San CarlosTX
A town of 3,678 in Texas.
Is San Carlos a good place to live?
A tough set of grades. Health is its weak spot: residents are less healthy than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its strongest is cost of living (A+) — a typical home costs about $76K, 1.4 years of the McAllen metro’s $54K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to a C− overall, ranking 393rd of 640 in Texas. On that grade it does better than nearly a fifth of U.S. towns. It lags on incomes as well (D) — the median household income is $49K, and nearly a quarter of residents live below the poverty line. Walkability is weaker too (D). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 92% of U.S. towns.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES.
99% of working residents leave San Carlos for work
Where San Carlos’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How San Carlos grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far San Carlos is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to San Carlos: who provides what
San Carlos is unincorporated, so Hidalgo 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 San Carlos.
San Carlos has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, has homes that are cheap against local pay and sends most of its workers to Edinburg and beyond.
A larger share of adults in San Carlos worry about having enough food than in the typical Texas or U.S. town
48% of adults in San Carlos have obesity; 20% have diabetes. Among adults 18 to 64 in the town, 44% have no health insurance, where Texas’ towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 8.1%. In San Carlos, just over two in five adults say their health is fair or poor. Of 31 CDC measures, San Carlos beats the Texas average on 1 and trails it on 21.
| San Carlos | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 24% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | San Carlos | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.8% | 6.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 44.7% | 19.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Few of San Carlos’ working residents work in town
San Carlos has 176 jobs for its 934 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 19.9 minutes, against 26.7 across Texas.
Just 1% of San Carlos’s working residents have a job in town. For residents in the town, the share who live below the poverty line is 23%. This Texas town had 176 jobs in 2023, up 29 from 2013. The mean commuting time locally is 20 minutes.
| San Carlos | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.2% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazards: high risk in San Carlos, mostly cold waves
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in three quarters of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in San Carlos after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2015.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Expect mild winters and hot summers in San Carlos
The Mcallen weather station, 14 miles away, records that about 170 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 49.8°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 97.1°.
San Carlos’ January low stands at 50°F, above both Texas’ towns (37°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). In San Carlos, the midsummer high is 97°F. Snow is a rarity.
| San Carlos | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 50°F | 37°F | 22°F |
| July high | 97°F | 95°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in San Carlos sell for about $275K
At 1.4 years of the McAllen metro’s $54K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 98% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,180, against $4,232 across Texas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
San Carlos’ rent at the middle of the market comes in at $711 a month. Among households in the town, 70% live in a home they own.
| San Carlos | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $711 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium and 5 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around San Carlos. Close and well known come first.
7 mi Stadium & arenaBert Ogden Arena
16 mi Stadium & arenaPayne Arena6 mi MuseumMuseum of South Texas History
12 mi GardenMcAllen Botanical Gardens
17 mi TheatreBorder TheaterPhoto credits
Bert 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
Everything we know about San Carlos
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of San Carlos
About 5 of every 100 San Carlos residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
About San Carlos
Census-designated place in Texas
San Carlos is a community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hidalgo County, Texas. The population was 3,087 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission Metropolitan Statistical Area. San Carlos is located northeast of McAllen.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 75 ft
- Area code
- 956
Questions about San Carlos
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is San Carlos, TX a good place to live?
San Carlos grades C− overall, better than 19% of U.S. towns and #393 of 640 in Texas. It grades D− for health and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is San Carlos, TX expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $76,000, 74% below the Texas typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.