Cost of Living in El Paso, TX (2026): What Renters Should Budget

Updated September 2026. Rent figures reflect Apartment List data as of August 2026.

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the median rent across all apartment sizes in El Paso is $1,174 as of August 2026, with one-bedrooms at $935 and two-bedrooms at $1,119. That runs about 15.5% below the national median of $1,390.

Rent here is moving against the Texas trend. El Paso rents rose 1.62% over the past year, the only increase among the state's six largest cities. A one-bedroom with power, water, and groceries comes to around $1,526 a month, before stormwater, trash, transport, and anything else.

El Paso Cost of Living at a Glance

Rent anchors this guide, and the advertised price covers one part of the monthly bill. The figures below set a starting range for El Paso.

Rent values are Apartment List August 2026 city-level estimates. Full method and sources are in the appendix.

How to use these numbers: Start with the rent for the unit size you're considering. Add the planning estimates that apply to you, then replace them with listing-specific charges and your expected usage.

What Is the Median Rent in El Paso in 2026?

The median one-bedroom rent in El Paso is $935 as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index. Two-bedrooms run $1,119 and the all-sizes median is $1,174.

Rent here is moving the opposite way from the rest of big-city Texas. Of the six Texas cities with more than 500,000 residents, El Paso is the only one where rent rose over the past year, up 1.62%. Month over month it ticked up 0.41%. The other five all fell: San Antonio 4.89%, Austin 2.85%, Houston 2.55%, Fort Worth 1.83%, and Dallas 1.50%.

These are citywide figures, and they do not establish what any individual building is asking or offering. Ask each property directly about concessions, fees, and the move-in total, then compare the quote you get with the medians above.

El Paso's city median and its metro median sit within a few dollars of each other, $1,174 against $1,171 (Apartment List, August 2026). The metro figure includes El Paso itself alongside the surrounding communities, so treat it as a part-and-whole comparison rather than a read on what anywhere outside the city limits costs.

El Paso's Two-Bedroom Median Runs $184 Above Its One-Bedroom

A two-bedroom runs $184 more than a one-bedroom at the median, or about 19.7% above the one-bedroom figure (Apartment List, August 2026).

That is the price of the larger apartment, not the price per person. Split equally between two renters, it comes to about $560 each, roughly $376 a month less than paying the one-bedroom median on your own.

How Does El Paso Rent Compare With Texas and Southwest Metros?

The table sets El Paso against the other large Texas cities and the nearby Southwest metros.

All figures are Apartment List medians as of August 2026.

El Paso is the second-cheapest of the six large Texas cities here, behind San Antonio at $1,123. Against Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth it runs $94 to $163 a month lower on the typical apartment, or roughly $1,100 to $2,000 over a year. Austin and Dallas are a single dollar apart at the median, so treat those two as the same price.

Widen to the Southwest and El Paso lands mid-pack: above Tucson at $1,050, below Albuquerque at $1,219. Its median sits $216 under the national figure of $1,390, and every city in this table is below that too.

What Income Corresponds to El Paso Rent at the 30% Benchmark?

Using Apartment List's August 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $935, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $37,400 in annual gross income.

Each income figure is the monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 0.30, calculated from the unrounded medians. The shared row assumes an equal split of the two-bedroom median, which is $559.50 before rounding.

These are gross income figures covering rent alone. The 30% share is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) affordability measure, which counts utilities inside it where these do not, so add utilities on top. They are planning benchmarks rather than salary requirements or screening rules, and the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for after-tax income, which will produce a different estimate.

How Do You Set a Rent Ceiling for a Specific Listing?

The median tells you the middle of the market, but you rent one specific unit. Work backward from your income:

1. Take your gross annual income.
2. Multiply by 0.30 to get the annual rent your budget supports at the 30% benchmark.
3. Divide by 12 for a monthly rent ceiling.

On a $45,000 gross salary that is about $1,125 a month. El Paso's one-bedroom median is $935 (Apartment List, August 2026), which leaves about $190 between the median and that ceiling. The electricity and water estimates in this guide account for roughly $151 of it, so confirm what the building bills separately before counting the remainder as room for fees. A two-bedroom at the $1,119 median also fits under that ceiling.

