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Demographics
Population
Population growth is made up of two components: natural increases (the excess of births over deaths) and regional net migration (the difference between the number of individuals who enter and leave a region).
El Paso’s population is estimated by the Census Bureau to be 713,126, up from a population of 591,610 in 1990 and from 679,622 in 2000.
Population growth within the city is about 9% and exceeds 80% outside the city for a mean growth rate of 14%.
Ethnically, the Hispanic population is growing by 36.7% compared to Anglo (0.4%) and Black (22.3%) populations.
Hispanics composed 69.6% of the population in 1990 and 78.2% in 2000.
The remaining ethnic distribution is 25% is composed of non-Hispanic White (17%), Black (3.1%), and Other (1.5%) ethnic groups.
With respect to age, persons under 5 are growing at 38% while the 65 and over population has grown at 39%.
Over 32% of the population is under 18 years of age.
The Border region, with its relatively young population, has historically grown much faster than the rest of Texas and the nation.
In 1996, the Border’s birth rate of 21 live births per 1,000 population exceeded the state rate of 17.5, while its death rate of 652 deaths was less than the state rate of 736 deaths per 100,000 population.
The Border’s overall natural increase rate of 1.4% in 1995 exceeded the state rate by more than 40%.
Such a pace makes it hard for any region to produce enough jobs and other opportunities to ensure prosperity for all.
At the very least, the Border’s booming population plays a large role in explaining the persistence of high unemployment despite healthy job gains.
By 2010, as its population ages, the region’s natural increase rate is expected to fall toward the state rate.
But even in 2020, population growth in the region will outpace the state rate by more than 30%, not even counting net migration.
Border births will probably exceed deaths by almost 1.3 million through 2020, accounting for nearly 60% of the Border’s population growth, form 4 million in 1995 to 6.3 million in 2020.
Put another way, just the “homegrown” part of the population increase expected along the border between 1995 and 2020 will nearly equal the combined 1997 population of Montana and Wyoming.
Unlike natural population gains, determined almost wholly by the number of women of child-bearing age and trends in fertility rates, net migration into any region has historically been driven by the relative availability of jobs in that region.
Net migration into the Border region peaked at more than 50,000 new residents a year at the height of the Texas economic boom of the early 1980s as Texas and the Border region experienced a strong economic turnaround in the mid-1990s.
Through 2020, net migration in the Border region, including illegal migration, is projected to remain fairly strong as the region outperforms the state and national economies.
Nearly 1 million more people will move into the Border than move out through 2020, accounting for slightly more than 40% of the region’s population growth of 2.3 million.
Combined, net natural increase and in-migration will increase the population of the Border region by nearly 2.3 million people by 2020.
This increase alone is bigger than the 1997 population of 12 states.
Education
Public schools numbered 188 in 1995, serving just under 150,000 students from some 9 school districts.
They employed over 17,000 staff and over 9,000 teachers.
The three largest school districts include El Paso, Ysleta, and Socorro.
In higher education, there were a total of 38,000 individuals enrolled.
El Paso Community College, the University of Texas at El Paso, New Mexico State University, Texas Tech, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, University of Phoenix, Park College, and selected others serve the higher educational needs of the region.
In 1995, approximately 35% of the adult population had not achieved a high school education.
Some 25% are high school graduates without benefit of college and another 27% have received some level of college education.
By adding these percentages, we find that 87% of the population has some level of education short of a bachelor’s degree.
Of the remaining 13%, people with a bachelor’s degree account for 9% while those with a graduate level are 4% of the population.
Personal Income Data
1996-1997
El Paso is one of the 254 counties in Texas.
It is part of the El Paso Metropolitan Area.
Its 1997 population of 690,290 ranked 6th in the State.
Per Capita Income
In 1997, El Paso had a per capita personal income of $15,216.
This PCI ranked 224th in the State, and was 64% of the State average, $23,707 and 60% of the national average, $25,288.
The 1997 PCI reflected an increase of 4.2% from 1996. The 1996-1997 State change was 6.1% and the national change was 4.7%.
Total Personal Income
In 1997, El Paso had a total personal income (TPI) of $10,503,796
Geography
Informally called “The Sun City”, El Paso County accounts for 1,013 square miles with 247 sq. miles within the city limits and is within the Mountain Time Zone in contrast to the rest of Texas.
El Paso enjoys excellent weather with clear skies and sunshine nearly year round.
Average temperature is 63.1°F with average highs of 96°F in July and average lows of 29°F in January.
Precipitation is made up of average of 8.6 inches of rainfall and an average of 5.9 inches of snowfall.
Relative humidity is generally low.
Winds are generally light except in the Spring when wind storms of 50 mph or greater can occur.
Elevation is 3,762 ft. above sea level, with the highest point on Mt. Franklin reaching 7,167 ft.
Ft. Bliss
Ft. Bliss is a center for air defense and a home to the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School and four combat ADA brigades.
Fort Bliss’ partner organizations include William Beaumont Army Medical Center, the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, Joint Task Force Six, the German Air Force Command (United States/Canada), and the German Air Defense School.
With 1.1 million acres, the post is larger than the state of Rhode Island and can accommodate every weapon system in the Army.
Excellent ranges and immense training areas, coupled with America's third longest runway at Biggs Army Airfield, make Fort Bliss a premier facility for training, mobilization, and deploying combat forces.
Each year, many military training exercises occur here, including the largest joint training exercise in the world, Roving Sands.
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau
Murdock, Steve. "Texas Challenged"
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