El Paso County, Texas Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for El Paso County, Texas, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in El Paso County, Texas. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in El Paso County, Texas. The estimated population of El Paso County, Texas is 860,485 people, with a median age of 32.6.

We can look at the total population in El Paso County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
860,485
+2.82%
+3.07%
2020
836,915
+0.1%
-
2019
836,062
 -0.19% -
2018
837,654
+0.34%
-
2017
834,825
 - -

Population of El Paso County, Texas by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
11.5%
12.4%
 -7.26%
Black/African American
2.9%
3%
 -3.33%
Native
0.3%
0.3%
 0.00%
Hispanic
82.9%
82.2%
 +0.85%
Asian
1.1%
1.1%
 0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.1%
0.1%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
1.2%
0.9%
 +33.33%
Other
0.1%
0.1%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of El Paso County, Texas by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 32.6 +0.62% 31.1 +1.3% 34.3 0%
2020 32.4 +0.62% 30.7 +0.99% 34.3 +0.88%
2019 32.2 +0.63% 30.4 +0.33% 34 +0.59%
2018 32 +0.31% 30.3 +0.66% 33.8 +0.6%
2017 31.9 - 30.1 - 33.6 -

The median age of El Paso County, Texas gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 65,522 -4.12% 62,806 -2.64% 62,858 61,128
10 to 19 66,696 +4.57% 64,931 +1.35% 69,716 65,780
20 to 29 71,735 +3.2% 63,704 +1.8% 74,056 64,860
30 to 39 53,895 +10.08% 54,062 +4.12% 59,517 56,272
40 to 49 49,359 +4.02% 53,564 -0.64% 51,278 53,213
50 to 59 44,776 +1.03% 50,764 -3.03% 45,196 49,216
60 to 69 29,817 +17.27% 36,933 +14.16% 35,298 42,448
70+ 27,399 +6.12% 38,862 +4.26% 29,106 40,543

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of El Paso County, Texas is $50,919.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for El Paso County.

  • Under 25
    $31,373.00
  • 25 to 44
    $55,999.00
  • 45 to 64
    $58,908.00
  • 65 and over
    $32,303.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in El Paso County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in El Paso County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of El Paso County, Texas is currently $68,614.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

3.71% of households in El Paso County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of El Paso County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    25.02%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    24.24%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    18.97%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    10.96%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    12.49%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    4.62%
  • $200,000 or more
    3.71%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in El Paso County is $23,979.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of El Paso County by the total population of El Paso County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in El Paso County, Texas, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in El Paso County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    12.11%
  • Bachelor's degree
    33.57%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    12.93%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    35.85%
  • Less than high school diploma
    5.54%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in El Paso County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of El Paso County over the age of 16 is 653,722.

Of those people, a total of 62.80% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in El Paso County is 56.00%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 52,719 31.00% 19.90%
20 to 24 years 70,292 74.20% 10.60%
25 to 29 years 68,624 78.80% 8.80%
30 to 34 years 60,385 79.80% 7.20%
35 to 44 years 108,484 82.20% 5.30%
45 to 54 years 98,596 80.00% 4.30%
55 to 59 years 47,227 69.40% 4.30%
60 to 64 years 42,705 52.10% 3.40%
65 to 74 years 61,154 23.80% 5.70%
75 years and over 43,536 5.10% 1.30%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in El Paso County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 390,979 62.90% 5.40%
Black or African American 21,609 70.40% 12.20%
American Indian and Alaska Native 3,989 59.20% 6.50%
Asian 8,404 65.80% 4.60%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 1,051 69.90% 0.00%
Other 98,625 61.90% 8.40%
Two or more races 129,065 61.60% 9.10%
Hispanic or Latino 534,616 62.70% 6.80%
Not Hispanic or Latino 81,502 61.10% 5.50%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in El Paso County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in El Paso County is 366,029, with median earnings of $30,152.00.

Women in El Paso County, Texas earning approximately 73.90% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 366,029 $30,152.00
Male 198,398 $34,577.00
Female 167,631 $25,549.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 30,065 $55,415.00
Business and Financial 13,692 $46,761.00
Computer and Mathematical 6,094 $59,634.00
Architecture and Engineering 4,496 $63,714.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 2,259 $49,612.00
Community and Social Service 4,898 $43,264.00
Legal 2,648 $62,442.00
Educational and Library 28,635 $50,261.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 4,043 $27,250.00
Healthcare Practitioners 20,601 $53,619.00
Healthcare Support 16,148 $16,217.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 6,649 $26,898.00
Law Enforcement 8,920 $76,418.00
Food Preparation and Serving 22,652 $14,270.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 13,443 $17,353.00
Personal Care and Service 8,768 $15,126.00
Sales 39,486 $22,037.00
Office and Administrative Support 47,446 $26,953.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 556 $29,947.00
Construction and Extraction 21,405 $29,367.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 14,310 $38,910.00
Production 16,081 $26,676.00
Transportation and Material Moving 20,185 $37,223.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 18,727 $63,598.00 11,338 $45,652.00
Business and Financial 5,869 $53,514.00 7,823 $42,984.00
Computer and Mathematical 4,574 $62,209.00 1,520 $52,619.00
Architecture and Engineering 3,738 $70,543.00 758 $47,083.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 1,407 $52,820.00 852 $46,078.00
Community and Social Service 1,397 $41,128.00 3,501 $44,109.00
Legal 977 $87,455.00 1,671 $51,875.00
Educational and Library 9,622 $53,816.00 19,013 $46,459.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 1,997 $26,191.00 2,046 $30,139.00
Healthcare Practitioners 7,055 $61,498.00 13,546 $50,897.00
Healthcare Support 2,393 $23,386.00 13,755 $15,261.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 5,242 $30,481.00 1,407 $20,132.00
Law Enforcement 7,080 $83,294.00 1,840 $52,923.00
Food Preparation and Serving 10,590 $14,310.00 12,062 $14,239.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 6,846 $19,951.00 6,597 $14,578.00
Personal Care and Service 1,729 $17,696.00 7,039 $14,871.00
Sales 19,120 $28,773.00 20,366 $16,724.00
Office and Administrative Support 15,354 $27,436.00 32,092 $26,825.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 445 $30,599.00 111 $16,054.00
Construction and Extraction 21,039 $29,430.00 366 $25,515.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 13,917 $38,832.00 393 $39,782.00
Production 11,383 $30,626.00 4,698 $19,545.00
Transportation and Material Moving 17,707 $39,507.00 2,478 $24,034.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 288,186 households in El Paso County, with an average household size of 2.94 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 208,991 families in El Paso County with an average family size of 3.52 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 136,021 18,843 54,127 79,195
Average Household Size 3.67 3.24 3.54 1.19
Total Families 136,021 18,843 54,127 0
Average Household Size 3.65 2.97 3.37 0

Poverty

Of the 208,991 families in El Paso County, 16.60% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in El Paso County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 314,174 housing units in El Paso County, Texas.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 288,186 91.73%
Vacant 25,988 8.27%

32.28% of the total 314,174 housing units in El Paso County are rental units. This is approximately 101,411 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 181,763 are occupied by the owner - or 57.85% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in El Paso County is $908.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in El Paso County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    5,012
  • Less than $500
    12,124
  • $500 to $999
    49,262
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    31,249
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    7,153
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    1,197
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    232
  • $3,000 or more
    194

Property Value

The median value of a property in El Paso County is $131,500.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in El Paso County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    12,930
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    40,857
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    53,982
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    36,553
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    24,667
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    10,001
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    2,275
  • $1,000,000 or more
    498

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in El Paso County. The chart below shows the number of properties in El Paso County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    13,471
  • 1940 to 1949
    10,249
  • 1950 to 1959
    29,334
  • 1960 to 1969
    29,000
  • 1970 to 1979
    47,860
  • 1980 to 1989
    45,489
  • 1990 to 1999
    44,234
  • 2000 to 2009
    49,785
  • 2010 to 2013
    44,167
  • 2014 or later
    585

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in El Paso County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    19,112
  • 1 vehicle available
    90,291
  • 2 vehicles available
    106,486
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    72,297

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in El Paso County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in El Paso County that commute to work in a particular way.

24 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in El Paso County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    7,758
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    28,563
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    48,381
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    64,421
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    65,401
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    31,517
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    55,180
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    8,559
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    10,502
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    18,166
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    8,085
  • 90 or more minutes
    6,783

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for El Paso County, Texas in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in El Paso County, Texas

We have data for 23 places in El Paso County, Texas. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.