El Paso, Texas
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching El Paso.
Key figures
Each metric shows how El Paso compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 678,147City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $58,734Incorporated place (ACS)25% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 67ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)33% below U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $171,700City limits (ACS)43% below U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,041City limits (ACS)23% below U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 4.3%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 23 min8% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 4011% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 352.7annualized per 100k · citywide41% below U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 1511.1annualized per 100k · citywide51% below U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 96°F9.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 36°F2.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 8.8 in73% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 31719% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare El Paso with another city
Relocators eyeing El Paso, Texas will find roughly 678,147 residents within city limits. Households here report a median income near $58,734; our housing-derived cost index is about 67 (among the more affordable large markets in this catalog on housing costs). Entry home prices around $171,700 still look attainable compared with coastal metros.
Hot summers, sprawling freeways, and no state income tax dominate comparisons. Roughly 317 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Commutes average near 23 minutes one-way, with walkability near 40/100. BLS LAUS puts recent unemployment around 4.3% for the surrounding county. Violent-offense rates around 352.7 per 100k are moderate for a large U.S. city, with meaningful variation by neighborhood.
El Paso sits in that mid-to-large city band where urban and quieter residential pockets often share one municipal boundary. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare El Paso with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (El Paso city, 1600000US4824000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN481410000000003 (El Paso County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00023044 EL PASO INTL AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28