El Paso County

El Paso County sits at a gross rent-to-price ratio of 7.67%, which puts it in cash-flow-leaning territory but not comfortably so once you account for financing costs. The cap rate comes in at 4.98%, a figure that clears the "worth underwriting" threshold but leaves little room for error. At 6.85% on a conventional mortgage with 20% down, the math produces a monthly mortgage of $1,209 against estimated rent of $1,473, and after $515 in operating expenses the model spits out negative $251 in monthly cash flow and a cash-on-cash return of -5.68%. That gap is the central tension in El Paso: the unlevered yield is decent, the levered yield is not. Home price appreciation of 1.39% year-over-year is below inflation, so this market is not bailing you out on the appreciation side either. The overall score of 65 out of 100, with a cash-flow sub-score of 77 and an appreciation sub-score of 64, reflects exactly that split: better than average on yield potential, middling on growth.

The investor this market suits most is someone who can bring more than 20% down, carry the asset without relying on month-one cash flow, or find a purchase price meaningfully below the $230,563 median. At a 25-30% down payment the debt service drops enough to push cash flow closer to breakeven or slightly positive, and the 4.98% cap rate holds regardless of leverage. A value-add operator sourcing off-market at a 10-15% discount to median could pencil a workable spread. The affordability index of 68 and median household income of $55,417 are meaningful here: this is a working-class renter pool, which tends to support stable occupancy at attainable price points but caps the ceiling on rent growth. A pure appreciation buyer chasing equity upside would find 1.39% YoY price growth unconvincing and should look elsewhere.

The stability score of 50 is the number that warrants the most attention in El Paso's economic context. The county's population of 863,832 gives it the density to support a real rental market, and Fort Bliss, one of the largest military installations in the country by land area, anchors a significant portion of local employment and rental demand. Military-tied renters are a specific tenant profile: frequent turnover tied to PCS orders, but consistent occupancy because incoming personnel need housing quickly and often cannot buy. That dynamic supports occupancy rates but can create 12-to-24-month tenant churn, which is a management consideration. Beyond the base, El Paso's position as a major US-Mexico border crossing supports logistics, manufacturing, and trade-sector employment, which adds another layer of demand diversification.

On carry costs, the $442 monthly tax and insurance figure deserves a direct line on your underwrite because it represents 30% of gross rent. Texas uses a state-average effective property tax rate of 1.80%, which the Tax Foundation classifies as high, and which produces an estimated $4,150 in annual property taxes on a $230,563 asset. Insurance runs approximately $1,153 annually at a 0.50% rate. The honest caveat here is that 1.80% is a state-average estimate and actual El Paso County or municipality rates may differ, sometimes materially, so pull the county assessor's data before closing. At that tax load, any underwrite that treats taxes as a residual or rounds them down is going to misstate your actual returns.

The primary risk concentration is geographic and economic: a meaningful share of rental demand traces back to a single federal installation. Any significant drawdown in Fort Bliss personnel, whether through base realignment or broader defense budget decisions, would hit El Paso's rental market directly and with limited offsetting demand from other sectors. That is a low-probability but high-impact scenario worth modeling. There is no vacancy or regulatory data provided here to assess those specific dimensions further.

Compared to its neighbors, El Paso's rent-to-price ratio of 7.67% is competitive but not the best in the peer set. Wichita County posts an 8.67% ratio on a $163,787 median price, a lower absolute dollar commitment with better raw yield, and an overall score of 68 versus El Paso's 65. If pure cash-flow math is your filter and you can operate in a smaller market, Wichita County's numbers are harder to dismiss. Liberty County is close to El Paso in both price ($234,907) and score (66) with a slightly better ratio at 7.85%, but the differences are marginal. Harrison and Angelina counties trail on both score and ratio. El Paso makes more sense than its neighbors when you want depth of market, a tenant base large enough to absorb multiple units, and the demand diversification that comes with a 860,000-person metro anchored by federal employment. Wichita County is the better pure-yield trade; El Paso is the better scale trade.