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Demographics
of South Texas
Poverty and Insurance
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The poverty rate along the Texas-Mexico border is nearly double the Texas rate (Table 9). The per capita income is just over half the corresponding Texas values. The percent of unemployment range from 2.0 (Kerr County) to 22.3 (Starr County), with counties around the metropolitan areas of Corpus Christi and San Antonio having unemployment that parallels the State’s 4.2% while counties along the Texas/Mexico Border have unemployment rates ranging from 8.7% to 22.3%. According to the Texas Water Development Board, of the 34 counties that are classified as “economically distressed areas,” fourteen (14) are located in the South Texas catchment area and are located along the Texas/Mexico Border. A relatively large fraction of the South Texas population (approximately twice the state rate) receives food stamps. High poverty and low incomes characterize the Coastal region, although rates are not as high as along the Texas/Mexico Border. This region and the South Central region, roughly parallel Texas’ rates.
Over 30% of the Texas-Mexico Border population (LRGV, MRG, and WGB) is without health insurance, and almost 25% receive Medicaid benefits (Table 10), greater than the rates for the South Central and Coastal regions, which are more in line with Texas. Only about 10% of the LRGV and MRG populations are enrolled in Medicare, reflecting the relative youth of those regions.
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9. Poverty and Income, 2002-2004 |
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Population 2000 |
Per Capita Income 2003 |
Population in Poverty 2002 (%) |
Food Stamp Recipients 2003 (%) |
Un-employment 2004 (%) |
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LRGV |
978,369 |
$15,349 |
32.5 |
26.6 |
9.3 |
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MRG |
239,814 |
$16,989 |
27.6 |
23.0 |
6.9 |
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WGB |
138,267 |
$16,612 |
26.6 |
23.1 |
10.1 |
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South Central |
1,807,868 |
$27,244 |
15.8 |
9.4 |
5.6 |
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South Coastal |
505,567 |
$24,125 |
20.0 |
16.2 |
6.6 |
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South Texas
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3,669,885 |
$22,486 |
22.2 |
16.5 |
6.9 |
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Texas |
20,851,820 |
$29,074 |
15.4 |
8.5 |
6.1 |
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United States |
281,422,000 |
$31,472 |
12.1 |
7.3 |
5.5 |
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Sources: |
US Census Bureau
(Population and Poverty);US Bureau of Economic Analysis (Per Capita
Income; Texas Department of Human Services (Food Stamp Recipients);
Texas Workforce
Commission (Unemployment)
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10. Health Insurance, Medicaid, and
Medicare, 2000 & 2003 |
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Population 2000 |
Uninsured 2000
(%) |
Enrolled in Medicaid 2003
(%) |
Enrolled in
Medicare 2003
(%) |
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LRGV |
978,369 |
32.4 |
25.4 |
9.8 |
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MRG |
239,814 |
30.7 |
22.9 |
9.4 |
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WGB |
138,267 |
31.2 |
24.2 |
13.7 |
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South Central |
1,807,868 |
19.6 |
12.2 |
12.4 |
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South Coastal |
505,567 |
21.9 |
16.0 |
12.9 |
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South Texas |
3,669,885 |
24.6 |
17.5 |
11.6 |
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Texas |
20,851,820 |
19.0 |
11.2 |
10.8 |
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United States |
281,422,000 |
14.2 |
15.3 |
13.8 |
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Sources: |
US Census Bureau
(Population and Uninsured); Texas Health and Human Services Commission
(Texas Medicaid Data); US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Studies
(Medicare and US Medicaid Data) |
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