Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,302, settled in 1930.
Port Isabel grades D− overall, ranked 638th of 640 in Texas, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $32K, and 34% of residents live below the poverty line. Its crime rate is higher than 85% of U.S. towns, with 16 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it has 29 miles of trail and 82% conserved land. 34% of residents live below the poverty line in Port Isabel, above both Texas’ towns (12%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). The biggest place to walk is Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, 11,329 acres with 12.8 miles of trail. Port Isabel's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 89% of U.S. towns.
82.3% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Port Isabel is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1793 and 5 maps from 1929 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Port Isabel, 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 Port Isabel.
Port Isabel keeps more of its land conserved than most of Texas, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
Its 17,097 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Texas town.
29 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The trail density in Port Isabel is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge | 12.8 mi | 11,329 |
| 2. Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge | 9.1 mi | 5,730 |
| 3. Arturo Galvan Coastal Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Point Isabel ISD. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Port Isabel Early College H S, with 585 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garriga ElLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 410 | D |
| Port Isabel Early College H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 585 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Port Isabel’s property crime rate is 22.4 per 1,000 residents. Port Isabel reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 85% report less. Port Isabel’s violent crime rate is 3 per 1,000 residents.
| Port Isabel | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.4 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 830 U.S. towns with household incomes like Port Isabel’s, it is healthier than 84%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Port Isabel beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 19% of adults have diabetes in Port Isabel.
| Port Isabel | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 20% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 24% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Port Isabel | TX |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.6% | 74.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 33.5% | 19.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 221 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Port Isabel.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 52.3°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.6°.
Among 642 Texas towns, just 1 have a higher January low than Port Isabel. Port Isabel has warm winters and warm summers. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Port Isabel | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 52°F | 37°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 95°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,659 working residents takes 13.7 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
Most working residents leave Port Isabel for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Port Isabel grew to 1,397 in 2023, 189 more than in 2013. Only 10 of the 642 Texas towns we compare have a lower average trip to work than Port Isabel.
| Port Isabel | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Values rose 2.6% in the past year while the Texas typical home fell 1.5%. Home values rose 28% in five years, to about $263K, against 10% across Texas.
The typical Port Isabel home is worth about $263,000, 11% below the Texas typical home. 60% of Port Isabel households own their home.
| Port Isabel | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $748 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 60% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Port Isabel. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi Park & preserveStarbase
17 mi LandmarkFort Brown
16 mi Zoo & aquariumGladys Porter Zoo
9 mi National Historical ParkPalo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park169K visitors a year
34 mi National SeashorePadre Island National Seashore573K visitors a yearStarbase: 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 · Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park: Schmorleitz, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Padre Island National Seashore: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Port Isabel; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Port Isabel residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
3 notable people were born in Port Isabel.
City in Texas, United States
Port Isabel is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas. The population was 5,028 at the 2020 census. The city's name is given to the Port Isabel Detention Center, 12 miles (19 km) to the northwest next to Port Isabel-Cameron County Airport.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Port Isabel.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Isabel | #638 | D− | C− | C− | C− | C− |
| Brownsville | #559 | D | C | C− | B | C− |
| Laguna Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Laguna Heights isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Port Isabel with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Port Isabel grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #638 of 640 in Texas. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 5 years of the area's median household income ($52,601 across the Brownsville-Harlingen, 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−.
3 notable people were born here, including Mariano Simon Garriga and Juan Castillo.
