Texas A&M Forest Service

About forestry service, 78599, Weslaco, TX, US, Texas

Weslaco ( WESS-lə-koh) is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 41,103, Studies from 2023 show the population is 43,053 and in 2020 the estimated population was 40,160. It is at the southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border, across the Rio Grande from the city of Nuevo Progreso, Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas. Weslaco derives its name from the W.E. Stewart Land Company. It was the hometown of Harlon Block, one of the Marines photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima, and of film and television actor David Spielberg. == Geography == Weslaco is located in southeastern Hidalgo County at 26°9′33″N 97°59′15″W (26.159130, –97.987374). It is bordered to the east by the city of Mercedes and to the west by the city of Donna. Interstate 2 and U.S. Route 83 pass through Weslaco, leading west 16 miles (26 km) to McAllen and east 19 miles (31 km) to Harlingen. Weslaco is 5 miles (8 km) north of Progreso and 7 miles (11 km) north of the bridge over the Rio Grande to Nuevo Progreso in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. According to the United States Census Bureau, Weslaco has a total area of 14.8 square miles (38.3 km2), of which 14.7 square miles (38.1 km2) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2), or 0.49%, are water.