The population of Los Fresnos nearly doubled from the 2010 Census to the one done a decade later. 

The city’s current population of over 8,000 residents is a jump from the 4,500 in 2010. Los Fresnos at 47 percent population growth ranked second behind Edinburg among Rio Grande Valley cities in measuring 2020 over 2010 increases. The gross numbers are far below Edinburg’s as that city has gone over 100,000 residents.

Still, the growth in Los Fresnos is bringing visual change to a bedroom community within easy driving range of Brownsville, Harlingen and South Padre Island. There’s more retailing locally with a Wal-Mart Supercenter. A new Whataburger will soon open. New housing construction dots the city. A major state highway renovation running through town is just months away from completion and will boost traffic flow.

Mark Milum, the Los Fresnos city manager, said the city is pleased with its growth while acknowledging where Los Fresnos sits among its adjacent cities.

“We’re OK with being a bedroom community,” Milum said. “We embrace the growth while still keeping the small town feel and yet having some of the facilities so we don’t have to drive to Harlingen or Brownsville for stuff.”

Small Town/Big District

A quick glance of Los Fresnos can be deceiving when sizing up the community.

It’s a small town with a large school district. The Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District has an enrollment of over 10,000 students and its boundaries cover a wide swath of Cameron County. The school district’s territory includes the northern stretches of Brownsville and Rancho Viejo as well. The school traffic when combined with vehicles coming and going from the Island gives Los Fresnos more volume of activity than a small town would normally see. 

It took some years for corporate retailers and restaurants to catch on to this fact. The key, Milum said, is when the city started to attract new home construction and the rise of new neighborhoods and subdivisions. 

“They need to see rooftops,” he said of developers investing in a community. “You can’t depend on the traffic to the Island for business growth. Now that we’re seeing a lot of rooftops going up in our area, the growth and development is coming with it.”

The growth of health care jobs and law enforcement officers among other Valley job sectors has families looking for nice places to live that are within an easy drive of their employment and have access to good schools. Los Fresnos fits the bill. A health care professional can live in a nice neighborhood in Los Fresnos and be a short drive away from work in Harlingen or Brownsville. Residents can also send kids off to schools belonging to a district with a reputation for quality.

“People in our area want their kids to go to school here,” Milum said. “When people living in Brownsville or Rancho Viejo come here for their kids’ school activities, that increases our trade area and helps our retail business. It’s also one reason we’ve seen more clinics and small businesses like insurance agents open offices here.”

Well-Rounded  Community

Los Fresnos has the same kinds of quality-of-life aspirations bigger cities have.

Milum said city’s leaders have focused on improving parks and establishing the sort of hike-and-bike trails now commonly found in Brownsville, Harlingen and other Valley communities. Sidewalks have been improved as has general infrastructure. The state Highway 100 project running through town has provided major challenges, Milum acknowledged, but will eventually benefit the city.

Los Fresnos built a new City Hall that stands stylishly along Highway 100 heading to the Island. A large public safety building, also a new facility, sits behind the City Hall. Their size and design were meant to impress, Milum said.

“We wanted to make a statement about our city,” he said. “We’re proud of our community and what we’re working together to accomplish for our city.”