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The Border: Snapshot
November 2003

This report tells it like it is for the 14 actual border counties. The study “Bordering the Future,” issued by this office in 1998, looked at statistics for the original 43-county Border region which was really a South Texas Border Region. This report provides a closer look at the Actual Border Region which includes the 14 Texas counties whose boundary touch the U.S.-Mexico Border at some point. Statistics have also been developed for a second group based on the federal definition of the border from the La Paz Agreement with Mexico. This region contains 32 counties and includes the 14 Actual Border counties as well as any county within 100 kilometers of the Rio Grande.

This report is also available in PDF format. If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you will need to download the latest version to view and print this report.

  Most Recent The 14-County Actual Border Region The 32-County Sub-Border (La Paz) Region The 43-County South Texas Border Region Texas The 211-County Non-Border Region
Population
Average long-term annual population growth rate 1990/2000 Census 2.9% 2.7% 2.1% 2.3% 2.3%
Average short-term annual population growth rate 2001-2002 2.4% 2.3% 1.9% 1.9% 1.9%
Population 2002 2.1 million 2.2 million 4.3 million 21.8 million 17.5 million
Birth rate 2001 23.7 live births per 1,000 population 23.2 live births per 1,000 population 19.9 live births per 1,000 population 17.2 live births per 1,000 population 16.4 live births per 1,000 population
Death rate 2001 554.2 deaths per 100,000 population 575.8 deaths per 100,000 population 660.9 deaths per 100,000 population 713.7 deaths per 100,000 population 726.6 deaths per 100,000 population
Percent of population that speaks Spanish at home 2000 Census 78.3% 77.4% 59.1% 27.0% 19.2%
Percent of population that is foreign-born 2000 Census 28.2% 26.8% 18.3% 13.9% 12.8%
Military veterans per population 2001 5.5% 5.6% 7.9% 8.1% 8.1%
Percent of population that is 5 to 17 years old 2002 23.8% 23.7% 22.1% 20.1% 19.7%
Marriage rate 2001 9.6 marriages per 1,000 population 9.3 marriages per 1,000 population 9.0 marriages per 1,000 population 9.0 marriages per 1,000 population 9.0 marriages per 1,000 population
Divorce rate 2001 1.1 divorces per 1,000 population 1.2 divorces per 1,000 population 2.3 divorces per 1,000 population 3.9 divorces per 1,000 population 4.3 divorces per 1,000 population
Motor vehicles registered per capita 2002 0.61 0.62 0.71 0.84 0.87
Poverty
Poverty rate 2000 Census 29.1% 29.0% 22.9% 14.5% 12.4%
Percent of school children in poverty 2000 Census 35.3% 35.2% 28.8% 18.6% 15.8%
Number of children under age 19 who are uninsured (preliminary estimate) 2002 113,430 121,725 215,070 886,000 670,930
Percent of children under age 19 who are uninsured (preliminary estimate) 2002 15.7% 15.7% 15.6% 14.0% 13.6%
Employment
Average annual short-term employment growth 2001-2002 3.0% 2.7% 1.7% 0.2% -0.1%
Unemployment rate 2002 10.7% 10.6% 7.9% 6.3% 6.0%
Civilian labor force 2002 812,998 878,474 1.9 million 10.8 million 8.9 million
Average annual long-term employment growth 1990-2000 2.6% 2.4% 2.2% 2.2% 2.2%
Department of Defense active military and civilian direct employment 2002 15,414 15,414 75,416 152,338 75,170
Educational Attainment
Percent of population 25 years and over with some college education but no degree 2000 Census 17.6% 17.5% 20.7% 22.4% 22.7%
Percent of population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree 2000 Census 9.3% 9.1% 11.2% 15.6% 16.6%
Percent of population 25 years and over with a postgraduate degree 2000 Census 5.0% 4.9% 6.3% 7.6% 7.9%
Percent of population 25 years and over with an associate's degree 2000 Census 4.1% 4.0% 4.9% 5.2% 5.3%
Percent of population 25 years and over without a high school diploma 2000 Census 43.2% 43.2% 33.6% 24.3% 22.2%
Per-capita actual spending on elementary and secondary education 2002 $2,000 $2,013 $1,850 $1,630 $1,577
School enrollment as a percent of population 2002-2003 24.6% 24.4% 21.7% 19.2% 18.6%
Income
Per-capita personal income 2001 $16,493 $17,200 $18,347 $28,472 $22,865
Long-term growth in average annual pay 1990-2000 3.0% 3.2% 4.3% 6.2% 6.5%
Short-term growth in average annual pay 2001-2002 3.1% 3.0% 2.4% 0.6% 0.4%
Total personal income 2001 $32.4 billion $35.0 billion $87.7 billion $608.5 billion $520.8 billion
Industry
Average annual pay 2002 $24,550 $24,398 $28,011 $36,058 $37,734
Average annual pay in construction 2002 $23,439 $23,419 $28,533 $36,302 $37,721
Average annual pay in education and health services 2002 $26,524 $26,199 $28,580 $31,713 $32,565
Average annual pay in financial activities 2002 $29,592 $29,346 $39,076 $47,064 $48,653
