ZIP Code 79912

El Paso (; Spanish: [el paso] "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The city stands on the Rio Grande across the MexicoUnited States border from Ciudad Juárez, the most-populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua with over 1.5 million people. El Paso has consistently been ranked as one of the safest large cities in America. The El Paso metropolitan area forms part of the larger El PasoLas Cruces combined statistical area, with a population of 1,088,420. These three cities form a combined international metropolitan area sometimes referred to as the Paso del Norte or the Borderplex. The region of 2.7 million people constitutes the largest bilingual and binational work force in the Western Hemisphere. The City is home to three publicly traded companies, and former Western Refining, now Marathon Petroleum, as well as home to the Medical Center of the Americas, the only medical research and care provider complex in West Texas and Southern New Mexico. It hosts the annual Sun Bowl college football postseason game, the second-oldest bowl game in the country. William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Biggs Army Airfield, and Fort Bliss are located in the area. Also headquartered in El Paso are the Drug Enforcement Administration domestic field division 7, El Paso Intelligence Center, Joint Task Force North, United States Border Patrol El Paso Sector, and U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Group.

History

El Paso is the primary city name, but also Desert Haven are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of El Paso. The El Paso region has had human settlement for thousands of years, as evidenced by Folsom points from hunter-gatherers found at Hueco Tanks. The earliest known cultures in the region were maize farmers. The Chamuscado and Rodríguez Expedition trekked through present-day El Paso and forded the Rio Grande in 1581-1582. In 1680, the small village of El Paso became the temporary base for Spanish governance of the territory of New Mexico as a result of the Pueblo Revolt. In 1844, the Republic of Texas, which claimed the area, wanted a chunk of the Santa Fe trade. During the MexicanAmerican War, the Battle of El Bracito was fought nearby on Christmas Day, 1846. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo effectively made the settlements on the north bank of the river part of the US, separate from Old El Paso del Norte on the Mexican side. The present New MexicoTexas boundary placing El Paso on the Texas side was drawn in the Compromise of 1850. El Paso County was established in March 1850, with Elizario as the first county seat. The United States Senate fixed a boundary between Texas and New Mexico at the 32nd parallel, thus largely ignoring history and topography. The future El Paso, Texas, became the nucleus of the future state of Chihuahua after the army left in 1851; Franklin, which became the future U.S. capital, was repossessed in 1852.

Geography

El Paso is located at the intersection of three states (Chihuahua, New Mexico, and Texas) and two countries (Mexico and the U.S.) It is the only major Texas city in the Mountain Time Zone. North Franklin Mountain is the highest peak in the city at 7,192 ft (2,192 m) above sea level. The city has a total area of 256.3 sq mi (663.7 km²) The sun shines 302 days per year on average in El Paso, 83% of daylight hours, according to the National Weather Service; from this, the city is nicknamed "The Sun City" It is closer to the capital cities of four other states: Phoenix, Arizona (430 miles (690 km) away), Santa Fe (273 miles (439 km), and Hermosillo, Sonora (325 miles (523km) away) than it is to Austin, Texas (528 miles (850 km) El Paso has a transitional climate featuring hot summers, with little humidity, and cool to mild dry winters. Rainfall averages 8.8 in (220 mm) per year, much of which occurs from June through September, and is predominantly caused by the North American Monsoon. El Paso often experiences sand and dust storms during the dry season, particularly during the spring and early May. The Franklin Mountains extend into El Paso from the north and nearly divide the city into two sections; the west side forms the beginnings of the Mesilla Valley and the east side expands into the desert and lower valley.

Neighborhoods

Downtown and central El Paso contains some of the city's oldest and most historic neighborhoods. West-central El Paso is located north of Interstate 10 and west of the Franklin Mountains. Northwest El Paso includes a portion of the Rio Grande floodplain upstream from downtown. Northeast El Paso has not developed as rapidly as other areas, such as east and northwest El Paso, but its development is increasing steadily as a result of population growth. The area is known for its glitzy entertainment district, restaurants and coffee shops that cater to both business patrons and university students. After UTEP's basketball and football games, UTEP fans pack the Kern Place area for food and entertainment at Cincinnati Street, a small bar district. It is one of the more ethnically diverse areas in the city due to the concentration of military families in the area. The city's population is expected to grow rapidly as the population of El Paso continues to grow and the area becomes more affluent. The El Paso International Airport is located near the MexicoU.S. border and is home to about 44,993 people. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the Cincinnati Entertainment district are located in the heart of the area, near the international border. The Upper Valley is the greenest part of the county due toThe Rio Grande. The West Side is one. of the fastest-growing areas of the El Paso. area and is located on the west side of the. Franklin Mountains and is known locally as the Upper Valley. Many wealthy residents have had their houses and mansions built on this hill. During the Mexican Revolution, Doroteo Arango (also known as Francisco "Pancho" Villa), a popular Mexican revolutionary, lived in Sunset Heights.

Demographics

The 2019 U.S. Census Bureau estimates determined El Paso had a population of 681,728, an increase of 5.2% since the 2010 census. By the 2020 United States census, there were 678,815 people, 230,905 households, and 162,460 families residing in the city. In 2019, 12.8% of the population was non-Hispanic white, 3.6% Black or African American, 1.4% Asian, 0.3% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and 2.7% Hispanic or Latin American of any race. Nearly 45% of population claim affiliation with the Catholic Church and are served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso. A German community existed in El Paso, as the German Air Force headquarters for North America is in Elpas. The city's median gross rent from 2015 to 2019 was $837. The median monthly homeowner cost with a mortgage was $1,255 and without a mortgage $429. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.47. The age distribution was 29.1% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 20 to 24, 26.2%, 22.8%, and 11.1%. The median age was 32.5 years according to census statistics from 2010. The 2019 census estimates determined the city had an owner-occupied housing rate of 58.9% and median value of owner- occupied housing units at $127,400. The per capita income for the city was $21,120.

Economy

El Paso has a diversified economy focused on international trade, military, government civil service, oil and gas, health care, tourism, and service sectors. The city is the second-busiest international crossing point in the U.S. behind San Diego. El Paso is home to one Fortune 500 company, Western Refining, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) More than 70 Fortune 500 companies have offices in El Paso, including AT&T, ADP, Boeing, Charles Schwab, Delphi, Dish Network, Eureka, Hoover, Raytheon, Prudential Financial, USAA and Verizon Wireless. On July 22, 2020, Amazon. announced plans to open the first 625,000 square foot fulfillment center in El. Paso. The defense industry employs over 41,000 and provides a $6 billion annual impact to the city's economy. The federal government has a strong presence in the city to manage its status and unique issues as an important border region. The three large school districts are among the largest employers in the area, employing more than 20,000 people among them. UTEP has an annual budget of nearly $418 million and employs nearly 4,800 people. A 2010 study by the Institute for Policy and Economic Development's impact on local businesses is $417 million annually. The El Paso metro area had a GDP of $29.03 billion in 2017. There was also $92 billion worth of trade in 2012. Cotton, fruit, vegetables, and livestock are also produced in the region.

Arts and culture

The El Paso Balloonfest is an annual event celebrated on Memorial Day weekend. La Fiesta de las Flores is one of the oldest Hispanic festivals in the Southwest. The Southwestern International PRCA Rodeo is the 17th-oldest rodeo in the nation and El Paso's longest-running sporting event. The Texas Showdown Festival is the world's largest tattoo and musical festival, usually held the last weekend of July at the El Paso County Coliseum. The El Paso Sun City Pride is the largest annual LGBT event in the region, attracting thousands every June. The annual Neon Desert Music Festival is a two-day event usually held on the last Saturday and Sunday of May on five stages in downtown El Paso, stretching from San Jacinto Plaza to Cleveland Square. The evening concerts are showcased every Sunday afternoon and end in the middle of August at the Sun City Music Festival. The outdoor concert series, started in 1983, is held annually at the Chamizal National Memorial and draws over 60,000 attendees. It features local and international performers with wide-ranging musical genres: Classical, Country, Tejano, and others. The Viva! El Paso! is an outdoor musical extravaganza performed in the canyon at the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheatre in the last week of July. It is the only musical festival not held downtown, instead it is held at Ascarate Park in El Paso. The festival attracts 20,000 to 30,000 visitors from El Paso county, New Mexico, West Texas, and the State of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Sports

