Mission

• Official Name — Mission • Type — City • Motto — Home of the Grapefruit • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — United States • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — Texas • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Hidalgo • Government Type — Council-manager • Leader Title — City council • Leader Name — Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza Jessica Ortega Ochoa Ruben Plata Jose Alberto Vela Abiel Flores • Leader Title1 — City manager • Leader Name1 — Mike Perez • Established Title — Founded • Established Date — 1907 • Established Title1 — Incorporated • Established Date1 — 1910 • Unit Pref — Imperial • Area Total Km2 — 94.26 • Area Land Km2 — 94.11 • Area Water Km2 — 0.18 • Area Total Sq Mi — 36.39 • Area Land Sq Mi — 36.34 • Area Water Sq Mi — 0.07 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Est — 86635 • Pop Est As Of — 2022 • Population Total — 85778 • Population Rank — US: 403rd TX: 46th • Population Density Km2 — 920.6 • Population Density Sq Mi — 2,384 • Population Urban — 779553 (US: 56th) • Population Density Urban Km2 — 922.7 • Population Density Urban Sq Mi — 2389.7 • Population Metro — 888367 (US: 65th) • Time Zone — Central (CST) • Utc Offset — –6 • Time Zone Dst — CDT • Utc Offset Dst — –5 • Elevation M — 43 • Elevation Ft — 141 • Postal Code Type — ZIP codes • Postal Code — 78503, 78572, 78573, 78174 • Area Code — 956 • Custom Label Sec1 — FIPS code • Custom Data Sec1 — 48-48768 • Custom Label1 Sec1 — GNIS feature ID • Custom Data1 Sec1 — 1341738 • Custom Label2 Sec1 — Sales tax • Custom Data2 Sec1 — 8.25%

• Illustration — Mission in 1933 Mission is in southern Hidalgo County. It is bordered to the east by McAllen, the largest city in the county, to the north by Palmhurst, to the west by Palmview, and to the south by the Mexico–United States border along the Rio Grande. The Interstate 2/U.S. Route 83 freeway passes through Mission, south of the center of town. The highway leads east 5 mi to downtown McAllen and 41 mi to Harlingen. Interstate 2 ends 7 mi west of Mission; US 83 leads west 34 mi to Rio Grande City. According to the United States Census Bureau, Mission has a total area of 88.2 km2, of which 0.2 sqkm, or 0.20%, is covered by water.

As of the 2020 census, Mission had a population of 85,778. The median age was 34.0 years. 28.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.4 males age 18 and over. 99.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.5% lived in rural areas. There were 27,165 households in Mission, of which 44.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.9% were married-couple households, 14.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 32,707 housing units, of which 16.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.1%. Racial composition as of the 2020 census • Race — Number — Percentage • White — 29,183 — 34.0% • Black or African American — 514 — 0.6% • American Indian and Alaska Native — 509 — 0.6% • Asian — 1,278 — 1.5% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander — 30 — 0.0% • Some other race — 16,667 — 19.4% • Two or more races — 37,597 — 43.8% • Hispanic or Latino (of any race) — 75,956 — 88.5%

As of the 2010 United States census, 77,058 people, resided in the city.

As of the 2000 United States census, 45,408 people, 13,766 households, and 11,384 families lived in the city. The population density was 1,881.9 PD/sqmi. The 17,723 housing units had an average density of 734.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 77.63% White, 0.37% African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.63% Asian, 18.65% from other races, and 2.34% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 81.03% of the population. Of the 13,766 households, 43.4% had children under 18 living with them, 64.8% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.3% were not families; 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.29, and the average family size was 3.68. In the city, the age distribution was 32.1% under 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,647, and for a family was $33,465. Males had a median income of $25,710 versus $20,718 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,796. About 22.6% of families and 26.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.4% of those under 18 and 15.6% of those 65 or over. The United States Postal Service operates a post office in the city. Local ZIP codes include 78571, 78572, 78573, and 78574.

Mission shares the same economic growth that nearby McAllen is experiencing. The Mission Economic Development Corporation promotes development in the area. The city has been advertised as the "Home of the Ruby Red" grapefruit since 1921, due to the fruit being commonly grown in the area. The city is also home to the Texas Citrus Exchange. The city holds the annual Texas Citrus Fiesta Parade along Conway Avenue, which features fruit-decorated floats, bands, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and many local and city government officials. Moore Air Force Base (deactivated) is located 15 mi north of the city. It is the location of the First Lift Station of the Mission Canal Company that once irrigated 15000 acre of farmland in the Rio Grande Valley.

Most of Mission is a part of the Mission Consolidated Independent School District. Other portions extend into the La Joya Independent School District and the Sharyland Independent School District. Mission CISD operates Mission High School and Veterans Memorial High School. Sharyland ISD Mission is divided between Sharyland High School and Sharyland Pioneer High School. LJISD Mission is zoned to Palmview High School. In addition, South Texas Independent School District operates magnet schools that serve the community. Mission is also the site of San Juan Diego Academy, a Catholic high school operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville.

The Speer Memorial Library serves Mission. The facility has 48760 sqft of space. The library originated in March 1914, when the Civic League of Mission was formed to maintain a park and form a library. The first library board included officers from the civic league. In 1929, the city of Mission passed an ordinance making the library a part of the city government. In 1930, the library was in a room in the First National Bank. Later, it moved to the Mission City Hall. From the early 1930s until 1947, the city library shared facilities with the school library. By 1960, it outgrew the building it had occupied. In 1976, Juanita Speer Farley donated the deed to her property to the city. A new library, designed by Warren Suter, an architect from Mission, was constructed in 1976 and 1977. The official completion date of the 14000 sqft library was June 1, 1977. An addition in 1988 increased the library's area to 18660 sqft. An additional expansion of 30100 sqft, designed by architect TAG International, LLP, and constructed by Velasco Construction, was scheduled to be completed in March 2005, and the renovation of the older portions of the library was scheduled to begin afterwards.

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• Fortunato Benavides, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, born in Mission • Lloyd Bentsen, former U.S. senator and vice-presidential nominee, born in Mission in 1921 • William Jennings Bryan, presidential candidate and former Secretary of State, lived for a time in Mission • William S. Burroughs, writer of Naked Lunch, lived in Mission for a short while and wrote about it in Junkie • Jorge Cantu, MLB player from Sharyland High School, who played for Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, and now playing for Colorado Rockies • Koy Detmer, brother of Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, played for and carried the Mission Eagles football team to the semi-finals in Texas 5A football under the leadership of his father, Sonny Detmer • Jaime Garcia, professional MLB player from Sharyland High School playing with 2011 World Series champions St. Louis Cardinals • Kika de la Garza, former state representative and former U.S. representative, chairman of the Agriculture Committee • Lena Guerrero, the first woman and first ethnic minority person to serve on the regulatory Texas Railroad Commission • Pierre Yves Kéralum (1817–1872), priest and architect • Joe M. Kilgore, former U.S. representative, reared partly in Mission • Tom Landry, Hall of Fame coach of the Dallas Cowboys, born and raised, played for Mission High School • Ana Liz Pulido, James Beard Award winner for Best Chef:Texas in 2024 • Tito Santana (or Merced Solis), former World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) star • Trinidad Silva, actor • Jamaar Taylor, attended Mission High School and played football, later being drafted by the New York Giants. After his retirement, he helped coach at Mission Veterans Memorial High School for a brief period.

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