Average annual pay in information 2002 $31,974 $31,727 $42,005 $52,462 $54,330
Average annual pay in leisure and hospitality 2002 $11,119 $11,057 $13,146 $14,914 $15,338
Average annual pay in manufacturing 2002 $27,597 $27,539 $32,759 $46,969 $48,866
Average annual pay in natural resources and mining 2002 $21,351 $22,553 $28,743 $59,769 $65,668
Average annual pay in other services 2002 $15,787 $15,816 $18,659 $23,179 $24,115
Average annual pay in professional and business services 2002 $22,154 $22,193 $28,316 $42,005 $44,337
Average annual pay in public administration 2002 $40,013 $38,687 $40,120 $39,681 $39,561
Average annual pay in trade, transportation and utilities 2002 $23,464 $23,386 $26,376 $34,828 $36,496
Occupation
Growth in number of business establishments 2001-2002 1.1% 0.9% 0.8% 1.0% 1.0%
Department of Defense installations 2001 2 2 10 18 8
Health
Death rate from chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis 2001 14.8 deaths per 100,000 population 15.3 deaths per 100,000 population 14.8 deaths per 100,000 population 10.3 deaths per 100,000 population 9.2 deaths per 100,000 population
Death rate from diabetes mellitus 2001 29.2 deaths per 100,000 population 30.6 deaths per 100,000 population 34.3 deaths per 100,000 population 25.0 deaths per 100,000 population 22.8 deaths per 100,000 population
Death rate from HIV/AIDS 2001 2.0 deaths per 100,000 population 2.0 deaths per 100,000 population 3.4 deaths per 100,000 population 4.9 deaths per 100,000 population 5.3 deaths per 100,000 population
Infant mortality rate 2001 4.6 deaths of infants under 1 year old per 1,000 live births 4.7 deaths of infants under 1 year old per 1,000 live births 5.3 deaths of infants under 1 year old per 1,000 live births 6.0 deaths of infants under 1 year old per 1,000 live births 6.2 deaths of infants under 1 year old per 1,000 live births
Household
Average household size 2000 Census 3.1 persons per household 3.0 persons per household 2.9 persons per household 2.7 persons per household 2.6 persons per household
Female-headed families (no husband present) as a percent of all households 2000 Census 17.0% 16.8% 15.8% 12.7% 12.0%
Married-couple families as a percent of all households 2000 Census 60.8% 60.6% 56.0% 54% 53.5%
Vehicles available per household 2000 Census 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.7
Percent of households with a telephone 2000 Census 94.3% 94.1% 95.6% 96.8% 97.1%
Crime
Property crime rate 2002 4,620.1 crimes per 100,000 population 4,468.5 crimes per 100,000 population 5,200.4 crimes per 100,000 population 4,594.5 crimes per 100,000 population 4,445.0 crimes per 100,000 population
Violent crime rate 2002 504.3 crimes per 100,000 population 490.4 crimes per 100,000 population 574.3 crimes per 100,000 population 576.9 crimes per 100,000 population 577.6 crimes per 100,000 population
Total land area   34,122 square miles 66,263 square miles 77,519 square miles 261,914 square miles 184,395 square miles

NOTE: For this analysis, the Texas Actual Border region includes these 14 Texas counties touching the U.S.-Mexico border: Brewster, Cameron, El Paso, Hidalgo, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Maverick, Presidio, Starr, Terrell, Val Verde, Webb, Zapata.

NOTE: For this analysis, the federal La Paz border region includes these 32 Texas counties either touching the U.S.-Mexico border or touching a county on the border: Brewster, Brooks, Cameron, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Duval, Edwards, El Paso, Frio, Hidalgo, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Kinney, La Salle, McMullen, Maverick, Pecos, Presidio, Real, Reeves, Starr, Sutton, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Willacy, Zapata, Zavala.

NOTE: For this analysis, the South Texas border region includes these 43 counties south of Interstate 10 and west of Interstate 37: Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Brewster, Brooks, Cameron, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Duval, Edwards, El Paso, Frio, Hidalgo, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Kleberg, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, Maverick, Medina, Nueces, Pecos, Presidio, Real, Reeves, San Patricio, Starr, Sutton, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Willacy, Zapata, Zavala.

SOURCES: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Deparrtment of Defense, U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigations, National Agriculture, Statistics Service, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, Texas Department of Health, Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Education Agency, Texas Workforce Commission.