Then check the listing detail page for the charges rent alone hides: application, admin, pet, and parking fees are disclosed per unit. Apartment List does not charge renters a fee of its own, so the numbers you are budgeting for belong to the property.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in El Paso?

Electricity

El Paso Electric is the regulated provider, and its standard residential rate covers individually metered apartments. At 500 kWh a month a bill runs about $86 in summer and about $76 in winter, before tax and before several smaller riders not included here.

That is not cheap for Texas. The summer figure works out above the state average residential rate (EIA, June 2026), and the riders left out of it only widen the gap. Power is around 9% of what a median one-bedroom costs here.

Summer is what moves it. Above 600 kWh the rate steps up by a cent, but the real driver is how hard you run the air conditioning through a desert July.

Ask a prospective unit two things: whether it has central air or window units, and what a recent July or August bill came to on a comparable apartment. The figures above are a citywide starting point; those answers are about the apartment you would actually rent.

Water and Wastewater

Water is its own line in a desert city. El Paso Water bills water and wastewater together, and both minimum charges include a 5 CCF monthly allowance, about 3,740 gallons. At that allowance a bill runs about $65 a month, before stormwater and tax.

Two things move it. A $17.49 supply replacement charge applies only at 5 CCF and above, so staying under the allowance takes more than a quarter off the bill. And your bill runs off your winter average rather than the month you are in, so a hot-weather spike does not hit the way it does on electricity.

Stormwater is billed separately and runs $3.00 to $7.42 depending on the unit's footprint, divided among units in a multi-storey building. The same statement also carries City of El Paso solid waste charges, about $32 a month before tax, which El Paso Water only collects on the city's behalf. Whether either reaches you as a separate line depends on the property, so neither sits inside the $65.

One of the solid waste charges is disputed. The Texas Eighth Court of Appeals ruled the $6 environmental franchise fee an illegal tax in June 2026, and the city's appeal was unresolved as of September.

Ask whether water and trash are billed to you directly, allocated across the building, or included in rent, and what the unit's recent bills came to.

Sun Metro Fares and Driving Costs

El Paso is spread out, so whether you need a car depends on your specific address and commute. Sun Metro charges $1.50 for a standard ride and $48 for a standard monthly pass, with weekly passes at $12 and day passes at $3.50. Reduced fares run $1.00 for students and military riders and $0.50 for seniors 65 and older and riders with a disability, and transfers are free. Passes work on Sun Metro's fixed routes and on Brio, its bus rapid transit service.

Before you sign, check whether a route connects your building to where you work, and whether it is a Brio corridor. If it is not, plan for a car payment, insurance, and gas as a fixed monthly cost.

Groceries

For a single adult, the USDA moderate-cost food plan runs about $440 a month. The USDA figure is national and is not specific to El Paso, so use it as a starting point and adjust it for how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared El Paso Budgets Compare?

Splitting a two-bedroom equally costs about $376 a month less per renter than paying for a one-bedroom on your own, or roughly $4,506 a year. Almost all of that comes from the rent line, since groceries do not split at all. That $560 share corresponds to about $22,380 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark, against $37,400 for the one-bedroom.

Rent values are Apartment List August 2026 city-level estimates. The shared column assumes two renters splitting the median two-bedroom rent, one electricity bill, and one water bill equally. Electricity uses the summer figure; winter runs about $10 lower per household. Both columns exclude stormwater, city solid waste charges, transit, internet, insurance, and parking.

What Should You Confirm Before Paying an Application Fee?

• What a recent July or August electricity bill came to on a comparable unit
• Whether the apartment is individually metered for electricity, and whether it has central air or window units
• Whether the unit is individually metered for water, and whether water, wastewater, and trash are billed to you, allocated across the building, or included
• Every unit-level fee: application, admin, pet, and parking, all disclosed on the listing detail page
• Lease length and any month-to-month premium
• Whether a Sun Metro route, and ideally a Brio corridor, connects your building to your commute

Ask the property for its total move-in amount in writing before paying anything. Apartment List does not charge renters a fee, so every fee you are checking for belongs to the property.

