City safety & data profile

MercedesTX

Mercedes, TX is a 17K-resident city in Hidalgo County with a median household income of $46,904.

Hidalgo County, Texas. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for Mercedes, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. Mercedes has a population larger than 34% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $111,800, and 5 hospitals serving the surrounding area.

17K
Population (place)
Bottom 35%
By size
$46,904
Median income (place)
$111,800
Median home (place)
28.6%
Poverty rate (place)
My saved cities

The read on Mercedes

Mercedes posts a median household income higher than 6% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 5 hospitals serve the Mercedes area.

Bottom 7%
by median income, US cities
5
hospitals in & near Mercedes

Composite score · Mercedes, TX

11/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2024

A transparent index Areazine derives from Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published, not an official Census Bureau or FBI rating. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move to or avoid any place. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Violent crime F
344 /100k

FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents. State-level rate (per-city UCR reporting is incomplete/voluntary): every city in the state shares this value; lower is stronger on this axis.

Bachelor's+ share F
15.5%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Household income F
$46,904

Median household income vs cities tracked on Areazine; ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Poverty rate F
28.6%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis. ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Mercedes in context: the full national tables: Healthiest Cities in America (health outcomes only) · Community Wellbeing Cities (this page's blended composite).

Where Mercedes income ranks nationally

Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)

$46,904 Bottom 6% higher than 6% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles

Mercedes $0 $260,000 every profiled place, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $20,000-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year

Population ranking: TX

Population among 244 TX places with 10,000+ residents and ACS income on Areazine. Tooltip shows the income rank in the same pool.

residents

What this shows Houston is the largest TX city on this list; Southlake leads median income.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

TX cities ranked by median household income

Median household income across 244 tracked TX places. Hover a bar for its population rank.

median

What this shows Southlake leads this pool on median income; Houston is the population leader instead.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

The quick read

Reading Mercedes, TX beyond the headline numbers

Mercedes sits inside Hidalgo County, Texas, at roughly 26.15°N, -97.91°W. Population 16,657, $46,904 median household income. Median home value $111,800, median rent $812. Poverty rate 28.6%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.

5 hospitals in/around Mercedes (nearest 6.5 mi away), 3.7/5 avg rating, 3 with an ER. Climate: 75°F annual average, 25.8" precipitation.

Among the CDC measures on this page, lack of health insurance departs furthest from its peer median: 38.1% in Mercedes, the highest-prevalence quarter of the 3,759 cities reporting that measure.

28.6% of Mercedes, TX residents live below the poverty line, placing it in the hardest-hit quarter of reporting cities. Read every median on this page against that: half the households are above it, and a large minority are far below.

Mercedes's median age is 33.2 years, in the youngest quarter of reporting cities.

A typical renter in Mercedes, TX pays $812/month, in the cheapest quarter of reporting cities -- rent here is not what strains a local paycheck.

Housing is inexpensive against local pay -- the median home in Mercedes runs about 2.4 years of median household income, in the cheapest quarter of reporting cities.

15.5% of Mercedes adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the lowest quarter of reporting cities.

6.8% unemployment puts Mercedes in the toughest quarter of reporting cities for job availability.

Remote work covers 9.5% of Mercedes workers, under the midpoint for reporting cities.

Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for Mercedes from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Economic comparison bars use the unweighted average across tracked Census places with a reported value, not a household-weighted national median.

Looking Back a Decade 2013–2024

County-level trend (Hidalgo County): Mercedes's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.

20132024
Population
892K+13%
Median Income
$54,338+59%
Median Home Value
$140,900+80%
Poverty Rate
26.7%-23%
Unemployment
7.6%-29%

Economic Snapshot

Mercedes's poverty rate of 28.6% runs 131% above the tracked-city average, the most notable of the economic figures Areazine tracks here. Median household income runs 48% below average too, at $46,904.

Economics indicators for Mercedes, TX
IndicatorValue
Median Rent
$812/mo
Poverty Rate
28.6% +131% vs avg
Unemployment 6.8%
Bachelor's Degree+ 15.5%
Work From Home 9.5%
Public Transit 0.4%

Population

White 45.7%
African American 0.4%
Asian 0.1%

Health Profile 15 measures

Health Indicators

Obesity
44.9%
Physical Inactivity
39.5%
Short Sleep Duration
39.2%
Lack of Health Insurance
38.1%
High Blood Pressure
36.6%
Diabetes
19.6%
Frequent Mental Distress
17.9%
Frequent Physical Distress
17.9%
Binge Drinking
15.4%
Current Smoking
13.7%

Preventive Care

Dental Visit 43.2%
Annual Checkup 73.4%

Other Measures

Current Asthma
8.9%
Coronary Heart Disease
7.9%
Stroke
4.3%

Hospitals Within Range 5 within 25 mi

CMS Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating (1-5): a composite score across dozens of reported measures, not a single outcome guarantee for any patient. It isn't adjusted for patient case mix and isn't directly comparable across hospital types, a critical-access facility and a large teaching hospital aren't rated on the same measure set.

