Laredo, Texas
Laredo is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a village to the capital of the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande to the largest inland port on the Mexican border. Laredo's economy is primarily based on international trade with Mexico, and as a major hub for three areas of transportation: land, rail, and air cargo. The city is on the southern end of I-35, which connects manufacturers in northern Mexico through Interstate 35 as a major route for trade throughout the U.S. It has four international bridges and two railway bridges.
According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 255,205, making it the 11th-most populous city in Texas and third-most populated U.S. city on the Mexican border, after San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas. Its metropolitan area is the 178th-largest in the
U.S. and includes all of Webb County, with a population of 267,114. Laredo is also part of the cross-border Laredo-Nuevo Laredo metropolitan area with an estimated population of 636,516.
Laredo's Hispanic proportion of 95.15% is one of the highest proportion of Hispanic Americans of any city in the United States outside of Puerto Rico.
Texas A&M International University and Laredo College are in Laredo. Laredo International Airport is within the Laredo city limits, while the Quetzalcoatl International Airport is nearby in Nuevo Laredo on the Mexican side.
The biggest festival, Washington's Birthday Celebration, is held during the later part of January and the majority of February, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists.
History
The Spanish colonial settlement of Villa de San Agustín de Laredo was founded in 1755 by Don Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera, while the area was part of the Nuevo Santander region in the Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. Villa de San Agustín de Laredo was named after Laredo, Cantabria, Spain and in honor of Saint Augustine of Hippo. In 1840, Laredo was the capital of the independent Republic of the Rio Grande, set up in opposition to Antonio López de Santa Anna; it was brought back into Mexico by military force.In 1846 during the Mexican–American War, the town was occupied by the Texas Rangers. After the war, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ceded the land to the United States. A referendum was taken in the town, which voted to petition the American military government in charge of the area to return the town to Mexico. When this petition was rejected, many who had been in the area for generations, moved across the river into Mexican territory, where they founded Nuevo Laredo. Many others, especially original land grantees on the north side of the Rio Grande remained, becoming Texans in the process. In 1849, the United States Army set up Fort McIntosh. Laredo was rechartered as a city in 1852.
Laredo is one of the oldest crossing points along the Mexico–United States border, and the nation's largest inland port of entry. In 2005, Laredo celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding.
The etymology of the name for the Spanish town of Laredo is unclear. Some scholars say the name stems from glaretum, which means "sandy, rocky place". Others state Laredo stems from a Basque word meaning "beautiful pastures". Laredo might also stem from the Latin larida, which means gull.
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma brought his Bach Project to the Juarez–Lincoln International Bridge in April 2019.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 102.6 square miles, of which 1.5 square miles are covered by water.Location
Laredo is on the west end of the Rio Grande Plains, south of the Edwards Plateau, west of the Coastal Plains, and east of the Mexican Mountains. The area consists of a few hills and flat land covered with grasses, oaks, and mesquite.Bodies of water
Notable geographic features are the Rio Grande and Chacon Creek's man-made reservoir, Lake Casa Blanca, in Lake Casa Blanca International State Park. The lake is of land and of water. The six major creeks are Chacon Creek, San Ildefonso Creek, San Ygnacio Creek, Santa Isabel Creek, Sombrerillito Creek, and Zacate Creek, all of which drain into the Rio Grande. Several man-made reservoirs include the San Ildefonso Creek Lake, and the Sombrerillito Creek Lake.Climate
Laredo is considered to have a hot semi-arid climate. with sweltering temperatures in the summer and mild temperatures during the winter. Its weather is affected by the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains to the west, the Gulf of Mexico to the east, and the Chihuahuan Desert of Northern Mexico and West Texas. Moisture from the Pacific is cut off by the Mexican mountain range.The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from in January to in August; official record temperatures range from on December 30, 1983, up to on May 7, 1927, June 17, 1908, and June 19, 2023. On average, temperatures reach or higher on 74.2 afternoons annually, and fall to or below the freezing mark on 4.6 mornings, although, in five seasons, the annual minimum temperature was above freezing.
Rainfall averages annually, with higher amounts typically occurring from May to October, with peaks in May and September separated by a secondary minimum due to a westward shift of the subtropical anticyclone and divergence between the westerlies and trade winds. Actual annual rainfall has ranged from in 2011 to in 1971. The highest monthly rainfalls have been in September 1923, in July 1919, in June 1973 and in September 1971. The heaviest daily rainfall has been on July 28, 1903. In contrast, not even a trace fell for 108 days from May 12 to August 28 of 1917.
Measurable snow in Laredo has occurred in only five seasons since records began in 1902:
- on December 27–28, 1925 and January 22–23, 1926, totalling
- on December 14, 1947, with
- on January 9, 1967, with
- on Christmas Eve 2004, with
- on December 7–8, 2017, with
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, 255,205 people, 72,328 households, and 58,294 families resided in the city.2010 census
As of the 2010, Laredo is the 81st-largest city in the United States and the 10th-largest in Texas. According to the 2010 census there were 236,091 inhabitants in the city.According to the 2010 U.S. census, the racial composition of Laredo was:
- Non-Hispanic Whites: 3.86%
- Black or African American: 0.5%
- Native American: 0.4%
- Asian: 0.6%
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.00%
- Two or more races: 1.5%
- other races 9.3%
- Hispanic or Latino – 95.6%
The 2005 estimate listed 99,675 males and 108,112 females. The average household contained 3.69 occupants. The population density was.
Of the 60,816 households, 56,247 or 92.5% were occupied: 33,832 were owner-occupied units and 22,415 were renter-occupied units. About 62.0% were married couples living together, 18.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.7% were not families. Around 12.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.69, and the average family size was 4.18.
The city's population is distributed as 35.5% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,019, and for a family was $32,577. The per capita income for the city was $12,269; 29.2% of families were below the poverty line.
According to the United States Census Bureau, at a 2000 census, Laredo was the second-fastest growing city in the United States, after Las Vegas.
In 2016, the violent crime rate in Laredo dropped to 379 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to AreaVibes. The violent crime rate in Dallas was 694 per 100,000 inhabitants. In Houston, it was 967 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Economy
banking institutions in Laredo include Falcon International Bank, International Bank of Commerce, and Texas Community Bank.Laredo is the largest inland port in the United States, and Nuevo Laredo the largest in Latin America. This is due to their respective locations, served by Interstate Highway 35 / Mexican Federal Highway 85, the effects of NAFTA, dozens of twin assembly plants on the Mexican side, and dozens of import export agencies to expedite trade. In January 2014, the Laredo customs district processed "$20 billion in two-way trade with Mexico", about half that for the entire US with Mexico for the month. Laredo is a shopping destination for Mexican shoppers from Northern Mexico. In 2015, the San Antonio Express-News reported the number of Mexican shoppers has declined due to drug war-related violence in Nuevo Laredo.