Photo: WmCheez · CC BY-SA 4.0How is El Paso run?
El Paso’s city government spent $721.8 million on day-to-day services in the year to August 31, 2024, about $1,065 per resident. Water and other utilities ($172.3 million) and the airport ($34.2 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how El Paso is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,065 per resident a year, or $2.92 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 22%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$923 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
El Paso’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($923 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 665 Texas cities that don’t run their own schools: the median was $720, and the middle half spent $350–$1,102. El Paso spent more than 64% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($81.3 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Texas cities that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; El Paso itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 15% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years El Paso reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $923 · 2023: $905 · 2024: $1,065.
full-time in March 2025, up from 6,347 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $3,760 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 2.04% of the home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at El Paso’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to El Paso’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in El Paso →
Who’s in charge in El Paso
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
El Paso’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on elpasotexas.gov ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 95 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (677,456).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
El Paso Independent School District
El Paso’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,564 per pupil, $7,908 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Texas districts overall: 51% local, 36% state, 13% federal.
Ysleta Independent School District · $13,992 per pupil
Canutillo Independent School District · $13,179 per pupil
Socorro Independent School District · $11,771 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
El Paso’s votes are counted by county
Texas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for El Paso alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are El Paso County’s results.
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat56.8%143,156 votes
Donald J TrumpRepublican41.7%105,124 votesOthers: 1.5% (3,725 votes).
Most votes in El Paso County: Kamala D Harris
Texas: Trump 56.1%, Harris 42.5%
100% of El Paso lies in El Paso County. Every 2024 race in El Paso County is on the county’s page.
El Paso County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
El Paso sends 5 representatives to the Texas House alone.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: elpasotexas.gov ↗
- 2Texas HouseEl Paso is split between 5 districts
- 3Texas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseSplit between districts
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Texas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How El Paso compares with the towns next door
No neighbor is close in size, so the comparison above uses Texas cities that don’t run their own schools. Tap a town to see its page.
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach El Paso’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about El Paso’s government
How much does El Paso spend per resident?
About $1,065 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to August 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $923 was more than 64% of 665 Texas cities that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in El Paso?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $3,760 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 2.04% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.49% across Texas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see elpasotexas.gov.
Who runs El Paso’s government?
See elpasotexas.gov for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for El Paso yet.
How did El Paso vote in 2024?
Texas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for El Paso alone. El Paso County, where 100% of El Paso lies, voted Harris 56.8%, Trump 41.7% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for El Paso?
7,099 full-time and 323 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $38.3M (about $460.1M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents El Paso in the state legislature?
El Paso is split among 5 State House districts, so your address decides. The Texas Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Its State Senate district is District 29 (César Blanco). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about El Paso’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →