South Texas has a diverse geography including plains, mountains, coasts, and fertile land, making it unique. It's strategically located for nearshoring operations, offering easy access to major transportation corridors and serving as an ideal entry point for North American supply chains.
The South Texas region offers an excellent choice for companies looking to reduce expenses without sacrificing quality. With a skilled workforce and competitive labor costs, the area presents a cost-effective solution for businesses. The transportation and logistics infrastructure is first-rate, with easy access to seaports, highways, and railroads, making the distribution of products to various markets in the United States efficient and convenient.
Companies are responding to the need for reducing risks and costs associated with global supply chains, which can be difficult and complex. The South Texas region is vital for economic integration and presents an excellent opportunity for businesses that want to streamline their operations in the context of international trade.
The South Texas region has a total population of 3,646,778 inhabitants, consisting of 1,713,787 residents across the seven major counties of South Texas and 1,932,991 inhabitants in the border cities of Tamaulipas, Mexico. This indicates that the region boasts a significant workforce.
The workforce in South Texas is crucial to the region's economic growth. These workers excel in various key industries thanks to their solid preparation and training. The region's focus on providing high-quality education to meet the needs of local and regional industries has resulted in specialization in sectors such as energy, healthcare, and international trade.
South Texas collaborates with Mexican border cities due to their closely intertwined economies. The strategic location on the border emphasizes the significance of South Texas workers as a crucial link between the two interdependent economies.
The international trade industry has created opportunities in logistics, transportation, customs management, construction, and civil engineering due to the demand for workers and infrastructure modernization. Total Labor Force in South Texas: 883,296
| City | Total |
|---|---|
| Laredo | 255,205 (56%) - 142,914 |
| Mission | 87,778 (53%) - 45,462 |
| McAllen | 142,210 (58%) - 82,482 |
| Pharr | 79,715 (47%). - 37,466 |
| Edinburg | 100,243 (57%) - 57,138 |
| Donna | 16,797 (46%) - 7,727 |
| Harlingen | 71,829 (55%) - 39,506 |
| Brownsville | 186,738 (53%) - 98,971 |
South Texas has a subtropical climate that varies significantly throughout the region due to its vast geographical expanse. Generally, the area experiences hot summers and mild winters. During summer, temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius), while winters are usually mild with daytime temperatures rarely dropping below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius).
A noteworthy characteristic of South Texas' climate is its high humidity, which is heavily influenced by its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. This results in a humid environment that experiences rainfall for much of the year.
Showers and thunderstorms are common during the summer months, and hurricanes are a risk from June to November, bringing strong winds and torrential rain.
Laredo
Laredo is renowned for its extended, sweltering, humid, and gusty summers, whereas its winters are brief, chilly, and arid. The city experiences intermittent cloud cover throughout the year. The temperature in Laredo typically varies from 9°C to 38°C over the course of the year.
Donna
Donna has distinct seasonal climatic characteristics. In summer, the city is usually warm and stuffy, with temperatures frequently surpassing 30°C. Winter is brief but cool and dry, with a rejuvenating atmosphere and occasional winds. Temperatures in Donna typically fluctuate between 11°C during cooler months and 36°C during warmer periods.
Edinburg
The city's summers are characterized by scorching and oppressive weather, with temperatures often exceeding 30°C. Although the winters are short, they are cool, dry, and windy. Partially cloudy skies are a constant throughout the year, and temperatures typically range from 11°C in colder seasons to 36°C.
Harlingen
Harlingen has a warm and humid climate in summers, with temperatures often exceeding 30°C. The winters, on the other hand, are short, cool, dry, and windy. The temperature varies from 11°C in the colder months to 36°C in the warmer months, creating a diverse climate that caters to a variety of climate preferences.
McAllen
McAllen undergoes significant seasonal variations, with a warm season lasting for 3.8 months, during which daily high temperatures exceed 33°C on average. The hottest month of the year is August, characterized by an average maximum temperature of 36°C, alongside minimums of around 25°C. In contrast, the cool season covers a period of 2.5 months, during which daily high temperatures are below 24°C on average.
Brownsville
The hottest month of the year is August, with an average maximum temperature of 34°C and a minimum of 25°C. Winters are shorter and cooler, with a cool season lasting for 2.5 months, and average daily high temperatures below 24°C. The temperature range throughout the year generally falls between 11°C to 35°C.
Mission
Mission experiences a wide range of temperatures throughout the year, with the lowest temperature rarely dropping below 4°C and the highest temperature rarely exceeding 39°C. The best time to visit Mission is from late April to late June.
During the warm season, which lasts for 3.8 months, the average daily high temperature exceeds 34°C. In contrast, the cool season, which lasts for 2.5 months, sees average daily high temperatures below 24°C.
Pharr
Pharr experiences distinct seasonal variations in its climate. The summers are hot and uncomfortable, with temperatures often exceeding 30°C. Conversely, the winters are short but chilly, dry, and windy, offering a pleasant break from the summer heat. The temperature usually ranges from 11°C during the cooler months to 36°C in the warmer months.
México
Reynosa
The region is known for its dry steppe climate, which is warm all year round. The average annual temperature is around 22°C. During summer, temperatures can reach up to 40°C, while in winter, temperatures drop significantly, falling to less than 10°C.
Matamoros
Matamoros has a climate that is characterized by long, hot summers, which can feel oppressive. In contrast, winters are short, cool, dry, and windy, offering a welcome relief from the summer heat. The city usually experiences partly cloudy skies throughout the year, with temperatures ranging from 11°C during the cooler seasons to 35°C in the warmer months. The temperatures rarely drop below 4°C or exceed 36°C, creating a pleasant balance in the region's climatic conditions.
One of Texas’ most important natural resources is its soil. Texas soils are complex because of the wide diversity of climate, vegetation, geology, and landscape. More than 1,300 different kinds of soil are recognized in Texas. Each has a specific set of properties that affect its use.
Gulf Coast Marsh Soils
This 150,000-acre area lies in the extreme southeastern corner of Texas. The area can be subdivided into four parts: freshwater, intermediate, brackish, and saline (saltwater) marsh. The degree of salinity of this system grades landward from saltwater marshes along the coast to freshwater marshes inland. Surface drainage is very slow.
This area contains many lakes, bayous, tidal channels, and man-made canals. About one-half of the marsh is fresh; one-half is salty. Most of it is susceptible to flooding either by fresh water drained from lands adjacent to the marsh or by saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the soils are poorly drained, continuously saturated, soft, and can carry little weight. In general, the organic soils have a thick layer of dark gray, relatively undecomposed organic material over a gray, clayey subsoil. The mineral soils have a surface of dark gray, highly decomposed organic material over a gray, clayey subsoil.
Flatwoods Soils
The Flatwoods area includes about 2.5 million acres of woodland in humid South Texas just north of the Coast Prairie and extending into Louisiana. The landscape is level to gently undulating. Surface drainage is slow.
Upland soils are mostly deep, light-colored, acid loams with gray, loamy, or clayey subsoils. Bottomland soils are deep, dark-colored, acid clays and loams. The water table is near the surface at least part of the year.
The land is mainly used for forest, although cattle are grazed in some areas. Woodland management problems include seedling survival, invasion of hardwoods in pine stands, effects of logging on water quality, and control of the southern pine beetle.
Source: Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
