MedinaTX
A town of 4,226.
Is Medina a good place to live?
Medina grades D overall, ranked 469th of 640 in Texas, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $22K, and 54% of residents live below the poverty line. On CDC health estimates it is near the bottom nationally. One bright spot: a typical home costs about $369K, 9.4 years of the Zapata area’s $39K median household income. 54% of residents live below the poverty line in Medina, against 12% in Texas’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 59 of Texas’ 1,000 towns score higher on hazard risk.
What makes Medina stand out
Where Medina beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Typical home value
| Widest gap | Medina | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 52.9% | 19.3% |
96% of working residents leave Medina for work
Where Medina’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Medina grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Medina is from typical.
Its grades run from A for hazard risk (better than 92% of comparable towns) to D− for jobs and income (better than 1%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Medina: who provides what
Medina is unincorporated, so Zapata 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 Medina.
Medina trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Texas (mostly cold waves), but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
Conserved land covers 0% of Medina
5.7 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in Medina is 3.2 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Medina’s schools rank behind 76% of Texas districts
Its public schools are run by Zapata County ISD. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidel and Andrea R Villarreal ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 445 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Compared with most of Texas and the rest of the country, more of Medina’s adults say their health is fair or poor
The nearest emergency room, Doctors Hospital of Laredo, is 44 miles away in a straight line. Against the 105 U.S. towns with household incomes like Medina’s, it is less healthy than 66%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
45% of Medina adults say their health is fair or poor. Medina beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 22% of Medina adults report frequent physical distress.
| Medina | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 24% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 51% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Medina | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.5% | 6.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 52.9% | 19.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Cold waves leads a very low hazard risk in Medina
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 90% of Texas towns, with expected losses of about $234 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Medina’s FEMA risk score is 14 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Medina stands out in Texas and nationally, with the median household income lower than most
Medina has 160 jobs for its 1,333 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Jobs based in Medina grew to 160 in 2023, 132 more than in 2013. Most working residents leave Medina for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Laredo (27%), Zapata (12%) and Falcon Lake Estates (7%).
| Medina | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $22,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.5% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For cost of living, Medina earns an A
Homes are within reach (about $369K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 47 miles. At 9.4 years of the Zapata area’s $39K median household income, the typical home (about $369K) costs more against local pay than in 97% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
Typical home values fell 5.1% in the year to September 2026. Among 613 Texas towns, just 8 have a lower median rent than Medina.
| Medina | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $604 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 69% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In Medina, expect mild winters and hot summers
The Zapata 1 S weather station records that about 172 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 47.3°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 99.1°.
Medina has warm winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Only 7 of the 642 Texas towns we compare have a higher July high than Medina. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Medina | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 99°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 47°F | 37°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Medina
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Medina; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Medina residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
About Medina
CDP in Texas, United States
Medina is a census-designated place (CDP) in Zapata County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,935 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 397 ft
Medina’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Medina.
Medina and Zapata report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Medina with a neighbor →
Questions about Medina
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Medina, TX a good place to live?
Medina grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #469 of 640 in Texas. It grades D− for health and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Medina, TX expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.