About the City
Laredo has a long and vibrant history. Just 150 miles southwest of San Antonio and 150 miles north of Monterrey, Mexico, Laredo is truly a land of many cultures, filled with rich colors, flavors and sounds.
Founded on the north bank of the Río Grande in 1755 by Captain Tomás Sánchez, the Spanish settlement became a Mexican city in 1821. After several residents became disgruntled with the Mexican centralist government's rule by dictatorship, many Laredoans supported the creation of the Republic of the Río Grande in 1840. Laredo became the capital of the new republic which attempted to unite Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and parts of South Texas. After the U.S./Mexican War, the Río Grande was declared the boundary between the United States and Mexico. Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Laredo officially became part of Texas.
Today, Laredo is known as the principal port of entry into Mexico and the second fastest growing city in the U.S. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Laredo Metropolitan Statistical Area was one of the fastest growing areas in the nation during the 1990s. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 176,576. A 2005 Census estimate showed 208,754. The racial makeup of the city was 82.27% White, 0.37% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 13.94% from other races, and 2.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino accounts for 94.13% of the population in terms of ethnicity.
The median income for a household in the city was $9,108, and the median income for a family was $12,449. The per capita income for the city was $1,084.