South Padre Island, Texas

Encyclopedia : S : SO : SOU : South Padre Island, Texas

A street in South Padre, with residences and a hotel.

South Padre Island is a town in Cameron County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had an official population of 2,422, although this probably underestimates its size since many people split their time between vacation properties on South Padre and "permanent" residences elsewhere in the Rio Grande Valley. The town is located on Padre Island, a large barrier island along the Texas Gulf coast.

The town is very popular as a spring break beach destination for college students, especially those taking classes in the state of Texas. The town also has one of the most famous water parks in the United States, the Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark. It is also a popular destination for people from Monterrey, Mexico. People from Monterrey own more than 50% of the island's residential real estate.

Contents

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Education
4 External links

Geography

South Padre Island is located at [26°6′43″N, 97°10′11″W] (26.111935, -97.169587)^{[Geographic references#1GR1]}.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²). 4.7 km² (1.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (4.23%) is water.

South Padre Island is named after Father José Nicolas Ballí (Padre Balli), a Catholic priest and settler.

Demographics

As of the census^{[Geographic references#2GR2]} of 2000, there were 2,422 people, 1,211 households, and 662 families residing in the town. The population density was 516.7/km² (1,335.9/mi²). There were 4,685 housing units at an average density of 999.4/km² (2,584.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.59% White, 0.70% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.77% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 22.83% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,211 households out of which 15.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.3% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.54.

In the town the population was spread out with 12.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 34.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 113.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $45,417, and the median income for a family was $53,250. Males had a median income of $39,250 versus $30,028 for females. The per capita income for the town was $31,708. About 10.2% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

A west-bound view from the Holiday Inn SunSpree in South Padre Island.

Children living in South Padre Island are zoned to schools in Point Isabel Independent School District. Children go to Garriga Elementary School (Grades K-2), Derry Elementary School, (3-5), Port Isabel Junior High School (6-8), and Port Isabel High School (9-12). All of the schools are in Port Isabel.

In addition, South Padre Island residents may apply to schools in the South Texas Independent School District.

External links

[General guide for visitors and locals]
[Updated news and information of interest to spring breakers]
[Reviews and Ratings of South Padre Island hotels, condos and more.]
[Sea Turtle, Inc. - Kemp's ridley sea turtle protection headquartered on South Padre Island]
[The History of South Padre Island, Texas]
[Interactive map of South Padre Island, Texas]
[Driving on South Padre Island Beaches]
[Maps and aerial photos] Coordinates: [26.111935° -97.169587°]
* Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
* Topographic map from [TopoZone]
* Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
* Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Windows Live Local]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[Special]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.