Laguna Vista vs South Padre Island

A side-by-side comparison of Laguna Vista and South Padre Island: population, income, housing, and more.

Laguna Vista and South Padre Island are places in Texas. This page compares them across population, income, housing, education, commuting, and how each has changed since 2019.

Laguna Vista has the higher population (3,605 vs 2,852 in South Padre Island). Laguna Vista has the higher median household income ($63,191 vs $61,578 in South Padre Island). South Padre Island has the higher median home value ($498,800 vs $267,500 in Laguna Vista).

Population, income & housing

	Laguna Vista	South Padre Island
Population	3,605	2,852
Median age	58.3 yrs	59.0 yrs
Median household income	$63,191	$61,578
Median home value	$267,500	$498,800
Median gross rent	—	$1,421
Housing units	1,950	5,843
Homeownership rate	87.3%	66.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher	35.7%	52.5%
Unemployment rate	3.2%	6.5%

Trends (ACS 5-year, 2019–2023)

	Laguna Vista	South Padre Island
Population	3,157 → 3,605 (+14.2%)	2,818 → 2,852 (+1.2%)
Median household income	$52,813 → $63,191 (+19.7%)	$45,221 → $61,578 (+36.2%)
Median home value	$180,700 → $267,500 (+48.0%)	$306,800 → $498,800 (+62.6%)
Median gross rent	$916 → $868 (-5.2%)	$1,081 → $1,421 (+31.5%)

Laguna Vista

Population

3,1573,605

Median household income

$52,813$63,191

Median home value

$180,700$267,500

Median gross rent

$916$868

South Padre Island

Population

2,8182,852

Median household income

$45,221$61,578

Median home value

$306,800$498,800

Median gross rent

$1,081$1,421

Age & race/ethnicity

Age distribution (share)

	Laguna Vista	South Padre Island
Under 5	5.7%	5.3%
5 to 17	7.7%	5.8%
18 to 24	4.8%	8.6%
25 to 34	11.1%	5.0%
35 to 44	8.1%	0.7%
45 to 54	8.8%	8.2%
55 to 64	16.9%	33.1%
65 to 74	16.6%	23.6%
75 and over	20.3%	9.8%

Race & ethnicity (share)

	Laguna Vista	South Padre Island
White (non-Hispanic)	66.4%	76.2%
Black or African American	0.0%	5.6%
American Indian & Alaska Native	0.3%	0.0%
Asian	0.4%	1.8%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	0.0%	0.0%
Some other race	1.0%	1.2%
Two or more races	0.4%	0.4%
Hispanic or Latino	31.5%	14.8%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

Share of adults 25+

	Laguna Vista	South Padre Island
No high school diploma	8.2%	8.0%
High school graduate	27.1%	9.8%
Some college or associate's	29.0%	29.8%
Bachelor's degree	17.7%	26.2%
Graduate or professional degree	18.0%	26.3%

Commute to work

How workers get to work (share)

	Laguna Vista	South Padre Island
Drove alone	70.1%	61.4%
Carpooled	7.8%	1.0%
Public transit	1.5%	1.4%
Walked	0.0%	13.6%
Bicycle	0.0%	3.5%
Worked from home	20.6%	18.0%
Other means	0.0%	1.0%

Housing

Units in structure (share)

	Laguna Vista	South Padre Island
1-unit, detached	62.6%	13.1%
1-unit, attached	12.8%	2.5%
2 to 4 units	9.9%	13.6%
5 to 19 units	7.6%	8.1%
20 or more units	7.1%	62.7%
Mobile home & other	0.0%	0.0%

Poverty & households

	Laguna Vista	South Padre Island
Poverty rate	18.6%	13.9%
Average household size	2.15	1.88
Mean commute (minutes)	24	14
Median year structure built	2001	1985