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College Cost Calculator for El Paso, TX
Local data pre-filled
Planning for college from El Paso, TX? In-state tuition at Texas public universities, combined with the local cost of living (index: 84), determines your true 4-year cost. Estimate tuition, room & board, and see how 529 plans or financial aid could help.
✓ Calculator below is pre-filled with El Paso local data
Data as of · Sources: Zillow, Census ACS, Tax Foundation, Freddie Mac
Texas Financial Snapshot (2026) — College Cost Calculator
Median income and COL frame affordability for the college cost calculator in Texas.
How the College Cost Calculator Math Works Under Texas Law
The College Cost Calculator runs a well-known formula (principal × rate, discounted cash flow, amortization, or equivalent) client-side and layers on Texas's tax and cost-of-living inputs. State-specific numbers — brackets, exemptions, and averages — come from public federal / state datasets cited in the sources section.
Local context: El Paso, TX
Housing economics in El Paso, TX. The median home value runs 35.6% below the U.S. baseline for El Paso, TX is $230,500 per Zillow's home-value index. Median rent runs $1,473 a month per Zillow ZORI, cheaper than the national $1,850 baseline. Effective property tax sits at 1.80% of assessed value, meaningfully higher than the 0.99% national average tracked by the Tax Foundation.
Income and tax climate. Texas's top marginal state income tax bracket lands at 0.00% — one of nine states that levies no broad-based income tax, shifting the revenue burden onto sales, property, and severance levies. BEA's Regional Price Parity scores El Paso, TX at 84.0 (national = 100), meaning a dollar in El Paso, TX buys 119¢ — more goods and services than the same dollar nationally.
Local context as of 2026-04-19.
El Paso versus the U.S. baseline
| Metric | El Paso, TX | U.S. baseline | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value[zillow] | $230,500 | $358,000 | -35.6% |
| Median monthly rent[zillow] | $1,473 | $1,850 | -20.4% |
| Property tax (effective)[tax-foundation] | 1.80% | 0.99% | 81.8% |
| State top marginal income tax[tax-foundation] | None | ~4.08% (volume-weighted) | −4.08 pp |
| State cost-of-living index[bea-rpp] | 84.0 | 100.0 | -16.0 pts |
How to use the College Cost Calculator
Walk through using the College Cost Calculator with El Paso, TX-specific defaults pre-loaded from primary sources.
- Enter your El Paso numbersFill in the college cost inputs. Defaults reflect El Paso, TX 2026: median home $230,500, median rent $1,473/mo, 1.80% effective property tax.
- Apply the local 2026 inputsThe median home value in El Paso is $230,500 (Zillow ZHVI), with median monthly rent running $1,473/mo.
- Compare against El Paso contextMonthly PITI on the $230,500 median home in El Paso is ~$1,983/mo — vs a $1,473/mo median rent.
How Texas Compares to Neighboring States
| State | Median home | Top inc tax | Prop tax rate | RPP (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas (this page) | $295,000 | None | 1.80% | 97.1 |
| Arkansas equivalent | $198,000 | 3.90% | 0.64% | 86.8 |
| check Louisiana | $215,000 | 3.00% | 0.55% | 88.7 |
| New Mexico side-by-side | $305,000 | 5.90% | 0.80% | 91.0 |
| Oklahoma side-by-side | $205,000 | 4.75% | 0.90% | 88.7 |
Sources: Zillow ZHVI[1], state Departments of Revenue / Tax Foundation[2], Tax Foundation property taxes[3], BEA Regional Price Parities[4].
What Changes Your Result in Texas
- Texas cost-of-living drag:Line-item costs in Texas deviate from the US mean by whatever the BEA all-items RPP deviates from 100. Weight your budget toward the state average rather than the national average.
How El Paso Compares to the National Average
Understanding how El Paso stacks up helps you calibrate your financial planning.
| Metric | El Paso, TX | US Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Home Price | $230,500 | $420,800 | -45.2% |
| Median Monthly Rent | $1,473 | $1,713 | -14.0% |
| Median Household Income | $58,800 | $74,580 | -21.2% |
| Property Tax Rate | 1.80% | 1.10% | +63.6% |
| Cost of Living Index | 84 | 100 | -16.0% |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, Zillow, NAR (2024–2025). Green = favorable for residents; red = less favorable.
El Paso Financial Snapshot
- Population (Metro)
- 870,000
- Unemployment
- 4.7%
- Avg Commute
- 24 min
- Median Age
- 32.1
- Price-to-Rent Ratio
- 13.0x
- Annual Property Tax
- $4,149
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Frequently Asked Questions — El Paso
- Can median-income households afford the median home in El Paso?
- With a ~$1,983 monthly PITI and $58,800 median income, housing would consume ~40.5% of gross annual income. Qualifying under the 28% DTI rule requires ~$84,986 in annual income. Educational reference only.
- Is it better to rent or buy in El Paso?
- El Paso's price-to-rent ratio (13.0x) tilts toward buying — below 15x, homes are economical relative to renting.
- What is the annual property tax bill on the median home in El Paso?
- Approximately $4,149/yr at the 1.80% effective rate on the $230,500 median home. The national average effective rate is 1.07%.
- What share of median income goes to rent in El Paso?
- The $1,473/mo median rent represents 30.1% of the $58,800 median household income. The recommended housing cost threshold is 30%; El Paso exceeds that guideline. Educational reference only.
- How much does commuting cost in El Paso?
- Average commute time in El Paso is 24 minutes per ACS. Estimated annual commute cost runs about $2,600. Educational reference only.
- How does the cost of living in El Paso compare to the national average?
- El Paso's BEA RPP index is 84, 16% below the national baseline of 100. For a household earning the national median income of $77,540, this translates to ~$12,406/yr in purchasing power difference. Educational reference only.
- What is the median home price in El Paso, TX?
- The median home price in El Paso is $230,500 as of 2025–2026.
- What is the average rent in El Paso?
- The median monthly rent in El Paso, TX is $1,473.
- Does the college cost replace professional advice?
- No. This calculator gives educational estimates using public El Paso data and standard formulas. It is not personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult a licensed professional for decisions with material consequences.
How we compute this — methodology
The El Paso page uses local median home price ($230,500), median rent ($1,473/mo), and property tax rate (1.80%) alongside the calculator's client-side formula. Calculations run in your browser — no inputs are sent to a server.
Known limits: ZIP-level variance within El Paso can be substantial — the figures shown are city-wide medians. For a precise property tax quote, consult your county assessor.
Sources
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (Zillow Home Value Index) + ZORI (Zillow Observed Rent Index), city-level. zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for median household income and population. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs.
- CalcFi state financial context — tips + first-time homebuyer programs compiled from each state's Housing Finance Authority (HFA) public pages. See
src/data/state-financial-context.ts. - Tax Foundation — state property tax effective rates and state/local sales tax rates. taxfoundation.org.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rate averages used by mortgage-related calculators. freddiemac.com/pmms.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rates — www.freddiemac.com/pmms. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- NAIC Dwelling Fire, Homeowners Owners, and Homeowners Tenants Insurance Report — content.naic.org/article/homeowners-insurance-report. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- State Departments of Revenue — official bracket + deduction publications (one primary URL per state; linked in the brackets table below) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by State — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Department of Labor — State Minimum Wage Laws — www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) — real median household income, unemployment, HPI, LFPR per state — fred.stlouisfed.org. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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