El Paso County, Texas

El Paso County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. According to the 2007 U.S. Census population estimates, the county had a population of 755,085, up 75,463 from the 2000 Census. Its county seat is El Paso^[1]. El Paso is Spanish for "the Pass." It is named for the pass the Rio Grande creates through the mountains on either side of the river.

The El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of El Paso County. Unlike a vast majority of the state of Texas, El Paso County is in the Mountain Time Zone.

Geography

Adjacent counties and municipios

• Doña Ana County, New Mexico - west, northwest
• Otero County, New Mexico - northeast
• Hudspeth County, Texas - east
• Guadalupe, Chihuahua Mexico- south
• Juárez, Chihuahua Mexico- southwest
• Práxedis G. Guerrero, Chihuahua, Mexico - southeast

National protected area

• Chamizal National Memorial

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 679,622 people, 210,022 households, and 166,127 families residing in the county. The population density was 671 people per square mile (259/km²). There were 224,447 housing units at an average density of 222 per square mile (86/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 73.95% White, 3.06% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 17.91% from other races, and 3.19% from two or more races. 78.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 210,022 households out of which 44.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% were married couples living together, 18.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.90% were non-families. 17.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.18 and the average family size was 3.63.

In the county, the population was spread out with 32.00% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 18.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.70 males.

El Paso County is the fourth-poorest county in the U.S. ^[3] The median income for a household in the county was $31,051, and the median income for a family was $33,410. Males had a median income of $26,882 versus $20,722 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,421. About 20.50% of families and 23.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.50% of those under age 18 and 18.50% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

El Paso County is mostly represented by the 16th Congressional District in the U.S House and the representative is Democrat Silvestre Reyes. The small eastern portion of the county is represented in the 23rd Congressional District by Democrat Ciro Rodrieguez. El Paso County is historically Democratic due to its large Latino population and the 2008 Presidential Election was no exception. Democrat Barack Obama won 66% of the vote here and 121,589 votes even while he lost the entire state of Texas by about 946,000 votes. Republican John McCain won 33% of the vote in El Paso County and 61,598 votes. Other candidates won 1% of the vote. In 2004, Democrat John F. Kerry won El Paso County but by a smaller margin than Barack Obama. John Kerry won 56% of the vote and 95,142 votes. Republican George W. Bush won 43% of the vote and 73,261 votes. Other candidates won 1% of the vote.^{[citation needed]}

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is headquartered in an unincorporated area in El Paso County.^[4] At one point it was headquartered within the City of El Paso.^[5] The Leo Samaniego Law Enforcement Complex is adjacent to the sheriff's office headquarters.^[6]

Communities

Cities

• El Paso
• Horizon City
• Socorro

Towns

• Anthony
• Clint

Fabens

Villages

• Vinton

Unincorporated areas

References

1. ^ . National Association of Counties. . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
3. ^ Lumina Foundation for Education, Christopher Connell, "In engineering student success, the border is no boundary" http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/focus_archive/spring_2008/in_engineering_student_success_the_border_is_no_boundry.html
4. ^ "Contact Us." El Paso County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved on December 6, 2009.
5. ^ "Administration Division." El Paso County Sheriff's Office. April 5, 2001. Retrieved on December 6, 2009.
6. ^ "Communications Department." El Paso County. Retrieved on December 6, 2009.

External links

• El Paso County Official web site
• El Paso County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
• Historic El Paso County materials, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Fort Bliss National Cemetery Disgrace Video

Coordinates: 31°46′N 106°14′W / 31.77°N 106.24°W

Categories: Texas counties | El Paso County, Texas | United States counties with Hispanic majority populations