State of the City: Edinburg touts more than 100 new subdivisions, retail growth, and plans for its own water supply

Edinburg Mayor Omar Ochoa highlighted the city’s growing population, new construction, job growth and its investment in infrastructure in Thursday’s State of the City address. 

Edinburg has consistently been among the fastest-growing in the state among cities with more than 100,000 residents, and last year, it ranked as the seventh-fastest-growing city in Texas.

Its population grew 2.6% from 105,956 residents in 2023 to 108,733 residents in 2024, according to the most recent data available. 

And it’s expected to surpass 113,000 residents by 2028. 

The city’s total commercial permit valuation grew 110% from 2024 to 2025.

Last year alone, there was more than $407 million in construction activity citywide. 

There are also thousands of new homes expected to be built in Edinburg in the coming years, with at least 127 new housing subdivisions under construction citywide.

“Edinburg has a lot of room to grow,” Ochoa said. “I think that is known to a lot of developers. And so, as other parts of the Valley grow and cities start to merge into each other, there’s just a natural resting point for that growth to go — and we believe Edinburg is that place.”

Retail sales hit $2 billion in 2025 — a first for the city. 

An estimated 1,566 jobs were created between November 2024 and 2025.

Overall, that means there will be increased demand on the city’s infrastructure, including water and wastewater. 

The city plans to invest $275 million for capital improvement projects over the next few years. 

Edinburg is already spending $33 million to expand its wastewater treatment plant capacity from 12.3 million gallons per day to 13.5 million.

Now the city’s mayor has committed to developing an independent water supply for the community by 2030. 

“Water security is a top priority. With other cities going through drought issues, we don’t want to be in that situation ourselves. We’re very strong right now, in terms of our water resources, but we need to think ahead,” Ochoa told the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal. 

Right now, the city is studying the possibility of desalination for brackish groundwater and exploring water reclamation projects which would capture rainwater before it flows into the Rio Grande River and into the Gulf of Mexico. 

“No matter what it ends up being, we are committed to driving this forward and finding that alternate water source,” Ochoa said.