El Paso County, Texas

For the county in Colorado, see El Paso County, Colorado.

El Paso County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 865,657,^[1] making it the ninth-most populous county in the state of Texas. Its county seat is the city of El Paso,^[2] the sixth-most populous city in Texas and the 22nd-most populous city in the United States. The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1871.^[3]

El Paso County
County
Skyline of El Paso, the largest city within the county
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°46′N 106°14′W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	1871
Seat	El Paso
Largest city	El Paso
Area
• Total	1,015 sq mi (2,630 km2)
• Land	1,013 sq mi (2,620 km2)
• Water	2.3 sq mi (6 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	865,657
• Density	850/sq mi (330/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional districts	16th, 23rd
Website	www.epcounty.com

El Paso is short for "El Paso del Norte", which is Spanish for "The Route of the North". It is named for the pass the Rio Grande creates through the mountains on either side of the river. The county is northeast of the Mexico–United States border.

El Paso County is included in the El Paso metropolitan area. Along with Hudspeth County, it is one of two counties of Texas entirely in the Mountain Time Zone (all other Texas counties except for northwestern Culberson County use Central Time). El Paso County is one of nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.

Geography

El Paso is on the US-Mexico border

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,015 square miles (2,630 km²), of which 1,013 square miles (2,620 km²) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) (0.2%) is water.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Adjacent counties and municipalities

• Doña Ana County, New Mexico – northwest
• Otero County, New Mexico – northeast
• Hudspeth County – east
• Guadalupe, Chihuahua, Mexico – south
• Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico – south
• Práxedis G. Guerrero, Chihuahua, Mexico – southeast

National protected area

• Chamizal National Memorial
• El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail (part)

Major highways

• I-10
• I-110
• US 54
• 
  Bus. US 54
• US 62
• US 180
• SH 20
• SH 178
• Loop 375
• Loop 478
• Spur 6
• Spur 16
• Spur 320
• Spur 601
• FM 258
• FM 1281
• RM 2775
• FM 3255
• FM 3380

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	4,051		—
1870	3,671		−9.4%
1880	3,845		4.7%
1890	15,678		307.8%
1900	24,886		58.7%
1910	52,599		111.4%
1920	101,877		93.7%
1930	131,597		29.2%
1940	131,067		−0.4%
1950	194,968		48.8%
1960	314,070		61.1%
1970	359,291		14.4%
1980	479,899		33.6%
1990	591,610		23.3%
2000	679,622		14.9%
2010	800,647		17.8%
2020	865,657		8.1%
2022 (est.)	868,763	[10]	0.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1850–2010[12] 2010[13] 2020[14]

El Paso County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 1990[15]	Pop 2000[16]	Pop 2010[13]	Pop 2020[14]	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	151,313	115,535	105,246	98,219	25.58%	17.00%	13.15%	11.35%
Black or African American alone (NH)	20,525	18,671	20,649	24,415	3.47%	2.75%	2.58%	2.82%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	1,634	2,057	2,269	2,365	0.28%	0.30%	0.28%	0.27%
Asian alone (NH)	5,820	6,148	7,551	10,692	0.98%	0.90%	0.94%	1.24%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	N/A	440	805	1,527	N/A	0.06%	0.10%	0.18%
Other race alone (NH)	699	497	602	2,422	0.12%	0.07%	0.08%	0.28%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	N/A	4,620	5,391	10,666	N/A	0.68%	0.67%	1.23%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	411,619	531,654	658,134	715,351	69.58%	78.23%	82.20%	82.64%
Total	591,610	679,622	800,647	865,657	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 800,647 people living in the county. 82.1% were White of largely Hispanic descent, 10.5% of other races, 3.1% African American or Black, 2.5% of two or more races, 1.0% Asian, 0.8% Native American and 0.1% Pacific Islander. 82.2% were Latino (of any race).

As of the census^[17] of 2000, there were 679,622 people, 210,022 households, and 166,127 families living in the county. The population density was 671 people per square mile (259 people/km²). There were 224,447 housing units at an average density of 222 per square mile (86/km²). The city was 78.23% Latino of any race. The racial makeup of the county was 73.95% White, 17.91% from other races, 3.06% African American or Black, 0.82% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, and 3.19% from two or more races.

There were 210,022 households, out of which 44.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% were married couples living together, 18.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.90% were non-families. 17.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.18 and the average family size was 3.63.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 32.00% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 18.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,051, and the median income for a family was $33,410. Males had a median income of $26,882 versus $20,722 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,421. About 20.50% of families and 23.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.50% of those under age 18 and 18.50% of those age 65 or over.

Government and Politics

Most of El Paso County is included in the 16th Congressional District in the U.S. House, represented by Democrat Veronica Escobar. A small eastern portion of the county is in the 23rd Congressional District, represented since 2021 by Republican Tony Gonzales. El Paso County is historically Democratic and the 2008 presidential election was no exception. Democrat Barack Obama won 66% of the vote with 121,589 votes even though he lost the entire state of Texas by about 946,000 votes. Republican John McCain won 33% of the vote in El Paso County with 61,598 votes. Other candidates won 1% of the vote. In 2004, Democrat John F. Kerry won El Paso County but by a smaller margin than Barack Obama. John Kerry won 56% of the vote, while Republican and former Governor of Texas George W. Bush won 43% of the vote with 73,261 votes.

In 2024 Donald Trump got the biggest vote share for a Republican in the county since 2004 with 41.8%, constituting a 20 point shift margin-wise to the right from 2020.^[18] This was largely due to increased support for Trump among Latinos, whom he won in Texas with 54%.^[19]

United States presidential election results for El Paso County, Texas^[20]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	105,124	41.72%	143,156	56.81%	3,725	1.48%
2020	84,331	31.56%	178,126	66.66%	4,758	1.78%
2016	55,512	25.71%	147,843	68.47%	12,567	5.82%
2012	57,150	33.09%	112,952	65.40%	2,601	1.51%
2008	61,783	33.28%	122,021	65.73%	1,826	0.98%
2004	73,261	43.20%	95,142	56.11%	1,170	0.69%
2000	57,574	39.69%	83,848	57.81%	3,620	2.50%
1996	43,255	32.11%	83,964	62.33%	7,491	5.56%
1992	47,224	34.94%	67,715	50.10%	20,224	14.96%
1988	55,573	46.79%	62,622	52.72%	586	0.49%
1984	66,114	55.83%	51,917	43.84%	399	0.34%
1980	53,276	53.53%	40,082	40.27%	6,168	6.20%
1976	42,697	47.72%	45,477	50.83%	1,291	1.44%
1972	49,981	60.15%	32,435	39.04%	674	0.81%
1968	30,347	44.55%	32,658	47.94%	5,111	7.50%
1964	20,687	36.99%	35,050	62.67%	190	0.34%
1960	21,551	45.20%	26,027	54.59%	99	0.21%
1956	18,532	54.70%	15,157	44.73%	193	0.57%
1952	20,005	57.74%	14,595	42.12%	47	0.14%
1948	5,544	25.85%	15,341	71.53%	563	2.62%
1944	2,072	13.18%	11,426	72.69%	2,220	14.12%
1940	3,764	23.28%	12,374	76.55%	27	0.17%
1936	1,773	12.84%	11,920	86.32%	116	0.84%
1932	2,841	19.74%	11,336	78.77%	215	1.49%
1928	6,050	49.74%	6,114	50.26%	0	0.00%
1924	4,078	35.99%	6,220	54.90%	1,032	9.11%
1920	4,070	49.12%	4,143	50.00%	73	0.88%
1916	1,770	32.08%	3,603	65.30%	145	2.63%
1912	291	7.21%	2,914	72.18%	832	20.61%

United States Senate election results for El Paso County, Texas1^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	92,997	90.05%	10,164	9.84%	115	0.11%

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is headquartered in an unincorporated area in El Paso County.^[22] At one point it was headquartered within the City of El Paso.^[23] The Leo Samaniego Law Enforcement Complex is adjacent to the sheriff's office headquarters.^[24]

Like all Texas counties, El Paso County is governed by a Commissioners Court, which consists of a County Judge, who is elected county-wide, and four County Commissioners, who represent individual precincts.^[25] While the County Judge possesses some traditional powers of a judge, the County Judge functions primarily as the chief executive of the county. The County Judge presides over Commissioners Court meetings, casts one vote on Commissioners Court (as do County Commissioners), and lacks veto authority.

The El Paso County Judge is Ricardo Samaniego, and the county commissioners are Carlos Leon (Precinct 1), David Stout (Precinct 2), Iliana Holguin (Precinct 3),^[26] and Carl L. Robinson(Precinct 4). The commissioners and the county judge are all Democrats.

