Welcome To Laredo SAFeDATA

Laredo has the distinction of having seven flags flown over the city. Having been founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villa to the Capital of the defunct Republic of the Rio Grande to the largest inland port on the US-Mexican Border. Today, it has four international bridges and one railway bridge. Laredo`s weather is semi-arid during the summer and mild during the winter.

Laredo International Airport is inside the Laredo city limits, while the Quetzalcoatl International Airport is nearby in Nuevo Laredo in Mexico. The city has four professional sports teams: the Bucks, Broncos, Heat, and Lobos. Texas A&M International University and Laredo Community College call Laredo home. The largest celebration, Washington`s Birthday Celebration is during February all month long, attracting 100`s of thousands of tourists.

(232 km) southwest of San Antonio. Laredo is located on the west end of the Rio Grande Plains which is south of the Edwards Plateau, Coastal Plains to the east, and Mexican Mountains to the west. The area consists of a few hills and flat land covered mostly of brush: grass lands, drawf oak, and mesquite. It is a prime location for deer and javelina hunting for the annual Cola Blanca Contest that brings hunters from across the US and Mexico. A notable geographic feature is Lake Casa Blanca in Lake Casa Blanca International State Park. The city`s lake consists of 371 acres (1.5 km²) of land and 1,650 acres (7 km²) of lake.

According to the US Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 79.6 sq miles (206.0 km²), of which, 78.5 sq miles (203.2 km²) of it is land and 1.1 sq miles (2.8 km²) of it (1.37%) is water.

As of October 2007, Laredo`s labor market was comprised of the following industries by percentage of number employed: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (32%), Information (1%), Financial Activity (5%), Professional and Business Services (6%), Education and Health Services (15%), Leisure and Hospitality (10%), Government (23%), Mining and Construction (5%), Manufacturing (2%), and Other Services (2%).

Laredo has increased the number of non-agricultural jobs from 55,100 in January 1996 to 86,600 in October 2007. Laredo has experienced higher than the state in avg job growth rate (2%-6.5%) during the same period due to expansion of international trade as the result of the North US Free Trade Agreement. Thus far, for 2007, Laredo has experienced a job growth rate of 2.5%. As of October 2007, the Laredo unemployment rate is 4.1% or 3,700 unemployed persons as compared to 3.9% Texas statewide. This is a significant drop since the mid-1990s when Laredo`s unemployment was over 10%.