El Paso vs Las Cruces
The short version
- Overall prices are about the same in both metro areas (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $184,500 in El Paso and $231,700 in Las Cruces.
- Households earn more in El Paso ($59,745 vs $55,422 median).
- Las Cruces is growing faster: +5% since 2020 vs +0.6%.
- Commutes are shorter in Las Cruces (19 vs 23 minutes each way).
- Texas has no state income tax on wages; New Mexico's top rate is 5.9%.
Side by side
| El Paso, TX | Las Cruces, NM | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 683,012 | 116,978 |
| Growth since 2020 | +0.6% | +5% |
| People per square mile | 2,639 | 1,521 |
| Median age | 34.5 | 33.0 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 28% | 37% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $59,745 | $55,422 |
| Median home value | $184,500 | $231,700 |
| Home value to income | 3.1× | 4.2× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,073 | $974 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 89.9 | 90.2 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 71.2 | 63.0 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $67,400 | $67,700 |
| Homeowners | 61% | 56% |
| Top state income tax | None | 5.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.2% | 7.68% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 23.4 | 18.9 |
| Work from home | 9% | 11% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 1% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 6% | 7% |
| Poverty rate | 18.4% | 22.6% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 59° / 35° | 59° / 30° |
| July high / low | 96° / 73° | 96° / 69° |
| Precipitation per year | 9 in | 9 in |
| Snowfall per year | 3 in | 1 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 117 | 109 |
| Nights below freezing | 42 | 69 |
| Comfortable months | 4 | 2 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 95.5 | 96.1 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 18% | 27% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.2% | -0.4% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +48% | +41.8% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: El Paso: March to April and October to November. Las Cruces: April and October.
Full monthly tables: El Paso weather by month and Las Cruces weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $67,400 in El Paso and $67,700 in Las Cruces. Moving from El Paso to Las Cruces, you would need about $75,300 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between El Paso and Las Cruces
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from El Paso and Las Cruces.
Which would you pick?
One vote per person. Results show after you vote.