Raymondville is a city in and the county seat of Willacy County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,236 at the 2020 census.

Geography

Raymondville is located at (26.481464, –97.783013) and is known as the "Gateway to the Rio Grande Valley." According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.8&nbsp;square miles (9.8&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), all land.

Soils are mostly clay or sandy clay loams which are well drained or moderately well drained. Some fine sandy loams underlie the eastern part of town. These have near neutral pH. Other parts of town have moderately alkaline, somewhat saline soils. Around the southern edge of town is an area of strong salinity, which imposes limitations on farmers and gardeners.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Raymondville has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps. The all-time record high of 109 °F (43 °C) occurred on June 6 1916, while the all-time record low of 14 °F (-10 °C) occurred on January 12 and 13, 1962. The average date of first frost is December 15, while the average date of last frost is January 23.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Raymondville had a population of 10,236 people, 2,506 households, and 2,151 families residing in the city.

The median age was 34.7 years; 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 131.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 141.9 males age 18 and over.

Of the 2,506 households in Raymondville, 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 40.9% were married-couple households, 17.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 4,041 || 39.5%

|-

| Black or African American || 431 || 4.2%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 65 || 0.6%

|-

| Asian || 150 || 1.5%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%

|-

| Some other race || 2,853 || 27.9%

|-

| Two or more races || 2,696 || 26.3%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 8,798 || 86.0%

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+Raymondville racial composition<br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Race

!Number

!Percentage

|-

|White (NH)

|817

|7.98%

|-

|Black or African American (NH)

|418

|4.08%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)

|15

|0.15%

|-

|Asian (NH)

|148

|1.45%

|-

|Some Other Race (NH)

|21

|0.21%

|-

|Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)

|19

|0.19%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino

|8,798

|85.95%

|-

|Total

|10,236

|

|}

2000 census

As of the census

Infrastructure

Raymondville is the location of three private prisons, all adjacent to each other:

  • The Willacy County Correctional Center (), owned and operated by the Management and Training Corporation under contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is located on the east side of Interstate 69E/U.S. Route 77. Constructed in 45 days, it opened in 2006 and closed in March 2015 after destructive riots; the center was a large "tent city" federal holding center for illegal immigrants.
  • The Willacy County Regional Detention Center, or the Willacy Detention Center () opened in 2003. It is operated by Management and Training Corporation housing federal prisoners for the U.S. Marshal Service.
  • The Willacy County State Jail (), operated by the Corrections Corporation of America under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, is a medium-security facility with a capacity of 1069. CCA has managed this facility since 2004. This facility was opened by Wackenhut, now GEO Group, in 1996. On April 26, 2001, inmate Gregorio De La Rosa, Jr., was beaten to death by other prisoners. This incident caused a $42.5 million civil settlement against Wackenhut.

The United States Postal Service operates the Raymondville Post Office.

The Raymondville Independent School District serves the city.

The Reber Memorial Library is located in Raymondville.

The Raymondville Chronicle and Willacy County News, a weekly newspaper, is published in Raymondville.

Notable people

  • Clinton Manges (1923–2010), businessman; lived in Raymondville, married a native belle, built and owned a bowling alley
  • Angela Via (born 1981), Singer; was born and raised in Raymondville

Films

Raymondville's history was the subject of the film, Valley of Tears. The movie visits the Mexican-American community that had worked the onion fields of rural South Texas in three different eras, observing how the seeds of change planted 20 years ago seem ready to bear fruit today. Politicians and officials interviewed in the film include Larry Spence, former District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, Paul Whitworth, Wetegrove families, Dr. Allan Spence, and school-board and city-council members.

See also

  • List of municipalities in Texas

Notes

References

  • Handbook of Texas Online