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South Padre Island, Texas

South Padre Island is a tourist town of about 2,100 people in Cameron County, Texas. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 7.3 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 245 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
2,086
up 0.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$516,900
Cameron County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$70,472
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Brownsville area
86
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
24 miles
Brownsville, TX
To San Antonio
245 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 7.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood32 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 15.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 108.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Port Isabel Early College H S, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byValley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, about 24 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySan Antonio is about 245 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 South Padre Island 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

Tourist town. About 67% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

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
$516,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Cameron County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,521 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$70,472U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,293 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
67%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 South Padre Island 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
2,0862020: 2,074
Median age
60.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
40%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
10%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
53%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%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
Schools, health care and social services (18%)
Below the poverty line
16%U.S.: 12%

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 24 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 South Padre Island itself. The nearest public high school is Port Isabel Early College H S, about 6 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
84%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
54°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
55 a year
Nights at or below freezing
0 a year
Rain and melted snow
28.8 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
3 feet

Weather stations: S Padre Is (5 miles away) and Port Isabel (9 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 Park18 miles
  • Padre Island National Seashore31 miles

Read about South Padre Island's history on Wikipedia.

Know South Padre Island?

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

  • Laguna Heights, TX (unincorporated)357 people, 6 miles
  • Bayview, TX556 people, 14 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.