El Paso County, Texas

El Paso County, Texas
El Paso skyline
Seal
Location in the state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1871
Seat	El Paso
Largest city	El Paso
Area
• Total	1,015 sq mi (2,629 km2)
• Land	1,013 sq mi (2,624 km2)
• Water	2.3 sq mi (6 km2), 0.2%
Population
• (2010)	800,647
• Density	791/sq mi (305/km²)
Congressional districts	16th, 23rd
Time zone	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website	www.epcounty.com

El Paso County is the westernmost county in the state of Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 800,647,^[1] making it the sixth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is El Paso,^[2] the sixth-most populous city in Texas and the 19th-most populous city in the United States. The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1871.^[3]

El Paso is short for "El Paso del Norte" which is Spanish for "The Pass of the North." It is named for the pass the Rio Grande creates through the mountains on either side of the river. This county is east from the Mexican border.

El Paso County is included in the El Paso, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area. Along with Hudspeth County, it is one of only two counties in the state of Texas to fall into the Mountain Time Zone, instead of Central Time. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.

Geography

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]

Adjacent counties and municipalities

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

National protected area

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

Demographics

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

As of the census^[8] of 2000, there were 679,622 people, 210,022 households, and 166,127 families residing in the county. The population density was 671 people per square mile (259/km²). There were 224,447 housing units at an average density of 222 per square mile (86/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 73.95% White, 3.06% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 17.91% from other races, and 3.19% from two or more races. 78.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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.

Politics

Most of El Paso County is included in the 16th Congressional District in the U.S House, represented by Democrat Beto O'Rourke. A small eastern portion of the county is in the 23rd Congressional District, represented by Republican Will Hurd. 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 and 95,142 votes. Republican George W. Bush won 43% of the vote with 73,261 votes. Other candidates won 1% of the vote.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is headquartered in an unincorporated area in El Paso County.^[9] At one point it was headquartered within the City of El Paso.^[10] The Leo Samaniego Law Enforcement Complex is adjacent to the sheriff's office headquarters.^[11]

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.^[12] 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 Veronica Escobar, and the county commissioners are Carlos Leon (Precinct 1), David Stout (Precinct 2), Vince Perez (Precinct 3),^[13] and Andrew Haggerty (Precinct 4). Haggerty is a Republican, the other commissioners and the county judge are Democrats.

Escobar was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, and has been in office since 2011. Leon and Perez were first elected to their positions in 2012, 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.^[14]

Communities

Cities

• El Paso
• Horizon City
• Socorro
• San Elizario

Towns

• Anthony
• Clint
• Fabens
• Tornillo

Village

• Vinton

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

• Montana Vista
• Newman

See also

• 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

References

External links

• El Paso County Official web site
• El Paso County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
• Historic El Paso County materials, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Fort Bliss National Cemetery Disgrace Video

	Doña Ana County, New Mexico		Otero County, New Mexico
	Doña Ana County, New Mexico		Hudspeth County
		El Paso County, Texas
	Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico	Guadalupe, Chihuahua, Mexico	Práxedis G. Guerrero, Chihuahua, Mexico

Municipalities and communities of El Paso County, Texas, United States County seat: El Paso Cities El Paso Horizon City San Elizario Socorro Towns Anthony Clint Village Vinton CDPs Agua Dulce Butterfield Canutillo Fabens Fort Bliss Homestead Meadows North Homestead Meadows South Morning Glory Prado Verde Sparks Tornillo Westway Unincorporated communities Montana Vista Newman

Counties of Texas Anderson Andrews Angelina Aransas Archer Armstrong Atascosa Austin Bailey Bandera Bastrop Baylor Bee Bell Bexar Blanco Borden Bosque Bowie Brazoria Brazos Brewster Briscoe Brooks Brown Burleson Burnet Caldwell Calhoun Callahan Cameron Camp Carson Cass Castro Chambers Cherokee Childress Clay Cochran Coke Coleman Collin Collingsworth Colorado Comal Comanche Concho Cooke Coryell Cottle Crane Crockett Crosby Culberson Dallam Dallas Dawson Deaf Smith Delta Denton DeWitt Dickens Dimmit Donley Duval Eastland Ector Edwards Ellis El Paso Erath Falls Fannin Fayette Fisher Floyd Foard Fort Bend Franklin Freestone Frio Gaines Galveston Garza Gillespie Glasscock Goliad Gonzales Gray Grayson Gregg Grimes Guadalupe Hale Hall Hamilton Hansford Hardeman Hardin Harris Harrison Hartley Haskell Hays Hemphill Henderson Hidalgo Hill Hockley Hood Hopkins Houston Howard Hudspeth Hunt Hutchinson Irion Jack Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis Jefferson Jim Hogg Jim Wells Johnson Jones Karnes Kaufman Kendall Kenedy Kent Kerr Kimble King Kinney Kleberg Knox Lamar Lamb Lampasas La Salle Lavaca Lee Leon Liberty Limestone Lipscomb Live Oak Llano Loving Lubbock Lynn Madison Marion Martin Mason Matagorda Maverick McCulloch McLennan McMullen Medina Menard Midland Milam Mills Mitchell Montague Montgomery Moore Morris Motley Nacogdoches Navarro Newton Nolan Nueces Ochiltree Oldham Orange Palo Pinto Panola Parker Parmer Pecos Polk Potter Presidio Rains Randall Reagan Real Red River Reeves Refugio Roberts Robertson Rockwall Runnels Rusk Sabine San Augustine San Jacinto San Patricio San Saba Schleicher Scurry Shackelford Shelby Sherman Smith Somervell Starr Stephens Sterling Stonewall Sutton Swisher Tarrant Taylor Terrell Terry Throckmorton Titus Tom Green Travis Trinity Tyler Upshur Upton Uvalde Val Verde Van Zandt Victoria Walker Waller Ward Washington Webb Wharton Wheeler Wichita Wilbarger Willacy Williamson Wilson Winkler Wise Wood Yoakum Young Zapata Zavala

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Coordinates: 31°46′N 106°14′W / 31.77°N 106.24°W / 31.77; -106.24