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Los Indios, Texas

Los Indios is a small town of about 1,100 people in Cameron County, Texas. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, San Antonio, is about 241 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,059
up 4.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$63,500
Cameron County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$45,179
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Brownsville area
86
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Harlingen, TX
To San Antonio
241 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 moneyA typical home costs 1.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Los Indios itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Santa Maria H S, about 7 miles away.
  • A hospital close byVhs Harlingen Hospital Company LLC in Harlingen, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Antonio is about 241 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 Los Indios 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
$63,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Cameron County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$819 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$45,179U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
84%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,179 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
16%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
8%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 Los Indios 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, 2025 estimate
1,0592020: 1,015
Median age
28.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
32%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
6%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

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
Retail (25%); schools, health care and social services (23%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (11%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Vhs Harlingen Hospital Company LLC, Harlingen, 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

There are no public schools inside Los Indios itself. The nearest public high school is Santa Maria H S, about 7 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 any internet subscription
75%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
51°F
July average high
97°F
Days 90°F or hotter
151 a year
Nights at or below freezing
1 a year
Rain and melted snow
25.8 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
54 feet

Weather stations: Harlingen (11 miles away) and Mercedes 6 SSE (10 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: Vhs Harlingen Hospital Company LLC, Harlingen, 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 Park16 miles
  • Padre Island National Seashore44 miles

Read about Los Indios's history on Wikipedia.

Know Los Indios?

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

  • Bluetown, TX (unincorporated)271 people, 5 miles
  • Palmer, TX (unincorporated)1,435 people, 6 miles
  • Iglesia Antigua, TX (unincorporated)211 people, 7 miles
  • Rice Tracts, TX (unincorporated)1,384 people, 7 miles
  • Santa Maria, TX (unincorporated)669 people, 7 miles
  • Bixby, TX (unincorporated)294 people, 10 miles
  • San Pedro, TX (unincorporated)446 people, 10 miles
  • La Feria North, TX (unincorporated)134 people, 10 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.