Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mission grades D overall, 485th among Texas's 640 graded towns. What it does well: it reports less crime per resident than 50% of U.S. towns. Mission’s January low is 50°F, above both the Texas town median (37°F) and the median of U.S. towns (22°F). Mission's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Border Theater and Mission Canal Company Second Lift Pumphouse.
Where Mission beats most towns.
77,058 counted in 2010 and 85,778 in 2020; an estimated 88,992 in 2025.
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 Mission is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,847 in 1920, a low of 2,940 in 1950, 85,778 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 4 maps from 1916 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mission, 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 Mission.
Mission reports less crime than McAllen or any other graded neighbor, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with McAllen and other neighbors.
15 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Mission Hike and Bike Trails, at 452 acres.
| Mission | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bentsen Palm Community Park | 2.4 mi | 54 |
| 2. Bannworth Park | 0.7 mi | 19 |
| 3. Birdwell Park | 0.7 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Three of its 36 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| White J HLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 831 | D |
| Mission H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,154 | C− |
| Sharyland Advanced Academic AcademyTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 481 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Mission beats the Texas average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 32% of Mission adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Mission | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 20% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 24% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Mission | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.2% | 6.1% |
| Fewer smokers | 11% | 12.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 31.8% | 19.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Mission home is worth about $217,000, down 1.2% in a year, 27% below the Texas typical home. Mission’s median rent is $950 a month.
| Mission | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $950 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 45% | 51% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
282 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 39 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 282 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mission.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Mcallen weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 170 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 49.6°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 97.8°.
Mission has warm winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Mission is 98°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mission has about as many jobs (27,071) as working residents, but only 6,306 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 20.5 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
About one in 5 of Mission’s working residents works in town. 19% of residents live below the poverty line in Mission. Since 2013, Mission has added 1,717 jobs, to 27,071 in 2023.
| Mission | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Texas average. Mission has grown 3.7% since 2020, to 88,992 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 34% across Texas.
| Mission | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 29% | 26% | 22% |
| Median age | 34.9 years | 35.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 14% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 29% | 23% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.2 points). Across Texas, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 34.7, men 35.2.
| Mission | TX | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.2% | 13.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.3% | 11.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.4% | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.3% | 14.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.6% | 8.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 5.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 22.6% | 14% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.2% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.1% | 20.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.7% | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.9% | 21.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.5% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Its B− tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; McAllen (C+) comes closest. Violent crime is rare: 120 reported in 2025, 1.3 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mission. Close and well known come first.
11 mi Stadium & arenaBert Ogden Arena13 mi Stadium & arenaRobert and Janet Vackar Stadium
7 mi Stadium & arenaPayne Arena
in town TheatreBorder Theater12 mi MuseumMuseum of South Texas History
6 mi GardenMcAllen Botanical GardensBert Ogden Arena: Wikidude10000, CC0 · Payne Arena: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Border Theater: Andres Gonzalez, CC BY-SA 4.0 · McAllen Botanical Gardens: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, United States, CC BY 3.0 us
2 within 15 miles of the center of Mission
About 6 of every 100 Mission residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
10 places in Mission on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Mission.
City in Texas, United States
Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, in the US state of Texas. Its population was 85,778 at the 2020 census and an estimated 86,635 in 2022. Mission is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Mission.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission | #485 | D | C− | B− | C+ | C |
| La Homa | #556 | D | B+ | — | C+ | D− |
| McAllen | #412 | C− | D | C+ | B+ | C |
| West Sharyland | — | — | A | — | C | D |
| Palmview | #528 | D | B | C | C+ | D |
| Palmview South | — | — | B | — | C+ | D |
| Abram | — | — | A | — | C+ | D |
| Palmhurst | #489 | D | C− | D− | B− | C |
West Sharyland, Palmview South and Abram have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. La Homa, West Sharyland, Palmview South and Abram report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mission with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mission grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #485 of 640 in Texas. It grades C for health, B− for safety and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. That is 4 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−.
10 notable people were born here, including Lloyd Bentsen and Tito Santana.
