $842 a month.
| Hidalgo | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $842 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Mcallen weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 170 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 49.9°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 97.6°.
Hidalgo has warm winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 6,407 in 2013 to 3,964. The average commute for its 5,274 working residents takes 19.9 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
Most working residents leave Hidalgo for work: only 10% work in town. Jobs based in Hidalgo fell to 3,964 in 2023, 2,443 fewer than in 2013. 5.5% of workers work from home in Hidalgo.
| Hidalgo | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 5.5% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hidalgo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 250 to 183 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hidalgo. Close and well known come first.
11 mi Stadium & arenaBert Ogden Arena
in town Stadium & arenaPayne Arena14 mi Stadium & arenaRobert and Janet Vackar Stadium14 mi MuseumMuseum of South Texas History
7 mi GardenMcAllen Botanical Gardens
9 mi TheatreBorder TheaterBert Ogden Arena: Wikidude10000, CC0 · Payne Arena: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · McAllen Botanical Gardens: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, United States, CC BY 3.0 us · Border Theater: Andres Gonzalez, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Hidalgo
About 5 of every 100 Hidalgo residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
12.3% of the town is conserved land, across 6 parks and preserves.
City in Texas, United States
Hidalgo is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Its population was 11,198 at the 2010 census, and in 2020, the population had risen to 13,964.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Hidalgo.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hidalgo grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #457 of 640 in Texas. It grades C− for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 3.5 years of the area's median household income ($54,338 across the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
