Photo: Not home at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0How is Laredo run?
Laredo’s city government spent $338.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, about $1,321 per resident. Water and other utilities ($58.3 million) and the airport ($9.5 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Laredo is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,321 per resident a year, or $3.62 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 25%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison for Laredo yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample). Laredo’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars), so it has no like-for-like peer figure. It reported 2024; the next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Day-to-day spending is up 4% since 2023
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Laredo reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2023: $1,269 · 2024: $1,321.
full-time in March 2025, up from 2,942 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $3,531 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.82% of the home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Laredo’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Laredo’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Laredo →
Who’s in charge in Laredo
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 84 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (256,187).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
United Independent School District
Laredo’s K–12 school district, shared with El Cenizo, Rio Bravo. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $12,334 per pupil, $6,896 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Texas districts overall: 51% local, 36% state, 13% federal.
Laredo Independent School District · $13,574 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Laredo’s votes are counted by county
Texas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Laredo alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Webb County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican50.6%33,397 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat48.5%31,996 votesOthers: 0.9% (602 votes).
Most votes in Webb County: Donald J Trump
Texas: Trump 56.1%, Harris 42.5%
100% of Laredo lies in Webb County. Every 2024 race in Webb County is on the county’s page.
Webb County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Laredo.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Texas HouseLaredo is split between 2 districts
- 3Texas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Texas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Laredo compares with the towns next door
Laredo’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate, so it isn’t placed among them. None of its neighbors reported 2022 figures. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Rio Bravo | estimate | $1,221 |
| Laredo | estimate | $3,531 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Laredo’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Laredo’s government
How much does Laredo spend per resident?
About $1,321 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Laredo?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $3,531 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.82% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Laredo’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Laredo yet.
How did Laredo vote in 2024?
Texas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Laredo alone. Webb County, where 100% of Laredo lies, voted Trump 50.6%, Harris 48.5% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Laredo?
3,043 full-time and 2 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $18.8M (about $225.8M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Laredo in the state legislature?
Laredo is split among 2 State House districts, so your address decides. The Texas Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Its State Senate district is District 21 (Judith Zaffirini). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Laredo’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →