Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 683,012 people, El Paso can't be summed up by one letter: its D averages neighborhoods that are worlds apart. It ranks 475th of 640 graded places in Texas. It is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns. What weighs on its grade: homes are expensive, about $238K for a typical one and 4 times the El Paso metro’s $60K median household income. 79% of working residents work locally in El Paso, against 8.3% in Texas’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Ysleta Mission and Chamizal National Memorial. Only 20 of Texas’ 1,000 towns score higher on the outdoors.
Where El Paso beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1680, is the earliest of any Texas town we grade.
Census counts: 200 in 1850, 678,815 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1680 and 4 maps from 1948 on.
45 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far El Paso is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around El Paso. Close and well known come first.
in town Stadium & arenaSun Bowl Stadium
in town State parkFranklin Mountains State Park
in town National MemorialChamizal National Memorial8K visitors a year
in town TheatrePlaza Theatre
23 mi Ancient siteHueco Tanksin town Zoo & aquariumEl Paso ZooSun Bowl Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Franklin Mountains State Park: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 · Chamizal National Memorial: Original uploader was Mosamiazaz at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Plaza Theatre: Donitza Marie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hueco Tanks: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in El Paso, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in El Paso.
El Paso has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is one of Texas’s best towns for the outdoors.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #19 of 642 in Texas.
265 miles of trail in 205 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Franklin Mountains State Park, 27,067 acres with 132.3 miles of trail. El Paso’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Franklin Mountains State Park | 132.3 mi | 27,067 |
| 2. Lost Dog Nature Preserve | 13 mi | 1,034 |
| 3. Billy Rogers Arroyo | 3.1 mi | 94 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Three of its 223 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornedo MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,442 | A |
| Pebble Hills H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,952 | B− |
| Silva Health MagnetTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 544 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
341 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 30 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 341 flood insurance claims have been paid out in El Paso.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 8,840 U.S. towns with household incomes like El Paso’s, it is healthier than 50%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
El Paso beats the Texas average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 28% of El Paso adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| El Paso | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 18% | 8.1% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 20% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | El Paso | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.1% | 6.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 27.9% | 19.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 13,230 to 11,012 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in El Paso is 2.9 per 1,000 residents.
| El Paso | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.3 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The El Paso Intl Ap weather station records that about 117 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 96°, hotter than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 32.2°.
El Paso has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| El Paso | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 32°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Values rose 2.6% in the past year while the Texas typical home fell 1.5%. Home values rose 32% in five years, to about $238K, against 10% across Texas.
61% of households own their home in El Paso. The typical El Paso home is worth about $238,000, 20% below the Texas typical home.
| El Paso | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 69% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 50% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,073 a month | $1,208 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based in El Paso grew to 283,703 in 2023, 21,027 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Fort Bliss (1%), San Antonio (1%) and Horizon City (1%). Half commute less than 8 miles.
| El Paso | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 8.9% | 9.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Texas average. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 34% across Texas.
| El Paso | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.5 years | 35.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 26% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 14% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 23% | 29% |
50.7% women, 49.3% men
About 97 men for every 100 women. Across Texas, 50.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.2, men 33.1.
| El Paso | TX | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.7% | 13.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.2% | 11.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.6% | 9.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.3% | 14.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.9% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.7% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.3% | 8.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 5.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 17.8% | 14% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.4% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.9% | 20.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.7% | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.7% | 21.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.5% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
6 within 15 miles of the center of El Paso
About 8 of every 100 El Paso residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
19.9% of the town is conserved land, across 205 parks and preserves.
45 places in El Paso on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in El Paso.
City in Texas, United States
El Paso (English: ; Spanish: [el ˈpaso] , lit. 'the route' or 'the pass') is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. It is the 23rd-most populous city in the U.S., sixth-most populous city in Texas, and the most populous city in West Texas with a population of 678,815 at the 2020 census. The El Paso metropolitan area has an estimated 879,000 residents. El Paso stands on the Rio Grande across the Mexico–United States border from Ciudad Juárez, the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. On the U.S. side, the El Paso metropolitan area forms part of the larger El Paso–Las Cruces combined statistical area with Las Cruces, New Mexico with a population…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with El Paso.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso | #475 | D | C− | C | C | C |
| Socorro | #383 | C− | C | B | C+ | C− |
| Canutillo | #373 | C− | B− | — | B− | C− |
| Fort Bliss | #436 | C− | D− | — | C | B+ |
| Westway | #236 | C+ | A− | — | B− | C |
| Anthony | #571 | D | C− | C+ | C | C− |
Canutillo, Fort Bliss and Westway report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare El Paso with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
El Paso grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #475 of 640 in Texas. It grades C for health, C for safety and C for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
35 notable people were born here, including Debbie Reynolds and Gene Roddenberry.