El Paso is home to the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest consecutive college football contest (after the Rose Bowl). Its first game was held in 1935. The El Paso Locomotive soccer team began playing in 2019 in the USL. They play at the Southwest University Park. The city hall was demolished on April 14, 2013 to make way for the El Paso Chihuahuas Triple-A team (San Diego Padres affiliate); it opened in 2014.The El Paso Marathon takes place annually since 2007. It is one of the largest marathons in the United States, with more than 30,000 participants. It has been held every year since it began in 1978. It was the first marathon in the U.S. to be held in the state of Texas, and the first in the Southwestern United States. It took place on October 31, 1978. The first El Paso marathon was held on October 30, 1978, and it has been running every year ever since in El Paso since. The event is now held on the same day as the New Year's Day holiday in New York City and New Jersey. It also takes place on January 31, February 1, March 1, and April 1, each year. It takes place in downtown El Paso, and in the town's downtown area. The race is held in honor of the city's former mayor, who died in a car accident in 2008. It's also known as the "El Paso Marathon" because of the annual event.

Parks and recreation

El Paso is home to the largest urban park in the nation. The Franklin Mountains State Park, with its more than 24,248 acres (9,813 ha), is completely located within the city limits. Scenic Drive runs along the mountain range, and is designated as a city park to allow better vandalism control and cleanup. Hueco Tanks State Historic Site is a Texas historic site, approximately 32 miles (51 km) northeast of downtown El Paso and just west of the Hueco Mountains. The El Paso Municipal Rose Garden is one of over 100 certified public gardens within the United States and adjacent regions in the U.S. and Mexico. The city is also home to 242 municipal parks and the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens (officially named the All-American Rose Selection) A museum detailing the history of the Mexican border is located inside the visitor center at the Chamizal National Memorial inside the El Paso Museum of American History. The museum is a 54.90-acre (22.22 ha) park that serves as a cultural center and contains art galleries, a theater, an amphitheatre, and an interpretive center. The park offers camping and showers for a small fee a day or, as is most popular for climbers, the nearby Hueco Rock Ranch offers camping where climbers can relax and socialize. It is also widely regarded as one of the best areas in the world for bouldering (rock climbing, low enough to attempt without ropes for protection), unique for its rock type, the concentration and quality of the climbing.

Government

The city operates under a councilmanager form of government. The current mayor of El Paso is Oscar Leeser, who was elected to the office in 2020. The terms of Canales, Fierro, Kennedy, and Salcido will end in 2026. After the 2020 Census, El Paso will only have four seats in the state house. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the El Paso I District Parole Office in the city. El Paso City and County vote overwhelmingly Democratic, like most of the TexasMexico border area and urban Texas. In the U.S. House of Representatives, most ofEl Paso is part of Texas's 16th congressional district represented by Democrat Veronica Escobar. A small sliver of the city is in Texas's 23rd congressional district, represented by Republican Tony Gonzales. The city is home to the University of Texas at El Paso, which is a member of the Southwest Association of Colleges and Employers (USACE) and the Texas Association of Chamber of Commerce (TAC). The city's mayor is OscarLeeser. The mayor is elected for four year terms and may not serve more than two full terms or for more than 10 years total in their respective offices. The county judge is Ricardo Samaniego, and the county commissioners are Carlos Leon, David Stout, Iliana Holguin, and Carl Robinson. The El Paso II District Paroles Office is in an unincorporated area east of Horizon City. The state house is represented in the Texas State House by Democrats Art Fiersro, Mary Gonzalez, Joe Moody, Claudia Ordaz Perez, and Lina Ortega.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in El Paso, El Paso County, Texas = 22.5. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 60. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 70. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in El Paso = 6.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 678,815 individuals with a median age of 32.4 age the population grows by 9.10% in El Paso, El Paso County, Texas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,626.69 residents per square mile of area (1,014.17/km²). There are average 3.02 people per household in the 201,809 households with an average household income of $38,182 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.70% of the available work force and has dropped -0.71% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 29.88%. The number of physicians in El Paso per 100,000 population = 141.1.

Weather

The annual rainfall in El Paso = 8.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 5.8 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 48. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 297. 95 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 31.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 50, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in El Paso, El Paso County, Texas which are owned by the occupant = 58.87%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 31 years with median home cost = $131,970 and home appreciation of -4.26%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $20.70 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,547 per student. There are 15.6 students for each teacher in the school, 545 students for each Librarian and 461 students for each Counselor. 5.34% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 12.49% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 6.27% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).