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Laureles, Texas

Laureles is an unincorporated community of about 4,200 people in Cameron County, Texas. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, San Antonio, is about 239 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,224
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$152,400
Cameron County prices up 17% since 2022
Prices, Brownsville area
86
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Brownsville, TX
To San Antonio
239 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14% below the U.S. average in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Laureles to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Los Fresnos H S, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byValley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Antonio is about 239 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Laureles meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$152,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Cameron County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$873 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical property tax bill
$1,102 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
86U.S. average = 100 (the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area, not Laureles alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
4,224The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
29.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
7%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (21%); construction (18%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%)

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Valley Regional Medical Center, Brownsville, TX, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Laureles, run by Los Fresnos Cisd. The nearest public high school is Los Fresnos H S, about 3 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Texas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
42%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
52°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
121 a year
Nights at or below freezing
1 a year
Rain and melted snow
28.8 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
20 feet

Weather stations: Port Isabel Cameron Ap (9 miles away) and Port Isabel (11 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Valley Regional Medical Center, Brownsville, San Antonio.

Cameron County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park5 miles
  • Padre Island National Seashore32 miles

Read about Laureles's history on Wikipedia.

Know Laureles?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Indian Lake, TX892 people, 2 miles
  • Orason, TX (unincorporated)424 people, 4 miles
  • Chula Vista, TX (unincorporated)284 people, 4 miles
  • Green Valley Farms, TX (unincorporated)371 people, 5 miles
  • La Tina Ranch, TX (unincorporated)405 people, 6 miles
  • Arroyo Gardens, TX (unincorporated)335 people, 6 miles
  • Bayview, TX556 people, 6 miles
  • Lozano, TX (unincorporated)149 people, 6 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.