City and County of El Paso, Texas
Demographic and Statistical Data
Narrative Profile

Demographics and Statistical Data (DSD) Narrative Profile

The DSD is a compilation of City and County of El Paso statistical data in an easy to read narrative format. It is a quick reference guide developed by the Grants Office from a variety of data sources including: U.S. Census, City of El Paso Panning, Research and Development, City of El Paso Economic Development, Texas Workforce Commission, Office of the State Demographer for the State of Texas, Texas State Data Center, Texas Department of Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources Administration as well as print and web-based publications. Links to resources and web-based information are provided as a starting point for more in-depth research and analysis.

Regional Information: The City of El Paso had an estimated population of 577,786 in 2002 and a total countywide population of 688,039 (http://eire.census.gov/popest/data/cities/tables/SUB-EST2002-01.php). The county ranked 6th in the State for year 2000 population compared to all 254 counties in Texas. The El Paso County area is assigned to the following district(s): Texas Representative District(s) of 75-79 and State Senatorial District(s) of 19, and 29. The 16th Congressional District represents the area. The county seat is El Paso and the county's major city, is El Paso. See http://www.state.tx.us/category.jsp?language=eng&categoryId=11.1 at Texas On-Line for State and local data.

El Paso County is classified as a metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Using 2000 Census population data, roughly 86.05 percent of all Texas residents could be found in the 76 metropolitan counties defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 2003. In 1993 the county was classified as a metropolitan county and is the largest bi-national urban area that spans an international border with a developing country (Mexico).

Population: According to the 2000 Census, Texas grew from 16,986,510 in 1990 to 20,851,820 in 2000 reflecting an increase of 22.8 percent growth. During this same time period, the El Paso County MSA region had an increase from 591,610 persons to 688,039 persons, constituting a 15 percent change. A variety of data topics for El Paso MSA are available at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Profiles.

The region's race/ethnic distribution in 2002 is estimated by the Census Bureau to be:


Population Age: The age distribution of an area can provide valuable insight into a region's economic composition and income potential. By national standards, Texas has a relatively young population. The 2002 Census estimates for the El Paso MSA indicate the following:



While the median age for Texas was 32.3 years in 2000, the El Paso County area had a median age of 30.9 according to the 2000 Census. http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Profiles.

Population Gender

The gender distribution of an area can provide additional insight into the region's overall distribution in the population by male and female. Of the county's total population 331,635 were male which represents 48.2 percent and 356,404 were female which represents 51.8 percent. This compares to the statewide percentage of 49.4 percent for male and 50.6 percent for female.

Special Age Groups and Gender

Ages 18 and Older: For the population generally considered in the age range allowing participation in the labor market, the total population who were 18 years and over totaled 14,965,061 in Texas which represented 71.8 percent of the total population (data: 2000 Census). For the El Paso MSA, the total persons in this age group were 462,199 or 68.0 percent of the total population. Within this age group in Texas the number of males in 2000 who were 18 years and over represented 7,338,177 persons or 35.2 percent of the total population while females age 18 years and over represented 7,626,884 or 36.6 percent. In the El Paso County area, males 18 and over represented 217,238 or 32.0 percent in comparison and females totaled to 244,961 or 36.0 percent.

Veteran Status: According to the U.S. Bureau of Census, El Paso County had 52,878 or 11.6 percent of residents responding as being a civilian veteran, compared to 11.8 percent statewide. A "civilian veteran" is a person 18 years old or over who has served (even for a short time), but is not now serving, on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II. People who served in the National Guard or military Reserves are classified as veterans only if they were ever called or ordered to active duty, not counting the 4-6 months for initial training or yearly summer camps.

Ages 65 and Older: For the population who are considered to be at the age of retirement or older (65 years and older), the total number of persons in Texas was 2,072,532 or 9.9 percent of the total population in 2000. El Paso County had a total of 66,073 or 9.7 percent in this older age group. For other general and special population information from the 2000 Census as well as specific populations topics, link to http://www.census.gov/census2000/states/tx.html

Poverty Population: In the March 1998 Population Survey, the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Census estimated a 1997 poverty population for the El Paso County region for people of all ages at 193,843 persons. That figure represents 27.8 percent of the non-institutional population compared to a Texas percentage of 16.7 percent for people of all ages. For families with related children age 5 to 17, the area was estimated to have 54,549 families in poverty, which is 34.2 percent of all El Paso County families with related children age 5 to 17. This compares to a Texas statewide estimate of 22.1 percent of the same population group. The estimated number of residents under the age of 18 in the county living in poverty was 88,863 in 1997. This figure was 38.6 percent of all people under 18 compared to Texas statewide, which was 23.6 percent of all people under 18 as estimated in 1997.

