Hidalgo County (/hɪˈdælɡoʊ/; Spanish pronunciation: [iˈðalɣo]) is located in the U.S. state of Texas.

The county is named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the priest who raised the call for Mexico's independence from Spain.

[4] It is located in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States.

Hidalgo County is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission metropolitan statistical area, which itself is part of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission-Rio Grande City, Texas combined statistical area with neighboring Starr County.

[7] The northern part of the county has sandy and light loamy soils over deep reddish or mottled, clayey subsoils.

Hidalgo County is in the South Texas Plains vegetation area, which features grasses, mesquite, live oaks, and chaparral.

Native plants, reduced in recent years by extensive farming, include chapote, guayacán, ebony, huisache, brasil, and yucca.

In 2009, it was tied with Bronx County, New York for "the greatest share of people receiving food stamps: 29 percent.

[19] The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Hidalgo County as the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Today, the states with the highest poverty rates (of over 20 million living on $2 a day) are all in the southern part of the country (Table 1) [7], and the nation's poorest large metropolitan area is McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas.

[26] The Pecan, Mid-Valley, Technology, and Nursing & Allied Health campuses of South Texas College are located in Hidalgo County.

The primary fruits and nuts grown in the county were grapefruit, oranges, and pecans.

[30] A Temporary Preventative Quarantine Area was established in Cameron to preserve efficacy in these counties.

[30] This was unsuccessful however, due at least in part to the ticks' infestation of wildlife including whitetail (Odocoileus virginianus).