Brownsville, TX

Census Place

2024 Population

189,177

US Senator

John Cornyn

Republican Party

US Senator

Ted Cruz

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

31.2

0.971% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

23.7%

4.61% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$52,130

7.1% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$139,900

14.3% 1-year growth

Population & Diversity

Brownsville, TX is home to a population of 189k people, from which 83.7% are citizens.

As of 2024, 27.5% of Brownsville, TX residents were born outside of the country (52.1k people).

In 2024, there were 2 times more Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents (103k people) in Brownsville, TX than any other race or ethnicity. There were 51.6k White (Hispanic) and 20.4k Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

83.7%

2024 Citizenship

83.5%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 83.7% of Brownsville, TX residents were US citizens, which is lower than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Brownsville, TX was 83.5%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Brownsville, TX compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Brownsville, TX

Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
103k ± 3.56k
White (Hispanic)
51.6k ± 3.2k
Other (Hispanic)
20.4k ± 2.31k

94%

Hispanic Population

178k people

94% of the people in Brownsville, TX are hispanic (178k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Brownsville, TX as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place level, so we are showing data for Texas.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
2,408,340 ± 36,549 people
India
354,317 ± 14,528 people
El Salvador
223,512 ± 11,564 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Texas was Mexico, the natal country of 2,408,340 Texas residents, followed by India with 354,317 and El Salvador with 223,512.

Foreign-Born Population

27.5%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

52.1k people

27.2%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

51.2k people

As of 2024, 27.5% of Brownsville, TX residents (52.1k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Brownsville, TX was 27.2%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Brownsville, TX compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
1,354 ± 318
Vietnam
976 ± 223
Gulf War (1990s)
832 ± 254

Brownsville, TX has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.39 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Brownsville, TX.

Economy

The economy of Brownsville, TX employs 79.2k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Brownsville, TX were Health Care & Social Assistance (14,086 people), Educational Services (11,047 people), and Retail Trade (9,529 people), and the highest paying industries were Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($100,379), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($83,030), and Management of Companies & Enterprises ($76,964).

Employment

Occupations

79.2k

2024 Value

± 2,667

2.01%

1 Year growth

± 4.67%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Brownsville, TX grew at a rate of 2.01%, from 77.7k employees to 79.2k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Brownsville, TX, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (9,453 people), Sales & Related Occupations (7,976 people), and Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (7,840 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Brownsville, TX.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Texas.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Texas (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

79.2k

2024 Value

± 2,667

2.01%

1 Year growth

± 4.67%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Brownsville, TX grew at a rate of 2.01%, from 77.7k employees to 79.2k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Brownsville, TX, are Health Care & Social Assistance (14,086 people), Educational Services (11,047 people), and Retail Trade (9,529 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Brownsville, TX, though some of these residents may live in Brownsville, TX and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$36,622

Median earning men ± $1,699

$27,981

Median earning women ± $1,830

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($93,778), Public Administration ($57,000), and Manufacturing ($44,393).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Construction ($50,208), Public Administration ($41,129), and Wholesale Trade ($34,653).

Education

The student population of Brownsville, TX in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 4,405 male students and 5,663 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Brownsville, TX are Hispanic or Latino (2,047 and 91.6%), White (145 and 6.49%), Unknown (28 and 1.25%), and Black or African American (6 and 0.269%).

The largest universities in Brownsville, TX by number of degrees awarded are Texas Southmost College (1,418 and 63.4%), Southern Careers Institute-Brownsville (480 and 21.5%), and South Texas Vocational Technical Institute-Brownsville (212 and 9.49%).

The most popular majors in Brownsville, TX are General Studies (671 and 30%), Medical Assistant (226 and 10.1%), and Electrician (186 and 8.32%).

Admissions & Enrollments

Enrollments by Gender and Races

In 2024 there were 10,068 students enrolled in Brownsville, TX, 43.8% men and 56.2% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in Hispanic or Latino with 8,329 records, of which 56.7% were women and 43.3% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Studies
671 degrees awarded
Criminal Justice - Safety Studies
115 degrees awarded
General Business
58 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Associates Degree recipients in Brownsville, TX was General Studies with 671 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Associates Degree from schools in Brownsville, TX according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Texas Southmost College
1,418 degrees awarded
Southern Careers Institute-Brownsville
480 degrees awarded
South Texas Vocational Technical Institute-Brownsville
212 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Texas Southmost College with 1,418 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

In 2024, 996 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Brownsville, TX, which is 0.804 times less than the 1,239 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was Hispanic or Latino students. These 2,047 degrees mean that there were 14.1 times more degrees awarded to Hispanic or Latino students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, White, with 145 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Public, 2-year ($1,800) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 2-year ($1,948) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 2-year ($1,464) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Brownsville, TX was $139,900 in 2024, which is 0.42 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $122,400 to $139,900, a 14.3% increase. The homeownership rate in Brownsville, TX is 61.7%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Brownsville, TX have an average commute time of 21.4 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Brownsville, TX is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$139,900

Median Property Value 2024

±$6,107

$36,909

Median Property Taxes

±$1,606

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Brownsville, TX the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Brownsville, TX compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

61.7%

Homeownership

2024

64.1%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 61.7% of the housing units in Brownsville, TX were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 59.9%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Brownsville, TX compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$52,130

Median Household Income

± $2,503

59.8k

Number of Households

± 2,184

In 2024, the median household income of the 59.8k households in Brownsville, TX grew to $52,130 from the previous year's value of $48,675.

The following chart displays the households in Brownsville, TX distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Brownsville, TX is from Texas.

0.475

2024 Wage GINI in Texas

0.475

2023 Wage GINI in Texas

In 2024, the income inequality in Texas was 0.475 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.0391% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Texas was higher than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly in Texas in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Texas across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (74.9%)
Carpooled (13.4%)
Worked At Home (8.42%)

In 2024, 74.9% of workers in Brownsville, TX drove alone to work, followed by those who carpooled to work (13.4%) and those who worked at home (8.42%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

21.4 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Brownsville, TX have a shorter commute time (21.4 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1% of the workforce in Brownsville, TX have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Brownsville, TX compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Brownsville, TX distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Brownsville, TX have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

23.7% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Brownsville, TX (44.4k out of 187k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 35 - 44, followed by Females 6 - 11 and then Males 6 - 11.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Brownsville, TX is Hispanic, followed by Two Or More and White.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

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