Brownsville, Texas Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Brownsville, TX Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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D
Health Well below average
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D
Income Well below average
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F
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population
| Metric | Brownsville | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 185,312 | 30,160,889 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 1259.5 | 112.2 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.30% | 1.41% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 32.4 | 35.9 | 37.3 |
| Households | 58,882 | 10,982,153 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Brownsville grew by 8.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 185,312 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Brownsville is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 26.5% of residents. That is 3.0 points above Texas as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 49,025 26.5% +3.0 pts
- Millennials 29–44 36,830 19.9% -3.0 pts
- Gen X 45–60 31,418 17.0% -2.5 pts
- Boomers 61–79 22,597 12.2% -1.0 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Texas, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 52.0% of the people living in Brownsville and men 48.0%.
- Women 52.0% Texas 50.1%
- Men 48.0% Texas 49.9%
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Economy
Brownsville has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Brownsville | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $52,088 | $78,939 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 5.76% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.0% | 5.2% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Brownsville is about 34% lower than in Texas.
Housing
| Metric | Brownsville | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $211,939 | $258,873 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $917 | $1,402 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 61.1% | 62.6% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Brownsville is about 19.3 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $917 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Brownsville spend about 41 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 171 hours, about 7.1 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Brownsville | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 20.5 | 22.8 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 41.0 | 45.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 171 | 190 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,300 | $5,888 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 8.4% | 14.4% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 7,177 | 9,879 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 2,240 | 1,441 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in Brownsville is 21 minutes, shorter than the 23 minutes in Texas.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Brownsville has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Brownsville | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 18.3% | 29.3% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 3.12 | 2.69 | 2.53 |
Health
Brownsville has a health index of D, which means it is barely healthy.
| Metric | Brownsville | Texas Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 79.0 | 78.0 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 32.9% | 21.1% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 19.4% | 19.9% | 19.0% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Brownsville, Texas.
How many people live in Brownsville, Texas?
About 185,312 people live in Brownsville, Texas, in 58,882 households of 3.1 people on average. The median age is 32.4, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 5 years.
How densely populated is Brownsville, Texas?
Averaged over its land area, Brownsville, Texas has 1,259 people per square mile, a density typical of urban and suburban areas. That is about 15 times the U.S. average of 86.
Is Brownsville, Texas an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 4.1 times the median household income ($211,939 against $52,088), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $917 a month takes about 21% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How educated are people in Brownsville, Texas?
18.3% of adults in Brownsville, Texas hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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