How Do You Find Lower Rent in El Paso?

The medians above are citywide. Which El Paso neighborhoods cost least, how they compare on walkability and commute, and how they score on published safety data are questions the neighborhood guides answer in full:

• Cheapest neighborhoods in El Paso
• Best neighborhoods in El Paso
• Safest neighborhoods in El Paso

To bring rent down without changing neighborhoods, the Apartment List Rent Calculator sizes an affordable range from your income and surfaces matching El Paso units, and Rate My Rent grades a specific listing against comparable local apartments. That grade is a starting point for questions to ask the building, not a verdict on the unit.

Compare El Paso With Your Current City

If you are moving to El Paso from somewhere else, compare total cost rather than rent alone. The Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares two cities using after-tax income and includes data from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

El Paso is the only one of Texas's six largest cities where rent rose over the past year, up 1.62% while San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth all fell (Apartment List, August 2026). A calculator will price today's gap against Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, which still runs $94 to $163 a month. Twelve months of movement have made it narrower than it was.

Browse El Paso apartments and start comparing real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Income figures are calculations based on the cited Apartment List rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data.

Frequently Asked Questions About El Paso Rent & Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in El Paso?

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the median all-sizes rent in El Paso is $1,174 as of August 2026, with one-bedrooms at $935 and two-bedrooms at $1,119. Apartment List reports a median rather than an average, because a median better represents a typical apartment and is less distorted by a handful of luxury units.

Is El Paso Rent Going Up or Down?

Up. El Paso rent rose 1.62% year over year as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index. Of the six Texas cities above 500,000 residents, it is the only one where rent rose. San Antonio fell 4.89%, Austin 2.85%, Houston 2.55%, Fort Worth 1.83%, and Dallas 1.50%.

How Does El Paso Rent Compare With Texas and Southwest Metros?

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, El Paso's all-sizes median is $1,174 as of August 2026, the second lowest of the six large Texas cities compared here. San Antonio is lower at $1,123. Against Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, El Paso runs $94 to $163 a month less. In the wider Southwest it lands mid-pack, above Tucson at $1,050 and below Albuquerque at $1,219. It sits $216 below the national median of $1,390. All comparison figures are Apartment List medians for August 2026.

How Much More Does a Two-Bedroom Cost Than a One-Bedroom in El Paso?

About $184 a month. The median one-bedroom is $935 and the median two-bedroom is $1,119 as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index. That is the cost of renting the larger apartment, not the cost per person: two renters splitting that two-bedroom equally would pay about $560 each.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in El Paso?

Using Apartment List's August 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $935, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $37,400 in annual gross income ($935 x 12 / 0.30). This is a planning benchmark, not a requirement, and it uses gross income, while the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator uses after-tax income and will give a different number.

How Much Is Electricity in an El Paso Apartment?

At 500 kWh a month, El Paso Electric's standard residential rate works out to about $86 in summer and about $76 in winter. That is a $13.71 monthly customer charge plus a fuel factor of 1.6154 cents per kWh, with energy at 12.897 cents per kWh from May through October and 10.897 cents from November through April. Treat both totals as approximate, pre-tax tariff estimates, since smaller riders and surcharges also apply. In summer the first 600 kWh bill at the lower rate and anything above that at 13.897 cents.

How Do Solo and Shared El Paso Budgets Compare?

At the August 2026 medians, a two-bedroom costs about $560 per renter if two people split it equally, against $935 for a one-bedroom you pay for on your own (Apartment List, August 2026), a difference of roughly $376 a month before utilities and fees. That $560 share corresponds to about $22,380 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It is a widely used benchmark, and HUD treats housing costs above 30% of income, including utilities, as cost-burdened. According to Apartment List research, about 51.8% of U.S. renter households are cost-burdened and 26.1% are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half their income on housing, based on 2024 ACS data. Those are national figures, not El Paso specific.