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Palmhurst, Texas

Palmhurst is a suburb of about 2,600 people in Hidalgo County, Texas, in the McAllen area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.8 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 222 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of McAllen

Population
2,562
down 1.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$375,000
Hidalgo County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$98,125
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, McAllen area
85.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Mission, TX
To San Antonio
222 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.1% below the U.S. average in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood4 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 61.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 2 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMission Regional Medical Center in Mission, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Antonio is about 222 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 Palmhurst 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Palmhurst runs into the built-up area around McAllen (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$375,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Hidalgo County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$98,125U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
80%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,164 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
32%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
11%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
85.9U.S. average = 100 (the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area, not Palmhurst 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
2,5622020: 2,600
Median age
35.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
39%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%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 (33%); professional and business services (12%); construction (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mission Regional Medical Center, Mission, TX, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

5 public schools in Palmhurst, run by Mission Cisd and Sharyland Isd.

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
79%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
47°F
July average high
95°F
Days 90°F or hotter
182 a year
Nights at or below freezing
2 a year
Rain and melted snow
20.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
149 feet

Weather station: La Joya (5 miles away). 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: Mission Regional Medical Center, McAllen, San Antonio.

Hidalgo 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 Park53 miles

Read about Palmhurst's history on Wikipedia.

Know Palmhurst?

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

  • West Sharyland, TX (unincorporated)1,664 people, 3 miles
  • Palmview South, TX (unincorporated)1,819 people, 6 miles
  • Perezville, TX (unincorporated)2,237 people, 7 miles
  • Citrus City, TX (unincorporated)2,395 people, 8 miles
  • Abram, TX (unincorporated)1,741 people, 8 miles
  • Granjeno, TX284 people, 8 miles
  • Lopezville, TX (unincorporated)2,227 people, 9 miles
  • César Chávez, TX (unincorporated)1,351 people, 12 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.