TerlinguaTX
178 people live in this town in Texas.
Is Terlingua a good place to live?
Terlingua’s July high is 101°F, where Texas’ towns sit at 95°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. Terlingua’s concentration of trails is 1.1 miles per square mile, above both Texas’ towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Rancho Estelle and Luna Jacal is on the National Register of Historic Places. Terlingua has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
178 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Big Bend National Park and 2 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Terlingua. Close and well known come first.
Big draw3 mi National ParkBig Bend National Park568K visitors a year
38 mi State parkBig Bend Ranch State Park
26 mi National park siteRio Grande Wild and Scenic River120 visitors a yearPhoto credits
Big Bend National Park: TripOfALifestyle.com, CC BY 4.0 · Big Bend Ranch State Park: Surfsupusa at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River: Unknown, Public domain
Moving to Terlingua: who provides what
Terlingua is unincorporated, so Brewster 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 Terlingua.
Terlingua has mild winters and hot summers
July afternoons reach 101°, January nights drop to 35° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Terlingua is
In Terlingua, 15% of adults report frequent mental distress, and 11% worry about having enough food. Of 31 CDC measures, Terlingua beats the Texas average on 10 and trails it on 6. Also worth knowing: 32% of adults sleep under 7 hours here.
| Terlingua | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 39% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 20% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Terlingua | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9.4% | 19.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.6% | 19.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazards: moderate risk in Terlingua, mostly inland flooding
Expected losses in Terlingua break down as 33% from inland flooding and 25% from wildfires. Compared with 53% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Terlingua
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Terlingua; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Terlingua residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
About Terlingua
Census-designated place in Brewster County, Texas, United States
Terlingua ( tər-LING-gwə) is a mining district and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Brewster County, Texas, United States. It is located near the Rio Grande and the villages of Lajitas and Study Butte, Texas, as well as the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The discovery of cinnabar, from which the metal mercury is extracted, in the mid-1880s brought miners to the area, creating a city of 2,000 people. The only remnants of the mining days are a ghost town of the Howard Perry-owned Chisos Mining Company and several nearby capped and abandoned mines: the California Hill, the Rainbow, the 248, and the Study Butte mines. The mineral terlinguaite was first found in the vicinity of Califor…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 11 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,507 ft
- ZIP code
- 79852
Questions about Terlingua
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Terlingua, TX a good place to live?
Terlingua has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real. 178 people live in this town in Texas.