EL PASO, Tx., November 19, 2025: Each year, government entities like the City of El Paso and the County of El Paso, including the school districts, rely on the annual property taxes collected from homeowners and business owners for their operations. El Paso homeowners regularly complain about high property taxes. It is the El Paso Central Appraisal District (CAD) that sets the value of the property for tax purposes.
However, it is the taxing entities like the City of El Paso and the school districts that set the tax rate you pay in property taxes for your home.
We set out to identify who the taxing entities are and how much they cost El Paso’s homeowners.
When compared to other taxing entities, El Pasoans do not pay the highest taxes in Texas but when the tax rate is factored against the city’s income levels, property taxes become burdensome for the city’s taxpayers.
Complicating the discussion on property taxes is the use of a “tax rate” per a $100 property valuation that leads to having to convert the advertised rate to calculate the taxes on the property. Taxing entities are required by state law to show their tax rates as a figure per $100 in valuation. This value requires the extra step of converting it into a percentage to calculate the tax on a home.
Eastside resident Roberto Martinez told us that the city could make things easier for the taxpayers by including the tax rate figure as a percentage along with the state mandated figure. In the case of the City of El Paso the official rate is $0.759649/100.
To calculate the city’s portion of the property tax on a property, first find what the CAD has valued the property at. Anyone can look up the assessed value (amount set by CAD) of a property by using the CAD’s lookup tool.
To calculate the tax take the assessed value and divide that by 100 to get the number of units per $100. Then take the result and multiply it by the tax rate to get the annual tax for the property.
Use our online spreadsheet tool to see how much each taxing entity charges for the assessed value of a home. Users can enter the value of their home or use a value that interests the user. To use it, click the button below and select the green cell and enter the value there.
It is important to note that there are 43 taxing entities that levy taxes on El Paso’s property owners. Not all the taxes apply to each home. Our spreadsheet tool shows the taxes for all 43 taxing entities to get an understanding of taxation in El Paso.
The 43 taxing entities (see below for a full list) in El Paso County, each levying property taxes on property owners depending on the property’s location. Generally, an El Paso property owner pays property taxes to the city, the county, the University Medical Center of El Paso (UMC), a school district, and other special purpose districts like Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs), emergency services or water districts. It is overly cumbersome to compare taxes within the county and even more complex when trying to compare El Paso’s property taxes to other cities in Texas or across the nation because most of the taxing entities apply differently to each property.
Making things more complicated when it comes to property taxes are the various exemptions offered to each property.
Of the 43 taxing entities, the entity with the highest tax rate per $100 of the value of a home is Tornillo ISD with a tax rate of 1.21% per $100. The top 10 taxing entities are the school districts. The City of El Paso is 13th and the county is 29th on the list. Because the City of El Paso is frequently criticized for high taxes, outside of the school districts, we calculated what the total tax rate for a home in the city would average out to be. Combining the rates for the city with the county and adding the El Paso ISD tax rate, the largest school district in the city limits, along with the rates for the community college and UMC, we get a tax rate of 2.64% per $100 valuation.
If we accept Zillow’s average price of $227,986 for a house in El Paso, we see that the average El Pasoan would pay around $6,018 in property taxes excluding exemptions like the homestead exemptions that further complicate comparisons. The CAD’s average home value for an El Paso home is $225,753, close to Zillow’s valuation.
Our comparison home tax will vary from home to home based on what school district they are in and which of the 43 taxing entities would apply to them.
Further complicating the discussion on taxes are several school districts, each with their own tax rate, affecting the taxes on properties in the county differently. A house valued at $150,000, for example, would pay a different annual property tax depending on which school district they are located in.
As the UTEP 2025 Comparing Property Taxes: El Paso and Beyond report notes, the City of El Paso’s is “unique and complex,” making comparisons with other Texas cities difficult. The report, nonetheless, estimated how the tax burden in El Paso compared to other cities in Texas.
According to the report, El Paso’s estimated property tax on a $300,000 home for 2024 was the highest compared to the cities the report compares taxes to. The report acknowledges that there are fewer homes valued at $300,000 in El Paso compared to the four Texas cities it compared El Paso to. But the $300,000 value allowed for a simpler comparison because its results would be the same for any home value.
The report found that El Paso’s estimated $7,787.22 annual property taxes is the highest among Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, mirroring what is expressed by El Paso’s taxpayers – that property taxes in El Paso are too high. Like us, the report used the EPISD for its calculations.
Making things worse for El Paso’s property owners is that El Paso’s property taxes on the hypothetical $300,000 home “is notably higher than those in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nevada and California.”
El Pasoans pay the highest property taxes in Texas and amongst states like California and Nevada. Unfortunately, things are complicated further with some states imposing a state income tax, like California, Oklahoma and New Mexico. There is no state income tax in Texas, like Nevada.
Therefore, the UTEP study somewhat distorts its findings by including calculations for California and New Mexico.
To be fair, it is important not to stop at whether El Pasoans pay high taxes without calculating other relevant things like whether business pay their fair share of property taxes. Understanding factors like the mix of private property taxes versus business taxes allows taxpayers to better understand the tax burdens they face.
Ultimately the question becomes, why do El Pasoan homeowners shoulder the highest property taxes?
This is the first in our special report looking at El Paso’s property taxes. In our next upcoming installment, we will attempt to answer why are taxes so high in El Paso? Stay tuned.
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List of El Paso County Taxing Entities With Tax Rates
Anthony ISD0.946186Canutillo ISD1.1525City of El Paso0.759649City of El Paso MMD #10.27City Of San Elizario0.32834City Of Socorro0.645233Clint ISD1.1224County Of El Paso0.458889Downtown Mgmt. District0.12El Paso County Water Control IMP #40.315268El Paso Community College0.103563El Paso ISD1.0807Emergency Services District #10.1Emergency Services District #20.087138Fabens ISD1.1012Haciendas Del Norte Water District0.043219HMUD Defined Area No. 60.225HMUD Hunt Communities DA0.225HMUD Hunt Properties DA0.225HMUD Rancho Desierto Bello DA0.225HMUD Ravenna DA0.225Horizon Regional MUD0.6628Lower Valley Water District0.176899Paseo Del Este MUD #10.75Paseo Del Este MUD #20.7173Paseo Del Este MUD #30.6792Paseo Del Este MUD #40.8018Paseo Del Este MUD #50.6816Paseo Del Este MUD #60.75Paseo Del Este MUD #70.7196Paseo Del Este MUD #80.6237Paseo Del Este MUD #90.7048Paseo Del Este MUD #100.6313Paseo Del Este MUD #110.7638San Elizario ISD0.8853Socorro ISD1.0589Tornillo ISD1.2078Town Of Anthony1.107454Town Of Clint0.641499Town Of Horizon City0.535368University Medical Center (UMC)0.240892Village Of Vinton0.66149Ysleta ISD1.2005*Not all taxing entities apply to all properties.Tax rate figures for 2025
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