La PalomaTX
This town of 2,797 people was settled in 1912.
Is La Paloma a good place to live?
Several subjects drag its grade down. Its weakest is health (D): residents are less healthy than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Walkability is weaker too. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Cost of living is its strong suit (A+): a typical home costs about $82K, 1.6 years of the Brownsville metro’s $53K median household income. All told, that adds up to a C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 441st of 640 in Texas. Only 48 of Texas’ 1,000 towns score lower on history.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · National Register of Historic Places.
La Paloma has grown 11% from 2010 to 2020
2,903 counted in 2010 and 3,218 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How La Paloma grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far La Paloma is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D− for walkability (better than 2%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to La Paloma: who provides what
La Paloma is unincorporated, so Cameron County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in La Paloma.
La Paloma has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, has homes that are cheap against local pay and sends most of its workers to Brownsville and beyond.
Fewer of La Paloma’s adults had a checkup this year than in the typical Texas or U.S. town
The share of adults in La Paloma who have diabetes is 19%, above both Texas’ towns (13%) and U.S. towns (12%). In La Paloma, 44% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. On the CDC’s 31 measures, La Paloma is ahead of Texas on 2 and behind on 17.
| La Paloma | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 24% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 30% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 20% | 14% |
| What stands out | La Paloma | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.3% | 6.1% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 17.2% | 21.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 43.7% | 19.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
On state tests, La Paloma’s schools trail 81% of Texas districts
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. San Benito CISD runs its public schools. The 2 public schools in La Paloma teach 1,032 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito Riverside MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 558 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
A smaller share of working residents work locally in La Paloma than in most of Texas or the rest of the country
La Paloma has 18 jobs for its 1,085 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
In La Paloma, the median household income is $60,000, below both the Texas town median ($69,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). 25% of La Paloma residents live below the poverty line. Half the trips to work are shorter than 14 miles. The average trip to work here is 29 minutes.
| La Paloma | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 25% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.2% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest natural risk in La Paloma is hurricanes, at a high overall level
Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 74% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in La Paloma
The Harlingen weather station, 10 miles away, records that about 151 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 51.2°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 95.5°.
Only 8 of the 642 Texas towns we compare have a higher January low than La Paloma. In La Paloma, the July high is 96°F. Snow is a rarity.
| La Paloma | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 51°F | 37°F | 22°F |
| July high | 96°F | 95°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median home in La Paloma sells for about $380K
At 1.6 years of the Brownsville metro’s $53K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 96% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,476, against $4,232 across Texas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The share of households in La Paloma who own their home: 84%.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Starbase and 8 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around La Paloma. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi Park & preserveStarbase
15 mi LandmarkFort Brown
14 mi Zoo & aquariumGladys Porter Zoo34 mi Stadium & arenaRobert and Janet Vackar Stadium
35 mi Stadium & arenaBert Ogden Arena
11 mi National Historical ParkPalo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park169K visitors a yearPhoto credits
Starbase: Jared Krahn, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Brown: Pi3.124, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gladys Porter Zoo: Jc161991, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bert Ogden Arena: Wikidude10000, CC0 · Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park: Schmorleitz, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about La Paloma
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of La Paloma
About 4 of every 100 La Paloma residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
100% of working residents leave La Paloma for work
Where La Paloma’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About La Paloma
Census-designated place in Texas, United States
La Paloma (Spanish: The Dove) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,903 at the 2010 census, up from 354 at the 2000 census, when it was drawn to cover a much smaller area. By the 2020 census, the population further increased to 3,218. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 49 ft
- Area code
- 956
La Paloma’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with La Paloma.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Paloma | #441 | C− | A+ | — | C− | D |
| San Benito | #600 | D− | B | C− | C− | D |
| Palmer | — | — | C | — | C− | D |
Palmer has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. La Paloma and Palmer report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare La Paloma with a neighbor →
Questions about La Paloma
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is La Paloma, TX a good place to live?
La Paloma grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #441 of 640 in Texas. It grades D for health and C− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is La Paloma, TX expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $82,000, 72% below the Texas typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.