The most populous cities in area code 956 are: Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville, Harlingen, and Edinburg.
Other cities in the 956 area code include: Mission, Weslaco, Pharr, Mercedes, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Benito, Raymondville, Donna, Zapata, Los Fresnos, Lyford, Edcouch, South Padre Island, Cotulla, Port Isabel, La Feria, Sullivan City, Olmito, Rio Hondo, Santa Rosa, San Isidro, Hidalgo, Guerra, Delmita, Lopeno, and Linn.
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091, making it the tenth-most populous city in the state of Texas and third-most populated on the Mexico–United States border, after San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas. Its metropolitan area is the 178th-largest in the U.S. and includes all of Webb County, with a population of 250,304. Laredo is also part of the cross-border Laredo-Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan Area with an estimated population of 636,516. Because Laredo is 95.6 percent Hispanic and Latino, it is one of the least ethnically diverse cities in the United States. When economic diversity, household diversity and social class diversity, are considered, Laredo is rated the 19th least diverse city overall out of the 313 largest cities in the nation. Laredo's economy is based on international trade with Mexico. Most major transportation companies have a facility in Laredo. The city's location on the southern end of I-35 close to the manufacturers in northern Mexico promotes its vital role in trade between the two nations. Laredo International Airport is within the Laredo city limits, while the Quetzalcoatl International Airport is nearby in Nuevo Laredo on the Mexican side.Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the Flag of the Republic of the Rio Grande, which is now the flag of the city, in addition to the Six Flags of Texas). Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a village to the capital of the brief Republic of the Rio Grande to the largest inland port on the Mexico–United States border. Today, it has four international bridges and one railway bridge.Laredo has a professional soccer team, the Heat ; baseball team, the Laredo Lemurs ; and a women's full contact football team, the Laredo Roses. Texas A&M International University and Laredo Community College are located in Laredo.The biggest festival, Washington's Birthday Celebration, is held during the later part of January and the majority of February, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists. The Jalapeño Festival, Border Beer Fest, Stockmen's Ball, Princess Pocahontas Pageant, Mr. South Texas Luncheon, an air show, and two major parades are all held in conjunction with the Washington's birthday events.
McAllen is the twenty-first most populous city in Texas and the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley and is part of the Southern United States. It is on the Rio Grande, across from the Mexican city of Reynosa, and is approximately 70 miles (110 km) west of South Padre Island and the Gulf of Mexico. The 2010 United States census put the city's population at 129,877 and the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission metropolitan area at 774,773. It is ranked the fifth most populated metropolitan area in the state of Texas. The Reynosa–McAllen Metropolitan Area counts a population of nearly 1.5 million. From its settlement in 1904, the area around McAllen was largely rural and agricultural in character, but the latter half of the 20th century saw steady growth, which accelerated during the 1980s, leading to an economic and population boom in the 1990s and 2000s. Today, the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission metropolitan area is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States. The introduction of the maquiladora economy and the North American Free Trade Association led to a boom in international trade, cross-border commerce with Mexico, and health care.
Brownsville is the county seat of Cameron County, Texas. It is the sixteenth most populous city in the state of Texas, with a population at the 2010 census of 175,023 and an estimated population in 2014 of 183,046. It is located at the southernmost tip of Texas, on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The 2014 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the Brownsville-Harlingen metropolitan area population at 420,392, making it the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the state of Texas. In addition, the international Matamoros–Brownsville Metropolitan Area was estimated to have a population of 1,136,995. Brownsville has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation, and is frequently cited as having the highest percentage of residents below the federal poverty level out of all cities in the nation. The Brownsville urban area is one of the fastest growing in the United States. The city's population dramatically increased after it experienced a boom in the steel industry during the first decade of the 1900s, when steel output tripled. In recent times, the Port of Brownsville has become a major economic hub for South Texas, where shipments arrive from other parts of the United States, from Mexico, and from around the world. Brownsville's economy is mainly based on its international trade with Mexico through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and is home to one of the fastest growing manufacturing sectors in the nation. Brownsville has often been recognized as having one of the best pro-business climates in the United States, and the city has been ranked among the least expensive places to live in the U.S. Brownsville served as a site for several battles and events in the Texas Revolution, the Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War. Right across the U.S–Mexico border lies Matamoros, Tamaulipas, a city with a population of 500,000 people and a major site of the Mexican War of Independence, the Mexican Revolution, and the French Intervention.
The 956 area code lies within the Central Daylight Time Zone (or CDT). The current time in Central Daylight Time is 7:54 PM on May 24, 2022.
