Laredo, Texas | |
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Nickname(s): "The Gateway City" and "The City Under Seven Flags" | |
Coordinates: 27°31′25″N 99°29′25″W / 27.52361°N 99.49028°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Texas |
County | Webb |
Metropolitan area | Laredo–Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan Area |
Founded | August 25, 1755 |
Settled as | Villa de San Agustín de Laredo |
Founded by | Tomás Sánchez |
Named for | Laredo, Spain |
Government | |
• Type | Council–manager |
Area | |
• City | 107.96 sq mi (279.61 km2) |
• Land | 106.49 sq mi (275.81 km2) |
• Water | 1.47 sq mi (3.80 km2) |
• Metro | 161.76 sq mi (418.96 km2) |
Elevation | 438 ft (137.2 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• City | 255,205 |
• Density | 2,396.5/sq mi (925.3/km2) |
• Urban | 251,462 (US: 163rd)[2] |
• Urban density | 3,916.6/sq mi (1,512.2/km2) |
• Metro | 267,114 (US: 186th) |
Demonyms |
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Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CST) |
ZIP Codes | 78040–78046, 78049 |
Area code | 956 |
FIPS code | 48-41464[3] |
GNIS feature ID | 1339633[4] |
Website | laredotexas.gov |
Laredo is a mid-sized city in southern Texas, United States established in the year 1755. Laredo has a population of 255,205. Hispanics make up 90% of the total population, and the city is largely Catholic. Laredo is a border city which is part of the bi-national metropolitan area of Laredo, Texas - Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico with a total population over 600,000. The main sources of income for Laredo is international trade, followed by retail sales.
Laredo was founded by Don Tomas Sanchez under the name of Villa de San Agustin de Laredo in 1755 in a colony called Nuevo Santander in New Spain. Today, most of Nuevo Santander is part of Texas.