What salary do you need to live in El Paso, TX?
El Paso, TX is one of 387 US metro areas with both a federal price level and Census rent and home-value medians. A typical two-bedroom there rents for $1,029 a month and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $180,200. This page works out the pre-tax income at which a two-bedroom budget turns Tight, Okay and Comfortable in El Paso, and sets El Paso against the rest of Texas.
The cost side of living in El Paso
Census figures put the median gross rent in the El Paso, TX metro at $852 for a one-bedroom, $1,029 for a two-bedroom and $1,287 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $177 a month, and the third bedroom another $258.
The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $180,200. That is only 3.0× the area's median household income of $59,751, a low ratio by national standards.
The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 89.9 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in El Paso has the buying power of roughly $111,220 at national average prices.
El Paso: the pre-tax income for each grade
For two bedrooms, $97,000 is where El Paso turns Comfortable. Below that, $48,000 marks the start of Okay and $23,000 the start of Tight; under $23,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 13% of gross pay.
Reaching Royal takes $291,000 — 3.0× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.
How they were found: the same scoring function the calculator runs was evaluated at rising incomes until each cutoff was crossed, and the crossing rounded up to a whole $1,000.
| Grade | Starts at | Rent ÷ income | Home ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal | $291,000 | 4% | 0.6× |
| Comfortable | $97,000 | 13% | 1.9× |
| Okay | $48,000 | 26% | 3.8× |
| Tight | $23,000 | 54% | 7.8× |
What different incomes look like in El Paso
On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 61 and a three-bedroom 54, both Okay; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.
The two-bedroom column turns Comfortable at the $100,000 row. One row up, $75,000 scores 58.
| Income | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 49 · Okay | 46 · Okay | 43 · Tight |
| $75,000 | 61 · Okay | 58 · Okay | 54 · Okay |
| $100,000 | 69 · Comfortable | 66 · Comfortable | 63 · Okay |
| $150,000 | 78 · Comfortable | 75 · Comfortable | 71 · Comfortable |
El Paso compared with every US metro
Out of 387 metros, El Paso has the 291st highest price parity and the 266th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it in the bottom quarter on overall prices and near the middle on rent.
Sumter, SC ($1,030) and Montgomery, AL ($1,029) bracket El Paso on two-bedroom rent.
Comparing El Paso with Texas
Compared with Texas as a whole, two-bedroom rent in El Paso is 26% lower ($1,029 vs. $1,395) and the median home is 37% lower ($180,200 vs. $283,800).
On statewide medians, a two-bedroom budget reaches Comfortable at $166,000 — above El Paso's $97,000 line.
If El Paso is on your list, Longview, TX, Amarillo, TX, and Laredo, TX are the most similar Texas metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.
| Metro | 2-bed rent | Median home | Price parity | Comfortable from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso, TX | $1,029 | $180,200 | 89.9 | $97,000 |
| Longview, TX | $1,043 | $184,400 | 89.5 | $98,000 |
| Amarillo, TX | $1,066 | $208,700 | 91.8 | $110,000 |
| Laredo, TX | $1,002 | $189,900 | 87.0 | $91,000 |
The median El Paso household
The median household in the metro earns $59,751 (ACS 2020-2024). Run through the calculator with two bedrooms, that scores 51, Okay. The Comfortable line is 62% above what the median household makes. For Texas as a whole, the median household income of $78,476 scores 44 against statewide rents. Keep in mind a household median often combines two incomes.
All figures are pre-tax estimates from public data, not financial advice.
Score your own income in El Paso
Enter your pre-tax income and home size to see El Paso next to all 387 metros.
Open the calculatorSource: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional price parities by MSA (MARPP), line 1 "RPPs: All items"; metros per OMB bulletin 23-01, 2024 (released February 19, 2026); downloaded 2026-10-30.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year B25031 Median Gross Rent by Bedrooms (_003/_004/_005 = 1/2/3 bedrooms), 2020-2024; downloaded 2026-10-30.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year B25077 Median Value (Dollars), owner-occupied housing units, 2020-2024; downloaded 2026-10-30.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year B19013 Median Household Income (display only), 2020-2024; downloaded 2026-10-30.
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.