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs: In 2002, 27 percent of residents living in El Paso's MSA were in poverty. Thirty-seven percent of related children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 20 percent of people 65 years old and over. Twenty-four percent of all families and 43 percent of families with a female householder and no husband present had incomes below the poverty level.

The following chart reflects the most recent data on El Paso MSA poverty rates from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey Profile for 2002:



According to the survey, 38 percent of the households in El Paso's MSA received means-tested public assistance or non-cash benefits. For the most recent Poverty information, see: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Profiles

Disability Status: According to the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS), Disability Status is defined as a long-lasting condition(s) such as:

• blindness, deafness, or a severe vision or hearing impairment, (sensory disability)
  
  
• a condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying (physical disability).
  
  
• mental, or emotional condition lasting 6 months or more making it difficult to perform certain activities such as: (a) learning, remembering, or concentrating (mental disability); (b) dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home (self-care disability); (c) going outside the home alone to shop or visit a doctor's office (going outside the home disability); and (d) working at a job or business (employment disability).

The following chart represents poverty statistics and the disabled population as complied by the Texas Department of Human Services by TDHS region.



Federal Health Resources Designation: El Paso is a federally designated "Medically Underserved Area" (MUA) with a significant percentage of the city's population living in designated "Health Professions Shortage Areas" (HPSA). An estimated 34 percent of El Pasoans do not have any form of health insurance or health benefit coverage. El Pasoans experience critical health challenges including limited access to healthcare, hepatitis, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, HIV, environmental hazards (especially in "colonias"), tuberculosis, and cancer.

Results of a 1999 study done by the Paso del Norte Health Foundation indicate that 75 percent of area residents are characterized as sedentary. Over one-half the population aged 45-64 years is overweight. Additionally, the number of obese children in El Paso approaches twice the national average.

Population Projections

The Office of the State Demographer for State of Texas, Texas State Data Center Texas A&M University System distributes the most widely used population projections for Texas. This current series is the result of revised population data from the 2000 census. These scenarios assume the same set of mortality and fertility assumptions in each scenario but differ in their assumptions relative to net migration. The net migration assumptions made for three scenarios are derived from 1990-2000 patterns that have been altered relative to expected future population trends. This is done by systematically and uniformly altering the adjusted 1990-2000 net migration rates by age, sex and race/ethnicity. The scenarios produced are referred to as the zero migration (0.0) scenario, the one-half 1990-2000 (0.5) scenario, and the 1990-2000 (1.0) scenario.

The recommended scenario for most county-based projection reporting used is believed to be the 0.5 scenario as most appropriate scenario for most counties in Texas. This scenario has been prepared as an approximate average of the zero (0.0) and 1990-2000 (1.0) scenarios. It assumes rates of net migration one-half of those of the 1990s. The reason for including this scenario is that many counties in the State are unlikely to continue to experience the overall levels of relatively extensive growth of the 1990s. A scenario which projects rates of population growth that are approximately an average of the zero and the 1990-2000 scenarios is one that suggests slower but steadier growth than occurred during 1990-2000. (For a more detailed discussion see http://txsdc.tamu.edu/tpepp/2001_txpopprj_method.php).

Using this projection scenario, the following table represents population projections for El Paso County:



For comparison purposes, the Texas population projections, using the same scenario methodology, are as follows:



County to County Migration

Out Migration: Using IRS information regarding changes in residences between two filing years 2000 and 2001, statistics regarding moving in and out of counties can reveal patterns of migration as well as patterns of out of state and foreign migration to and from selected counties. During this time El Paso County reported 233,190 total tax returns with sufficient Out-Migration data. Of these returns approximately 6.8 percent showed a change in residences by moving out from their originating county in 2000 to another county in 2001. Of these who moved out of their original county, 27.5 percent moved to another county within Texas, while 67.7 percent moved to a different state but within the U.S. Those who moved from their originating county in the year 2000 to a foreign country in 2001 were approximately 4.8 percent.

