Elevation of Brownsville
35ft
above sea level · 11 m
Brownsville is a city in Texas with 192,957 people, the 18th most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 35th lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 25.90° N · 97.50° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 25° 54′ 6″ N · 97° 29′ 51″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 14R · 650,504 E · 2,865,665 N
- Zone 14 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Central Time
- UTC−6 · UTC−5 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 192,957 people
- 122 sq mi of land · 1,581 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from February 2023: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Brownsville had 192,957 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 3.6% more than in April 2020, when it had 186,331. Its 122 sq mi of land work out to 1,581 people/sq mi; the state average is 121 people/sq mi.
It’s the 18th most populous of the 1,862 places the Census counts in Texas (cities, towns and CDPs), after Houston (2,397,315), and holds 0.6% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Cameron County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 6.1 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Brownsville sits at 35 ft (11 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Brownsville is 827 ft below it.
The state capital, Austin, is 302 mi away in a straight line and 452 ft higher than Brownsville.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Corpus Christi, 131 mi away in a straight line and 28 ft lower.
Of the 44 cities in Texas with a page, Brownsville is the 5th lowest: the highest is El Paso (3,713 ft) and the lowest is Corpus Christi (7 ft).
The highest point in Texas is Guadalupe Peak, at 8,749 ft according to the USGS: 8,714 ft above Brownsville, 608 mi away in a straight line.
- 214 Brownsville 35 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Step-by-step guide How to find the elevation of any place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Brownsville.
What is the elevation of Brownsville?
Brownsville is 35 feet (11 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Brownsville?
Latitude 25.90175 and longitude -97.49748, in decimal degrees (25° 54′ 6″ N · 97° 29′ 51″ W). In UTM, zone 14: 650,504 E and 2,865,665 N, on NAD83.
How does Brownsville rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 35th lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Brownsville in?
Cameron County, Texas.
Which is higher, Brownsville or Austin?
Austin. Brownsville sits at 35 ft and Austin at 487 ft: a difference of 452 ft, 302 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know