Vogt was appointed County Judge in October 2017 by the County Commissioners, following County Judge Veronica Escobar's resignation to run for Congress. He was previously Escobar's chief of staff. He will serve the remainder of her term, through the end of 2018.^[27] Leon and Perez were first elected to their positions in 2012, were re-elected in 2016,^[28] and have been in office since 2013. Haggerty and Stout were first elected to their positions in 2014, and have been in office since 2015.^[29]

The first woman to hold elected office in El Paso County was a teacher, Myra Carroll Winkler, who was elected as superintendent of El Paso County schools in 1912.^[30][31]

United States Congress

Representatives		Name	Party	First Elected	Area(s) of El Paso County Represented
	District 16	Veronica Escobar	Democratic	2018	City of El Paso, Fort Bliss, Horizon City, Sparks
	District 23	Tony Gonzales	Republican	2020	Agua Dulce, Biggs Field, Butterfield, Clint, Fabens, Homestead Meadows North, Homestead Meadows South, Socorro, San Elizario, Tornillo

Texas Legislature

Texas Senate

District		Name	Party	First Elected	Area(s) of El Paso County Represented
	29	Cesar Blanco	Democratic	2020	Entirety of El Paso County

Texas House of Representatives

District		Name	Party	First Elected	Area(s) of El Paso County Represented
	74	Eddie Morales	Democratic	2020	Northeast El Paso County
	75	Mary González	Democratic	2012	Parts of the city of El Paso and Socorro, Clint, Fabens, Horizon City, San Elizario and Tornillo.
	77	Evelina Ortega	Democratic	2016	Parts of the city of El Paso
	78	Joe Moody	Democratic	2008	Northern El Paso County, including parts of the city of El Paso and Anthony, Canutillo, Prado Verde, Vinton and Westway.
	130	Claudia Ordaz	Democratic	2022	Parts of the city of El Paso and Fort Bliss

County government

El Paso County elected officials

Position		Name	Party
	County Judge	Ricardo Samaniego	Democratic
	Commissioner, Precinct 1	Carlos Leon	Democratic
	Commissioner, Precinct 2	David Stout	Democratic
	Commissioner, Precinct 3	Iliana Houglin	Democratic
	Commissioner, Precinct 4	Sergio Cornando	Democratic
	District Attorney	Bill D. Hicks	Republican
	District Clerk	Norma Favela Barceleau	Democratic
	County Attorney	Jo Anne Bernal	Democratic
	County Clerk	Delia Briones	Democratic
	Sheriff	Richard D. Wiles	Democratic
	Tax Assessor-Collector	Ruben P. Gonzalez	Democratic
	Constable, Precinct 1	Oscar Ugarte	Democratic
	Constable, Precinct 2	Danny T. Zamora	Democratic
	Constable, Precinct 3	Hector J. Bernal	Democratic
	Constable, Precinct 4	Luis Aguilar	Democratic
	Constable, Precinct 5	Manny Lopez	Democratic
	Constable, Precinct 6, Place 1 & 2	Javier Garcia	Democratic
	Constable, Precinct 7	Humberto "Beto" Enriquez	Democratic

Communities

Cities

• El Paso
• Horizon City
• San Elizario
• Socorro

Towns

• Anthony
• Clint

Village

• Vinton

Census-designated places

• Agua Dulce
• Butterfield
• Canutillo
• Fabens
• Homestead Meadows North
• Homestead Meadows South
• Morning Glory
• Prado Verde
• Sparks
• Tornillo
• Westway

Military Base

• Fort Bliss

Unincorporated communities

• Montana Vista
• Newman

Economy

As of 2021, El Paso County had a total GDP of around $30 billion and $35,000 per capita.^[32]

Education

School districts include:^[33]

• Anthony Independent School District
• Canutillo Independent School District
• Clint Independent School District
• El Paso Independent School District
• Fabens Independent School District
• San Elizario Independent School District
• Socorro Independent School District
• Tornillo Independent School District
• Ysleta Independent School District

All of the county is in the service area of El Paso Community College.^[34]

National Historic Landmark

The Rio Vista Bracero Reception Center was designated It was named a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, on December 11, 2023. The Rio Vista Farm buildings and surrounding fields in Socorro, TX are included in the Historic Landmark district.^[35]

See also

• Texas portal

• El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center
• List of museums in West Texas
• National Border Patrol Museum
• National Register of Historic Places listings in El Paso County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in El Paso County