In-Migration: During the period 2000 to 2001, there were approximately 228,847 El Paso MSA total tax returns with sufficient In-Migration data. Of these returns approximately 5.0 percent showed a change in residences by moving in from their originating county in 2000 to a county in the area in 2001. Of these who moved into the El Paso MSA from another county, 22.0 percent moved from other counties in Texas, while 68.9 percent moved from a county in a different state but within the U.S. Those who moved into the area during the 2000-2001 period from a foreign country were approximately 9.1 percent.

Vital Statistics: According to the Texas Department of Health for vital statistics for the year 1999, the El Paso County area had a total of 13,960 live births, which represents a live birth rate of 18.5 births for every 1,000 persons in the study area compared to a statewide rate of 17.3 births per 1,000 persons in the population. The area had a total of 3,930 deaths representing a rate of 5.2 for every 1,000 persons compared to a statewide rate of 7.4.

Employment

Civilian Labor Force (CLF): The most recent civilian labor force estimates from TWC for Texas statewide in November 2003 is 10,365,791 which is an increase in the labor force of 217,964 persons since November 2002. This represents a 2.1 percent change in Texas during this time period. El Paso County had a civilian labor force of 278,512 for November 2003, which was a change of 4,982 in CLF since November 2002. This change represented an increase of 1.8 percent for El Paso County. For additional information regarding Texas and County labor force information: http://www.tracer2.com/cgi/dataanalysis/AreaSelection.asp?tableName=Labforce.

Economic Diversification: Relative to the Texas economy, the CDR economic diversification index measures the degree to which a county economy is diversified. Significant concentrations of employment in only one or two industrial sectors makes an area less diversified and more susceptible to widespread economic decline should a key sector suffer a significant loss. While economic diversification or a balanced distribution of employment across all major industry sectors is generally desirable, in some cases, especially where a region is exploiting a comparative advantage (such as access to raw materials, access to transportation routes, etc.) a statistically diverse economy does not necessarily correlate with higher growth. Of the three levels of CDR diversification ranging from below average, average and above average, El Paso County had an economic base that is of average diversity.

Employment by Industry: In 2002, for the employed population 16 years and older, the leading industries in El Paso's MSA were: educational, health and social services with a combined total of 23 percent and manufacturing totaling 15 percent.



Manufacturing Employment: According to the City of El Paso Department of Economic Development, in 2003 the manufacturing percentage of total jobs in the El Paso MSA was just under 11 percent. This percentage represents a decline from 18.6 percent in 1996 and can be attributed to factory closures and international relocation of labor-intensive facilities. The following represents the top ten manufacturing sector employers in the El Paso MSA:



Health Care Industry: El Paso is the leading provider of medical services for a geographic region that spans far west Texas, southern New Mexico, and northern Mexico. The city's healthcare facilities include nine private hospitals, one public hospital, and the William Beaumont Army Medical Center. Total healthcare and social assistance employment surpassed 27,100 in 2001.

Thomason Hospital is the largest public hospital located directly on the U.S./Mexico border. It includes one of the leading trauma care centers in the United States. In 1996 and 1997, Mercer Health Care Consulting of New York and HCIA, INC recognized Thomason Hospital as one of the nation's top performing hospitals in a study. The William Beaumont Army Medical Center, one of the seven largest U.S. Army general hospitals in the nation, specializes in trauma care and provides an additional 148 patient beds to the El Paso region.

El Paso continues to grow as a regional healthcare research and education center. The city features the Texas Tech University School of Medicine campus, a full-time teaching facility for medical students. In addition, continuing education programs for doctors are offered through the William Beaumont Army Medical Center and Las Palmas Hospital.

Source: City of El Paso Economic Development, June 2003.

Class of Worker: Another way to view the types of workers in an area's labor force is by class of worker. According to the 2000 Census, the El Paso MSA had 177,826 employees who were private wage and salary workers representing 73.9 percent of all workers. The region had another 48,254 persons who were government workers or 20.0 percent, 13,915 who were self employed workers or 5.8 percent, and 728 who were unpaid family workers representing 0.3 percent. This compares to the Texas statewide distribution of 78.0 percent for private wage and salary workers, 14.6 percent for government workers, and 7.1 percent for self-employed, and 0.3 percent for unpaid family workers.

