Research / Rent vs. buy / Texas / El Paso

Rent or buy in El Paso?
Renting is $597 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in El Paso costs $597 less a month than owning it. Counting equity, price growth and what a renter could earn by investing the difference, buying comes out ahead in year 25.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 88 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$2,116typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,519Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 253.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$54,849$238,475 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$84,620vs. $60,760 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical El Paso home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $155 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in El Paso is $59,745 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 42% of it; renting would take 31%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the El Paso, TX HUD Metro FMR Area area is $1,559 a month, still $557 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $1,273
  • Property tax $405
  • Home insurance $239
  • Maintenance $199

How long you would need to stay.

Net worth of a buyer compared with a renter who invests the down payment, closing costs and any monthly savings at 6% a year. Home values and rents grow 3.5% a year; selling costs 6%.

Change the assumptions

Buying vs. renting in El Paso, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $24,250
5 yearsRenting ahead by $25,751
7 yearsRenting ahead by $26,873
10 yearsRenting ahead by $27,623
15 yearsRenting ahead by $25,324
20 yearsRenting ahead by $16,243
30 yearsBuying ahead by $39,419

Rent or buy elsewhere in Texas.

Other large Texas cities in the study.

All cities
HoustonRenting $642/mo cheaperSan AntonioRenting $741/mo cheaperDallasRenting $938/mo cheaperAustinRenting $2,322/mo cheaperFort WorthRenting $872/mo cheaperArlingtonRenting $1,089/mo cheaperCorpus ChristiRenting $491/mo cheaperPlanoRenting $2,131/mo cheaper

More on El Paso

See the full El Paso rental market profile with Census medians, or check how a typical rental performs for an investor in our cash-flow ranking.

How we calculated this

Price is the Zillow Home Value Index and rent the Zillow Observed Rent Index for El Paso. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 2.04% effective rate (Census ACS), the Texas average homeowners premium (NAIC 2023) and 1% yearly maintenance. It leaves out income-tax effects, HOA dues and utilities. The typical rental may be smaller than the typical home for sale. Full methodology. This is a citywide estimate, not advice about a specific home.