Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Pharr earns a D, 492nd among Texas's 640 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 88% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $53K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: its schools rank ahead of 50% of Texas towns. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in Pharr, above both the Texas town median (12%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Pharr's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 100% of U.S. towns. Pharr has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Louisiana-Rio Grande Canal Company Irrigation System and Valley Fruit Company.
70,400 counted in 2010 and 79,715 in 2020; an estimated 80,830 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 Pharr is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,565 in 1920, 79,715 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2000 and 3 maps from 1914 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pharr, 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 Pharr.
Pharr has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with McAllen and other neighbors, but it has poverty well above the Texas rate.
Pharr: 18% of adults have diabetes. On the CDC’s 31 measures, Pharr is ahead of Texas on 1 and behind on 17.
| Pharr | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 24% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 20% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Pharr | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.4% | 6.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 38.3% | 19.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD runs its public schools. Below: Three of its 35 schools, each with why it was picked. Public school enrollment locally: 4,232 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyndon B Johnson MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,006 | D |
| Psja North Early College H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,166 | B |
| Psja Thomas Jefferson T-STEM Early College H STop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 553 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Home values rose 27% in five years, to about $161K, against 10% across Texas.
The share of households in Pharr who own their home: 59%. Home values are down 2% over the year to September 2026. On the market locally: a median 96 days to sell.
| Pharr | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 69% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 43% | 51% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,037 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Mcallen weather station records that about 170 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 50°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 97.4°.
Pharr’s July high stands at 97°F. Snow is a rarity.
| Pharr | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 50°F | 37°F | 22°F |
| July high | 97°F | 95°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
86 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 15 properties have flooded more than once.
Pharr’s FEMA hazard score is 66 of 100. The national flood insurance program has paid 86 claims in the town since 1980. 43% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from hurricanes, followed by cold waves at 26%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Pharr after 12 declared disasters, most recently in 2025.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Allen & William Arnold City/School Park, at 20 acres with 1.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Walkers can cover 5.0 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The trail network density for Pharr comes to 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Pharr | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Allen & William Arnold City/School Park | 1.4 mi | 20 |
| 2. Pharr Vanguard Academy Nature & Birding Center | 0.4 mi | 11 |
| 3. Jose "Pepe" Salinas Memorial Recreation Center | 0.3 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Pharr has about as many jobs (30,950) as working residents, but only 5,355 people both live and work here.
The top destinations are McAllen (24%), Edinburg (10%) and Mission (5%). For Pharr, the average trip to work is 21 minutes. This Texas town had 30,950 jobs in 2023, up 6,861 from 2013. Also worth knowing: 6.5% of workers do their job from home locally.
| Pharr | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.5% | 9.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 1,388 to 1,053 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
For Pharr, the violent crime rate is 2.1 per 1,000 residents. The property crime rate in the town is 10.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Pharr | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.8 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pharr. Close and well known come first.
7 mi Stadium & arenaBert Ogden Arena9 mi Stadium & arenaRobert and Janet Vackar Stadium
4 mi Stadium & arenaPayne Arena10 mi MuseumMuseum of South Texas History
5 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 Pharr
About 6 of every 100 Pharr residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
4 notable people were born in Pharr.
City in Texas
Pharr is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 79,715, and in 2022, the estimated population was 80,187. Pharr is connected by bridge to the Mexican city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Pharr is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Pharr.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pharr | #492 | D | C | C+ | B− | D |
| Lopezville | — | — | B+ | — | B− | D |
| McAllen | #412 | C− | D | C+ | B+ | C |
| San Juan | #498 | D | C+ | C+ | B− | D |
Lopezville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lopezville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Pharr with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pharr grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #492 of 640 in Texas. It grades D for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3 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.
4 notable people were born here, including Omar Ontiveros and Mando Alvarado.