Fort Bliss and the El Paso Economy: The City of El Paso is home to Fort Bliss, the largest Air Defense Artillery Training Center in the world. Since 1848, Fort Bliss has grown steadily alongside its host city. Located in the northeastern region of El Paso, Fort Bliss currently stretches over 1,119,700 acres into southern New Mexico. The base occupies an area larger than the entire state of Rhode Island. Because of its size, Fort Bliss hosts "Roving Sands", the world's largest Joint Tactical Air Operations exercise that utilizes Army, Marine, and multinational air defense units to create an integrated air defense network. While the primary mission of the post is air defense, it is also home to U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, Joint Task Force-6, and the William Beaumont Army Medical Center. As of June 2003, Fort Bliss records indicate that it supports over 122,011 combined military and civilian personnel and dependents. Of this total 12,453 are active duty military personnel; 33,538 are retirees; 6,953 are civilian employees; and 63,674 are family members (active and retired).

Total 2002 economic activity associated with Ft. Bliss (as measured by personal income) is approximately $1.7 billion dollars. This impact includes direct spending on salaries and pensions, as well as earnings created by the ripple effects associated with the Base payrolls and contracts. To put this figure in context total personal income in El Paso is estimated at $13.25 billion for 2002, meaning that Fort Bliss accounts for just under 13 percent of local economic activity.

Source: City of El Paso Economic Development, June 2003.

Unemployment Rates: According to TWC unemployment data, El Paso's MSA unemployment rate for January 2004 was 9.4% and compares to a rate of 10.3% for January of 2003. The overall unemployment rate for El Paso's MSA for 2003 was 9.6%. Since January of 2003, the region gained 3,500 jobs in the government, education, and health sectors; the manufacturing sector experienced a loss of 2,500 jobs. For the latest unemployment rates, see TWC's LMI website http://www.tracer2.com/cgi/dataanalysis/AreaSelection.asp?tableName=Labforce and for a description of methodology link to: http://www.tracer2.com/article.asp?ARTICLEID=148.

Reporting Establishments: The TWC indicates 10,921 business-reporting units operating in El Paso County in the first quarter of 2001 with an average of 23.85 workers per unit. Average firm size makes a difference for job hunting and job development strategy because larger firms tend to have better defined ports of entry and in-house training capabilities. Although definitions vary greatly, small business can be defined as less than 50 workers and medium sized is 250 or less. The Texas average is 20.9 workers per unit. Regions with higher than average number of workers per unit tend to be dominated economically by a few very large employers.

Employment in Agriculture: Total wage and salary agricultural employment is reported to TWC from a combination of two Standard Industrial Classification groups: SIC 01 Agricultural Production - Crops and SIC 02 Agricultural Production - Livestock and Animal Specialties. This estimate excludes a significant level of employment since many are not wage and salaried employees. Under a project with the Texas Agriculture Statistics Service and CDR, unique agricultural detail is reported. These agricultural categories for El Paso County reveal 410 self-employed farmers and ranchers in October 1998. For the same period the total number of farm workers is 730. This data is not seasonally adjusted and could be higher or lower for any given planting or harvesting season. The total number of unpaid family workers is 50.

Commuting to Work: Travel time for workers 16 years and over have a number of implications for transportation and municipal services. For El Paso County 82 percent of workers drove to work alone in 2002, 9 percent carpooled, 3 percent took public transportation, and 5 percent used other means. The remaining 2 percent worked at home. These methods of commuting to work compare to the Texas statewide results by: car alone (77.7%), car pool (14.5%), public transportation (1.9%), walked (1.9%), other means (1.3%), and worked at home (2.8%). The average travel time to work in minutes was 22.70 for the El Paso County MSA as compared to an overall statewide average of 25.4 minutes.

Employers by Employee Size Class: According to information developed by the Texas Workforce Board (SOCRATES), approximately 4,070 employers in the El Paso MSA employed 10 or more employees. Of these employers, approximately 0.4 percent employed over 1000 employees. 0.9 percent employed between 500 and 999 employees, 8.3 percent employed between 100 and 499 employees, 12.1 percent employed between 50 and 99 employees, 31.8 percent employed between 20 and 49 employees, and 46.6 percent employed between approximately 10 and 19 employees.

