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San Benito, Texas

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1929 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Harlingen-San Benito census division. It lies in ZIP code area 78586. The Survey maps it on the Harlingen quadrangle. 24,861 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 36 feet above sea level.

San Benito within Cameron County

On record in San Benito

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Surveyed buildings and structures 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

San Benito grew from 24,250 to 24,861 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201024,250
202024,861+611 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

46 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 46 fires within 5 miles of San Benito between 1993 and 2019, burning about 465 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 4 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Debris and open burning12
Arson/incendiarism4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Natural1
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Smoking1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
14 July 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined25 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE MUTUAL AID
1 July 2005Debris and open burning3.0 acresSouth Texas Refuge ComplexLINK
9 June 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresLower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife RefugeRANCHITO
30 May 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service83 COMMAND
15 May 2000Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreLower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife RefugeDAWN
8 April 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined40 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
6 April 2005Debris and open burning5.0 acresLower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife RefugeGOAT
5 April 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined40 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cameron County

Storms near this place

19 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names San Benito in 19 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 6 flash flood, 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 3 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2004Flash FloodSan Benito$2,000,000Slow-moving thunderstorms with torrential rainfall developed over central and eastern Cameron county. In fact, the previous daily rainfall record was shattered when 4.56 inches of rain was reported at the Brownsville-South Padre Island Airport. This amount paled in comparison to the rain that was experienced along an axis extending from central and western sections of Brownsville north and northwest through Lost Fresnos, Olmito, Rancho Viejo and up through San Benito. Locations within this axis experienced anywhere from 5 to 9 inches of rainfall over a period of appoximately 3-4 hours.The area of heaviest rain occurred in western Brownsville where numerous homes experienced flooding. Approximately 170 homes in central and western Brownsville received at least minor flooding, as did many of the city's resacas. Flooding of homes and businesses was also reported in Los Fresnos, and in homes between Los Fresnos and San Benito. An estimated 200-250 homes were affected by flooding, and the standing water resulted in many road closures across the county, especially in the Brownsville area.
September 2024Flash FloodSan Benito$10,000San Benito PD reported various levels of flooding across town. The following reports were received: One foot of flowing water down Brooks Avenue at around 445 PM CDT; additional flooding on Franklin Road, Woodford Street, and Bowie Street. Water reportedly entered homes on Bowie Street with one rescue required; water was reportedly at least knee deep in some locations (2 to 3 feet).
April 2015Thunderstorm WindSan Benito$5,000San Benito Police Department reported trees blown down onto South Sam Houston, downed utility wires at the intersection of South Dick Dowling and Rowsen and on Zillock Road, and a trampoline blown into a house that caused winds to break on San Jacinto Drive.
December 2006Thunderstorm WindSan Benito$5,000Local broadcast media relayed report of wind damage to gas station roof at the intersection of U.S. Business Highway 77 and Williams road. Damage was also done to a nearby warehouse. General public had indentified a possible funnel cloud in the area at the time of the report. A survey completed by a NWS employee revealed damage consistent with that produced by straight-line winds.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindSan Benito$3,000A strong thunderstorm raced through central and eastern Cameron County, and briefly intensified. Winds estimated at 55 mph blue a poorly anchored roof from one mobile home at the Tropical Trail MHP along U.S. 77 (business) near Oscar Williams Road. A few mesquite limbs were also torn from one or two trees near the home; other structures were unharmed.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindSan Benito$1,000Public relayed via social media that a RV jack was bent, and the trailer was pushed back about 2 feet due to thunderstorm winds. Time approximated by radar.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindSan Benito-An NWS employee reported several large tree limbs down near the intersection of S Travis Street and W Landrum Street in San Benito. Timing based on radar.
June 2023HailSan Benito-Member of the public shared a picture of quarter size hail in the San Benito area. Timing based report given by the public and radar.
August 2022FloodSan Benito-Torrential rainfall, with local estimates of 2 or more inches per hour for two hours, produced street flooding from San Benito through La Tina Ranch, including along city and rural roads, with 1 to 2 feet of water on roads where the heaviest rainfall fell. There were no reports of flooding of structures in these areas, and flood receded quickly after the slow moving band ended.
May 2021FloodSan Benito-Social media report received of water rising up to the doorsteps of homes in San Benito near the intersection of Oscar Williams Road and I69E. Depth of water unknown, but likely 2 feet or less.
June 2011Heavy RainSan Benito-Slow moving thunderstorms, containing more than an hour of torrential rains, dumped between 3 and 5 inches in western Cameron County during the early and mid afternoon of June 22nd. Numerous instances of nuisance urban flooding were reported, much in the typical poor drainage locations that see flooding with any locally heavy rainfall.||Across the Lower Valley, nuisance flooding of roads, ditches, and even some properties occurred each afternoon. On the 22nd, locally high water was reported in La Feria, Palm Valley/Harlingen, and San Benito. An estimated 5 inches of rain flooded the Mariposa subdivision near La Feria an area which often has poor drainage issues and suffered greatly after Hurricane Dolly. The water rose to around 2 feet in neighborhood roads, closing them but not reaching into structures. On the west side of Harlingen, CoCoRaHS observers reported between 4 and 5.27 inches of rain.
May 2007Flash FloodSan Benito-Texas General Land Office reported flash flooding of U.S. Highway 77 and its frontage road in San Benito.
May 2007Flash FloodSan Benito-Flash flooding was reported in San Benito on Business Highway 77 and Farm to Market Road 510.
July 2007Flash FloodSan Benito-Minor street flooding was reported by law enforcment in San Benito.
November 2002Flash FloodSan Benito-Heavy rains and saturated soil conditions led to severe flooding of the Green Valley Acres housing area in San Benito. Homes and streets were flooded, prompting Cameron County officials to evacuate around 500 residents. Flood waters persisted over the area for several days after the initial flash flooding.
October 2002FloodSan Benito-Street flooding was reported in San Benito by an off-duty NWS employee.
September 2002Thunderstorm WindSan Benito-Several power poles were downed by strong thunderstorm winds, resulting in loss of power for residents in San Benito.
May 2007HailSan Benito-no account filed
February 1998HailSan Benito-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cameron County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
East Stenger Street Colonia1.4 miles15
Yost Road Colonia1.4 miles13
Leal Colonia1.4 miles13
Pennsylvania Avenue Colonia1.4 miles13
South Ratliff Street Colonia1.5 miles13
El Camino Angosto Colonia1.5 miles13
El Camino Angosto1.6 miles13
Expressway 83-77 Colonia1.6 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on San BenitoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q981827The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1375956. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.