Rio Grande Valley
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The Rio Grande Valley or "the Valley," as it is affectionately called by those who live there, is a thriving region that is rapidly becoming an important commercial center of the South. Hispanics comprise a large percentage of the Valley's population, ranging from 80% in some centers to 97% in the case of its southernmost city Brownsville. Its many bridges bring in many Mexican nationals to shop, sell and do business in many border cities along the Rio Grande River. The Valley is also a tourist destination for Winter Texans, a group usually composed of retired senior citizens that arrive in mid to late fall and stay until early to mid spring. These winter residents come from all parts of the United States and even the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Quebec. Winter Texans, Mexican nationals, and thousands of college students who visit South Padre Island throughout March and April for Spring Break create the bulk of the Valley's tourism.
The region is made up of four counties: Starr County, Hidalgo County, Willacy County, and Cameron County.
Major cities include Brownsville, Harlingen, McAllen, Edinburg, Weslaco,and Mission.
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| Regions: Arklatex | Big Bend | Central Texas | Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex | East Texas | Edwards Plateau | Houston Metropolitan Area | North Texas | Northeast Texas | Piney Woods | Rio Grande Valley | Texas Hill Country | Texas Panhandle | Llano Estacado | Southeast Texas | South Texas | West Texas | |
| Metropolitan Areas: Abilene | Amarillo | Austin-Round Rock | Beaumont-Port Arthur | Brownsville-Harlingen | College Station-Bryan | Corpus Christi | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | El Paso | Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown | Killeen-Temple | Laredo | Longview-Marshall | Lubbock | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Midland | Odessa | San Angelo | San Antonio | Sherman-Denison | Texarkana | Tyler | Victoria | Waco | Wichita Falls | |
| See also: List of Texas counties |