Income

Personal Income: For El Paso County total personal income, farm and non-farm, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), was a total of $12,642,892,000 in 2000, which represented an increase of 8.8 percent when compared to 1998 total personal income of $11,624,424,000. This increase is compared to a statewide increase of 13.6 percent during the same period. Total personal income is a widely used measure of regional economic health while per capita income is generally used to compare the relative well-being of residents across areas (not accounting for differences in area cost of living). The per capita personal income for 2000 was $18,535 in El Paso County while Texas had a per capita income of $27,752. The county showed farm earnings to be 0.3 percent of total personal income for 2000 compared to 0.7 percent statewide for the same time period. Income from all government and government enterprises for the area was a total of $2,616,798,000 for the year 2000. This was an increase of 10.8 percent from the 1998 figure of $2,361,838,000. Texas statewide had an increase of 12.5 percent for government income. Military income, excluding federal civilian income, for 2000 was $553,101,000 compared to $505,016,000 in 1998 for the study area. This was an increase of 9.5 percent compared to statewide change of 9.4 percent for the same period. For further information link to: http://www.bea.gov/bea/regional/reis.

Government Transfer Payments: The El Paso County region received over $2,251,795,000 in transfer of payments in FY2000 which reflected a $3,301 per capita transfer payment compared to the Texas per capita payment of $4,536. Transfer payments include the total amount of government allocations to people who qualify for income assistance. This consists largely of supplemental security income payments, family assistance, general assistance payments, food stamp payments, and other assistance payments, including emergency assistance.

Average Weekly Wage: TWC reported an average weekly wage during 1st quarter 2000 for all covered wages and salaried employment in the El Paso County region to be $479.63. Average weekly wages for 1st quarter 2001 was $485.40, an increase of 1.2 percent. This is compared to a statewide increase of 5.4 percent for the same period of time. The Texas statewide average weekly wage in the 1st quarter of 2001 was $711.32. These wage data are the result of the reported quarterly wages and salaries paid by employers divided by 13 weeks. . For the most current information, link to: http://www.tracer2.com/cgi/dataanalysis/AreaSelection.asp?tableName=Industry

UI Benefits: The Upper Rio Grande region (including El Paso County) had $53,118,746 in Unemployment Insurance benefits paid during calendar 2001. In the El Paso County region, the average duration before exhausting regular UI benefits in calendar 2001 was approximately 19.24 weeks. The most likely interpretation of longer duration times is greater difficulty finding a job. Therefore, duration can serve as a good barometer for local general economic conditions. The average weekly benefits payment for Regular UI in 2001 was $176.42 for the El Paso County region compared to $213.61 in Texas statewide.

Effective Buying Power Index: Another way to view household income and that is in terms of effective buying power or disposable, after tax income. Effective Buying Income (EBI) is a data variable developed by Sales, Marketing and Management (SMM) magazine. This variable was benchmarked against the 2000 Census as a measure of bulk market potential or available county after tax income. The median household EBI for El Paso County was $28,016. The per capita EBI, reflects the amount of disposable, after tax income available for individuals to purchase goods and services. In 2001 the per capita EBI was $11,371 for El Paso County. Statewide the figures were $38,440 for median household EBI and $14,609 for per capita EBI respectively.

According to SMM there were 210,600 households in El Paso County with roughly 52,695 or 25.02 percent with an EBI of less than $15,000. Another 41,705 households or 19.80 percent had between $15,000 and $25,000 of disposable household EBI in 2001. Statewide in Texas 18.9 percent of households had an EBI of less than $15,000 and another 14.7 percent had an EBI of $15,000 to $25,000. The largest number of households falls in the $25,000 to $50,000 household EBI range with 66,365 households lying in this range in El Paso County or 31.51 percent of all households. Statewide, 2,222,852 households or 29.1 percent had disposable household purchasing power between $25,000 and $50,000.

Gross Retail Sales: Income can be viewed in several ways and under different definitions. Per capita income tends to have a direct relationship with the growth of gross sales and most service sector industries in an area. Gross sales for El Paso county estimated by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts were $3,631,303,496 in the 2nd quarter 1999 which represented a decrease of -6.8 percent to $3,383,199,834.00 by the 2nd quarter 2000. The statewide change for the same period was 11.57 percent in gross sales. The total number of reporting outlets for the same period was 10,614 in the 2nd quarter 1999 and 10,800 in the 2nd quarter 2000. This county had an increase of 1.8 percent compared to the statewide change for the same period of -0.3 percent.

Housing

Household Units and Size: The total number of housing units in 2000 in El Paso County according the Census was 210,022 with an average household size of 3.02 persons. The average household size for Texas was 2.7 persons for the same period. Home ownership rates for El Paso County were 63.6 percent compared to Texas statewide, which had a rate of 63.8 percent. While in Texas (statewide) the percent of households with persons under 18 years of age in 2000 was 28 percent, El Paso County had a percent of 32. The percent of households with persons 65 years of age or older was 9.9 percent in Texas statewide while 9.7 percent of El Paso County had households with individuals 65 years of age and older. Types of Structures: While Texas had approximately 63.4 percent of the housing units in the category of one detached structures in 2000 according to the census, El Paso County had approximately 63.1 percent. Mobile homes in the area made up 7.3 percent when compared to a statewide percentage of 9.0 percent. More recently built housing structures in the area shows new development has taken place in the region. The total number of new housing structures built between 1995 and March 2000 was 27,149 in El Paso County.

Owner and Renter Occupied: According to the 2000 Census, the percent of owner-occupied units with a value of $100,000 or greater in El Paso County was 19.0 percent compared to 36.7 percent for the state. The percent of renter-occupied units with rent values of $500 per month or greater was 40.6 percent as compared to the Texas percentage of 60.4 percent. The median home value in El Paso County according to the 2000 census was $69,600.00 compared to a statewide median value of $82,500. Median rent for the area was $468.00 compared to $574 for the state. For this area, the total number of renter-occupied housing units was 76,398, which represented 36.4 percent of all occupied housing units in 2000. This compares to a Texas statewide percentage of 36.2 percent for the same period.

Education: The total number of public independent school districts in El Paso County for the school year 1999-2000 was 8 according to the Texas Education Agency. The total school enrollment in El Paso MSA was 224,000 in 2002. Pre-primary school enrollment was 27,000 and elementary and high school enrollment totaled 152,000. College enrollment was 45,000.

Educational Attainment: According to the 2002 American Community Profile Survey for El Paso MSA, 66 percent of the population 25 years and over graduated from high school and 16 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. Among people 16 to 19 years old, 6 percent were dropouts; they were not enrolled in school and had not graduated from high school




Dropout and Attrition Rates: Information from the Texas Education Agency on student dropouts from public schools for 2000-2001 shows that 978 students, grades 7-12, dropped out of school in El Paso county. This represents a dropout rate of 1.37 percent as compared to a Texas statewide percentage of 0.93 percent of all students who dropped out during this period. Attrition rates are often viewed as measures of the percentage of students that begin high school but do not graduate with a diploma. It is arguably a more reasonable way to view dropouts from an economic viewpoint. One way to view educational progress in a region is to estimate the number of persons who persist to high school graduation as opposed to standard dropout statistics. The Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) calculates standard attrition rates. IDRA conducts research and development activities; creates, implements and administers innovative education programs; and provides teacher, administrator, and parent training and technical assistance. The attrition rates for El Paso County during the period 2000-2001 by race and ethnicity were 39 percent for all students, 38 percent for Blacks, 19 percent for Whites, and 41 percent for Hispanics. In order to review the latest Secondary Schools Enrollment and Dropouts information posted on the Texas Education Agency, link to: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/research/dropout/9899/long.

Information On The Web

The Bureau of Census has a variety of useful Quick Facts for each county in Texas. The Quick Fact report for El Paso county can be accessed at the following URL: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48141.html. Some counties maintain their own Internet sites for local information. If a county hosts its own Web site, it may be accessed through a URL with the following format http://www.co.County Name Goes Here.tx.us.

