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Scissors, Texas

Scissors is an unincorporated community of about 4,300 people in Hidalgo County, Texas, in the McAllen area. 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 232 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of McAllen

Population
4,267
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$82,400
Hidalgo County prices up 21% since 2022
Prices, McAllen area
85.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Weslaco, TX
To San Antonio
232 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Scissors 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Idea College Prep, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byKnapp Medical Center in Weslaco, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Antonio is about 232 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 Scissors 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

Scissors 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
$82,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Hidalgo County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$661 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
84%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$712 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
16%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 Scissors 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
4,267The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
22.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
8%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
39%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
3%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
0%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
Construction (18%); schools, health care and social services (18%); professional and business services (18%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
33%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Knapp Medical Center, Weslaco, TX, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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 Scissors itself. The nearest public high school is Idea College Prep, 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 any internet subscription
90%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
50°F
July average high
96°F
Days 90°F or hotter
160 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
77 feet

Weather stations: Weslaco (6 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: Knapp Medical Center, Pharr, 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 Park36 miles
  • Padre Island National Seashore54 miles

Read about Scissors's history on Wikipedia.

Know Scissors?

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

  • Midway South, TX (unincorporated)2,308 people, 2 miles
  • Villa Verde, TX (unincorporated)373 people, 3 miles
  • Llano Grande, TX (unincorporated)2,283 people, 5 miles
  • Progreso Lakes, TX281 people, 7 miles
  • Muniz, TX (unincorporated)1,601 people, 9 miles
  • Lopezville, TX (unincorporated)2,227 people, 10 miles
  • Heidelberg, TX (unincorporated)2,215 people, 11 miles
  • Bixby, TX (unincorporated)294 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.