Census Bureau Says 1.5 Million Texans In Tropical Storm Dolly’s Path

Based on the projected path of Tropical Storm Dolly, the U.S. Census Bureau today calculated that about 1.5 million people could feel the storm’s effects as it makes landfall along the Texas coast. The National Hurricane Center predicts that Dolly could arrive near the southern most part of Texas by late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the Texas coast from Brownsville to Corpus Christi. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours. The storm, currently in the Gulf of Mexico, is about 230 miles southeast of Brownsville, with a population of more than 172,000.

According to the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey, the median housing value in Brownsville (the county seat of Cameron County) is $68,500. Nearly 60 percent of the homes were built before 1990. The median household income is about $26,000, and nearly 41 percent of the population live in poverty. Additionally, about 12 percent of the 50,000 occupied homes are without access to a vehicle.

According to the Census Bureau’s 2006 County Business Patterns, there are 6,353 businesses in Cameron County with paid employees, employing 95,671 workers, with about $2.1 billion in total annual payroll. The sector with the most businesses in Cameron County is health care and social assistance, representing 919 businesses, and employing some 28,378 people with a total annual payroll of $659 million.