To research additional websites on Counties, consider any of the following:

Texas Conference on Urban Counties: http://www.cuc.org
State of Texas Web Site - Texas Counties: http://www.state.tx.us
Texas Economic Development: http://www.marketplace.state.tx.us
TWC's LMI unit, Tracer: http://www.tracer2.com/
Texas Association of Counties: http://www.county.org
V.G. Young Institute of County Government: http://creekside.tamu.edu/VGYI/index.htm
Real Estate Center, Texas A&M University: http://recenter.tamu.edu
Bureau of Business Research, University of Texas: http://www.utexas.edu/depts/bbr
National Association of Counties: http://www.naco.org
State and Local Government on the Net: http://www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm
"Uniform Crime Statistics, County Reports" Geostat-Geospatial & Statistical Data Center, University of Virginia: http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/crime

Other Facts of Interest

• According to the Texas Secretary of State's Office, for the November 2000 presidential election, there were 352,359 registered voters in El Paso County. The voter turnout was 145,042 representing 41.1 percent of eligible voters. The election results were 57,574 or 39.7 percent for Bush/Cheney, 83,848 or 57.8 percent for Gore/Lieberman, and 3,352 or 2.3 percent for all other presidential candidates. The statewide results were 57.5 percent for Bush/Cheney, 39.9 percent for Gore/Lieberman, and approximately 2.4 percent for all other candidates. See: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/index.shtml for other topics of interest.
  
  
• Information from the Texas Department of Protective & Regulatory Services for 2000 showed that the area had 3 foster homes and 28 adoptive homes. The total number of licensed day care facilities was 525 with a total capacity of 24,001. The total number of family homes licensed for 24-hour care was 77. Link to http://www.tdprs.state.tx.us for further information.
  
  
• The number of acute and psychiatric care hospitals as of February 1, 2002 was 13 with an average total beds capacity of approximately 169.6 compared to a statewide ratio of 151.5 beds per hospital according to statistical reports from the Texas Department of Health. Link to http://www.tdh.state.tx.us for more data reporting.
  
  
• There were a total of 1,067 direct patient care and primary care physicians who practiced in El Paso County according to the Texas Department of Health, October 2001 reports. The ratio of total persons to each physician in the area was 745.3 residents per each physician. This compares to a statewide ratio of 443 persons for each physician in Texas. Another way of reporting these figures is by showing the number of physicians as a ratio per 1,000 residents. In this study area, the ratio in direct patient care was 15 as compared to the statewide ratio of 36.5 in direct patient care physicians per 1,000 population as of October 2001. The ratio of physicians in primary care was 38.7 compared to a statewide ratio of 69.7 physicians in primary care per 1,000 persons in the population statewide. Link to http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/ for more data reporting as well as http://www.texasshcc.org.
  
  
• From the same Texas Department of Health report for October 2001, the total number of registered nurses (RN) working in the study area was 3,544 representing a ratio of 224.4 persons for each RN in the area. The statewide ratio was 152 persons for each RN in the state. The number of licensed vocational nurses (LVN) who practiced in the area was 869 representing a ratio of 891.8 persons per each LVN in the area. This compared to 345 persons per each LVN statewide. For the same time period, the ratio of RNs per 1,000 population was 445.6 compared to 658.8 per 1,000 statewide. The ratio of LVNs per 1,000 population was 112.1 compared to 290.2 per 1,000 population statewide. See http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/dpa/coverpg.htm as well as http://www.texasshcc.org for a wider variety of Health Professionals and related information.
  
  
• The total jail capacity for public and private jails in the region was 2,464 as of May 1, 2002 according to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Jail population was at 91.4 percent capacity when compared to maximum capacity. At this same time, this compared to a statewide capacity of 79.1 percent. For more detail information, link to: http://www.tcjs.state.tx.us/reports.htm.
  
  
• The region had 3 commercial banks in 2000, as reported by the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas, with total deposits of $936,351,000 and assets of $1,104,038,000. The 2000 deposit to population ratio was $1,378 for the El Paso County region compared to the Texas average of $6,322. A ratio less than the state average generally indicate either the presence of an adjacent city or county not within the described region serving as a regional financial center, or per capita income well below the state average. These numbers do not reflect assets and deposits that are held in branch offices of banks whose headquarters are in another city or state. The most recent Federal Reserve data for this area is at http://www.dallasfed.org/banking/notices/summaries.html.
  
  

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