Overall
89.9
Cheap
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
El Paso, TX
Cost-of-living indicators for El Paso, TX, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 89.9
- Overall RPP
- #291
- of 387 metros
- 71.2
- Rents RPP
- $111K
- $100K national buys
El Paso ranks #291 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 2.6 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Dalton
The verdict
El Paso costs less than 75% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 89.9, 10.1% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 71.2.
- bottom 25%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 93.8
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 82.6
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $111,220 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $89,912.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$89,912
in El Paso, TX purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$44,956
$75,000 nationally
$67,434
$125,000 nationally
$112,390
$150,000 nationally
$134,868
$200,000 nationally
$179,824
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
C
67/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability C
67th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Housing-led affordability profile
How El Paso's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in El Paso: rents index at 71.2, the component furthest below the national benchmark. That does not make every local expense low, but it is the clearest explanation for the metro's overall RPP of 89.9.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX, Cedar Rapids, IA, Ames, IA. They resemble El Paso across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, El Paso's overall index has fallen by 2.6 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
El Paso vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
90 Bottom 25% higher than 25% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
El Paso cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
71.2 RPP
- Services
Services
82.6 RPP
- Overall
Overall
89.9 RPP
- Goods
Goods
93.8 RPP
What this shows El Paso's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 71.2 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 82.6. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where El Paso's cost comes from
Metros near El Paso's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- El Paso (El Paso, this metro): goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 71.2
- Dalton: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 63.3
- Victoria: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 69.3
- Gulfport: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 67.9
- Beaumont: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 70.9
- Montgomery: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 64.3
- Lima: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 57.3
Price Index Summary
Goods
93.8
Below avg
Services
82.6
Cheap
Rents
71.2
Cheap
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
El Paso's overall RPP fell -0.9 points, from 90.8 in 2023 to 89.9 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 90.5 to 82.6. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 2.6 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index dropped 3.3 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
El Paso overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.5 |
| 2009 | 92.7 |
| 2010 | 94.6 |
| 2011 | 95.8 |
| 2012 | 95.6 |
| 2013 | 94.8 |
| 2014 | 94.1 |
| 2015 | 94.0 |
| 2016 | 95.2 |
| 2017 | 94.7 |
| 2018 | 91.4 |
| 2019 | 91.6 |
| 2020 | 92.7 |
| 2021 | 92.8 |
| 2022 | 91.0 |
| 2023 | 90.8 |
| 2024 | 89.9 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to El Paso, TX's index of 89.9.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
TX-relative analysis
Goods prices places El Paso, TX near the bottom of TX's metros
Among the 26 TX metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, El Paso, TX ranks #3 - the 4th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares El Paso, TX only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 26
4th percentile in TX
Services prices
#14 of 26
46th percentile in TX
Rent prices
#17 of 26
35th percentile in TX
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within TX only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for El Paso, TX: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (89.9 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (71.2 here).
Other TX Metros
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 103.1 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 98.6 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 98.1 Midland, TX 95.8 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 94.7 Odessa, TX 93.9
View all TX metros → Cheapest in TX → Most expensive in TX →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to El Paso's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 83.1 · Rents 70.9 Cedar Rapids, IA
Goods 93.7 · Services 84.0 · Rents 71.4 Ames, IA
Goods 93.7 · Services 83.0 · Rents 69.2 Pueblo, CO
Goods 96.1 · Services 81.9 · Rents 71.3 Abilene, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 81.2 · Rents 73.8 Birmingham, AL
Goods 96.4 · Services 83.8 · Rents 71.9
Compare to Other Metros
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Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for El Paso
How to read El Paso's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $111,220 in El Paso. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 71.2, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare El Paso head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in El Paso, TX?
El Paso, TX has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 89.9, meaning it is 10.1% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 93.8, services at 82.6, and rents at 71.2. It ranks #291 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in El Paso, TX to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $89,912 in El Paso, TX. Conversely, $100K earned in El Paso, TX has the purchasing power of $111,220 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in El Paso, TX?
Rents in El Paso, TX are indexed at 71.2, which is 28.8% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is El Paso, TX getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, El Paso, TX's overall cost index changed by -2.6 points (from 92.5 to 89.9). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in El Paso, TX?
The priciest category in El Paso, TX is goods at 93.8, 6.2% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is rents at 71.2, 28.8% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to El Paso, TX?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Dalton, Victoria, Gulfport-Biloxi. These areas have RPP values within a few points of El Paso, TX's 89.9.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.