Rating Distribution
★★★★★
1
★★★★
1
★★★
0
★★
1
0
Average Rating
3.7/5
Total Hospitals
5
With ER
3
KNAPP MEDICAL CENTER
WESLACO · 6.5 mi away · Acute Care Hospitals · ER
★★★★★
RIO GRANDE STATE CENTER
HARLINGEN · 10.5 mi away · Psychiatric
☆☆☆☆☆
VHS HARLINGEN HOSPITAL COMPANY LLC
HARLINGEN · 17.1 mi away · Acute Care Hospitals · ER
★★☆☆☆
HARLINGEN MEDICAL CENTER
HARLINGEN · 17.1 mi away · Acute Care Hospitals · ER
★★★★☆
PALMS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
HARLINGEN · 17.1 mi away · Psychiatric
☆☆☆☆☆

Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 Normals
Avg Temperature
75°F
Annual Rainfall
25.8"
Hot Months (>80°F)
8
Cold Months (<40°F)
0
71°
50°
Jan
1.0"
75°
54°
Feb
1.0"
81°
60°
Mar
1.5"
86°
65°
Apr
1.5"
90°
72°
May
2.6"
95°
76°
Jun
2.8"
96°
77°
Jul
2.2"
97°
76°
Aug
1.9"
92°
73°
Sep
5.6"
87°
66°
Oct
2.8"
80°
58°
Nov
1.6"
72°
52°
Dec
1.3"

Cost of Living

BEA 2024
85.9 Regional Price Parity

14.1% below national average

US avg
85.9

Metro area: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX (MSA)

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities via FRED. RPP of 100 = national average.

Flood Insurance Claims History

FEMA NFIP, county-level
2,496
Claims filed
$97.7M
Total paid out
X
Most common flood zone

Since 2016, NFIP has paid out $97.7M across 2,496 flood insurance claims filed in Hidalgo County.

The largest single contributor was Hurricane Hanna, accounting for 775 claims.

Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims, via OpenFEMA. County-level data: individual claims are not attributed to a specific city or address by FEMA.

What alerts and safety updates affect Mercedes?

No area-tagged alerts are on record for Mercedes right now. New federal and counterpart-agency notices still land in the site feed as agencies publish them.

City alert dispatch desk

Sheet TX-MERCEDES · Mercedes

Mercedes: no area-tagged alerts on record. State hubs carry the live CAP stream.

  • FEED-QUIET No tagged alerts
  • LEAD-NONE Feed idle
  • DESK-IDLE Awaiting feed

Counts reflect published articles tagged to Mercedes; untagged NOAA county warnings may still appear in the site feed. Browse Texas state hubs · Methodology

Read with this city profile

Common Questions 9

What is the population of Mercedes, TX?
Mercedes, TX has a population of 16,657 people, located in Hidalgo County, Texas.
What is the median household income in Mercedes?
The median household income in Mercedes, TX is $46,904 per year, per the U.S. Census ACS. The poverty rate is 28.6%.
What is the median home value in Mercedes?
The median home value in Mercedes, TX is $111,800. Median rent is $812/month.
What are the top health concerns in Mercedes?
The top health indicators in Mercedes include Obesity (44.9%), Physical Inactivity (39.5%), Short Sleep Duration (39.2%). Data from CDC PLACES.
What hospitals are near Mercedes?
The nearest hospitals to Mercedes, TX are KNAPP MEDICAL CENTER (6.5 mi, in WESLACO), RIO GRANDE STATE CENTER (10.5 mi, in HARLINGEN), VHS HARLINGEN HOSPITAL COMPANY LLC (17.1 mi, in HARLINGEN), HARLINGEN MEDICAL CENTER (17.1 mi, in HARLINGEN), PALMS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (17.1 mi, in HARLINGEN). 3 have emergency departments.
What is the median age in Mercedes?
The median age in Mercedes, TX is 33.2 years. 15.5% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What is the climate like in Mercedes?
Mercedes has an average annual temperature of 75°F and 25.8" of annual precipitation.
What is the cost of living in Mercedes?
The regional price parity for Mercedes is 85.895, meaning prices are 14.1% below the national average.
How many flood insurance claims has Hidalgo County filed?
Hidalgo County, Texas has recorded 2,496 NFIP flood insurance claims since 2016, totaling $97.7M in payouts. This is county-level data: FEMA does not attribute individual claims to a specific city.

Similar poverty or income, nationwide 8

Two ACS-derived peer sets for Mercedes, both outside Texas so the neighborhoods are not the geographic nearby list below.

Similar poverty rate

Nearest place-level ACS poverty rates outside TX (28.6% here).

Similar median income

Nearest place-level ACS median household incomes outside TX ($46,904 here).

Compare Mercedes with another city

Pick a second U.S. city to open a side-by-side profile on population, income, health, and hospitals, the same federal datasets as this page.

Quick picks:

Cities Close By 8

Using Mercedes's profile

Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.

  • Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the Mercedes area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
  • Read the poverty rate alongside the income figure, two places with the same median can have very different realities.
  • Compare Mercedes against Texas peers on any ranking lens. Explore Texas

Place-level figures for population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) come from U.S. Census ACS; health data is CDC PLACES; hospital counts cover facilities in and around the city. Any county-level trend is labeled as such.

Data Sources

All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (Hidalgo County) where that is the smallest published unit.

Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census (place-level ACS), CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. County-level trends are labeled when shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-09-16.