Where the Numbers on This Site Come From

Look up your own address

Start here. Four lookups answer most of what people ask us, and all four are free.

• Your exact property tax rate. El Paso County Truth in Taxation. Enter an address and it returns every single entity that taxes that parcel, straight off the tax roll. This is more reliable than any map, because it is the actual bill. Use it before you trust any rate on any website, including this one.
• Your flood zone. FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Your flood zone drives whether your lender requires flood insurance, and El Paso County's maps are mid-revision right now.
• Your school district. El Paso ISD publishes an attendance zone tool. Canutillo ISD publishes a boundary map on its district site. The most reliable answer of all is the Truth in Taxation lookup above, because the district that taxes the parcel is the district that serves it.
• Whether a home qualifies for a zero down USDA loan. USDA Rural Development eligibility map. Eligibility is drawn by boundary, not by city name, so two houses on the same street can get different answers.

Property taxes and special districts

Start with the full list: El Paso Taxing Districts, every MUD, emergency services district and improvement district in the county with tax year 2025 rates.

• El Paso County Truth in Taxation. Parcel-level tax rates by entity. Source for every combined rate published on this site. Used on: Horizon and 79928, West Side, East El Paso
• El Paso Central Appraisal District. Appraised values, exemptions, ownership and parcel records for El Paso County.
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Homestead exemption rules, over-65 and disabled exemptions, the disabled veteran exemption schedule, and statewide property tax administration. Used on: VA and PCS guide
• City of El Paso GIS. City limits layer. Used to confirm whether a specific address is inside city limits or unincorporated county, including the city limit line through 79932. Used on: West Side
• Texas Water Code, Sections 49.452 and 49.4521. The law requiring a seller to give written notice that a property sits inside a Municipal Utility District, and what that notice has to say. Used on: Horizon and 79928
• Texas Property Code, Section 5.014. The equivalent notice requirement for a Public Improvement District. Used on: Horizon and 79928
• Horizon City Ordinance No. 0229 and El Paso City Council File #22-168. Two municipal records that together establish where the Horizon City limit actually runs, which is not along any road. Both are public records held by their respective city clerks. Used on: Horizon and 79928
• Paseo del Este Municipal Utility District filings. Districts 1 through 11: creation, boundaries and tax rates. Used on: Horizon and 79928

Flood, drainage and hazards

• FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Effective and preliminary flood insurance rate maps.
• FEMA revised preliminary flood maps for El Paso County. Announced August 2025. The county's first complete set of digital flood insurance rate maps. No effective date has been published, which means a property's flood zone and a lender's insurance requirement can both change. Used on: West Side
• City of El Paso Floodplain Administrator. The office that answers floodplain questions for a specific address. Call our team at (915) 286-7396 for help contacting the office.
• El Paso Water. The stormwater utility, which was stood up after the August 2006 flood, and water and sewer service across the county.
• El Paso Municipal Code, Chapter 18.44. PMD, NOS and URD zoning districts; hillside development and grading permits. Used on: West Side

Schools

• Texas Education Agency. Accountability ratings, campus-level performance data and school report cards for every public school in Texas. This is the primary source for school research, and it is the one I point people to instead of giving an opinion.
• El Paso ISD attendance zone tool. Check the tool for an address.
• Canutillo ISD boundary map. Check the district site for its boundary map.
• Ysleta ISD. For addresses in the east and southeast.
• Socorro ISD. For addresses in the east and southeast.

We do not characterize, compare or rank schools anywhere on this site. The reasoning is on the West Side guide.

VA loans and military families

• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Funding fee schedules, entitlement rules, occupancy requirements and the certificate of eligibility.
• VA Lenders Handbook, M26-7. The underwriting manual, including guidance on how a non-purchasing spouse's credit is treated in a community property state, which Texas is. Used on: VA and PCS guide
• VA Minimum Property Requirements. As revised effective May 1, 2026. Used on: VA and PCS guide
• Defense Travel Management Office: BAH rates. El Paso is Military Housing Area TX279. Rates are published annually and take effect January 1. Used on: VA and PCS guide
• Texas Tax Code disabled veteran exemption. Administered by the El Paso Central Appraisal District. Used on: VA and PCS guide

Down payment assistance and loan programs

• Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. My First Texas Home, My Choice Texas Home, and the mortgage credit certificate.
• Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation. Homes for Texas Heroes and Home Sweet Texas.
• USDA Rural Development. Zero down financing outside eligible boundaries. Check the eligibility map.
• Federal Housing Administration. FHA loan limits by county, mortgage insurance premiums and minimum down payment rules.
• City of El Paso housing programs. Local down payment assistance, including Welcome Home El Paso.
• Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas. The HELP grant program, when funded.

Used on: the how lenders approve you guide , the credit score guide , the first-time buyer guide and buying before your lease ends. Assistance program funding runs out and comes back. Every program on this site was checked in 2026 and none should be treated as currently available without confirming it.

Market and property data

El Paso Market Data 2026 compares closed single family sales in four zip codes, with new construction and resale separated.

• Greater El Paso Association of Realtors MLS, accessed through Flexmls. Active listings, sold data, days on market, price per square foot and property characteristics. Every list price, sale price, days on market figure and square footage range on this site comes from here.
• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Housing units by decade built, by zip code. Source for statements about the age of the housing stock in a neighborhood. Used on: West Side

Texas is a non-disclosure state, which means sale prices are not public record. Any sale price published on this site is there with the client's written permission. Used on: why the Zillow estimate on your El Paso home is wrong.

Parks, recreation and public amenities

• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Franklin Mountains State Park acreage, trail mileage, entry fees and day-use reservation guidance. Used on: West Side
• Google Maps. Every drive time published on this site was measured, not estimated, on a weekday afternoon with live traffic. Ranges reflect the alternate routes offered, and the origin point is stated on the page where the times appear.

The rules we operate under

Selling your home? See what happens when we list for how our team prepares, markets, and manages your listing.

• Texas Real Estate Commission. License law, advertising rules, contract forms and the Information About Brokerage Services notice. TREC advertising rules are the reason you will not find a commission rate published anywhere on this site.
• National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics. The standards a Realtor is held to, above and beyond license law. This is the reason I will not characterize schools or neighborhoods for you.
• Fair Housing Act. Race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability are protected classes. Steering a buyer toward or away from an area on any of those grounds is illegal, and the most common way it happens in practice is through comments about schools and neighborhoods.
• Texas Property Code, Section 5.008. The seller's disclosure notice and what a seller is required to tell a buyer.

Used on: the seller net proceeds guide , the how to read an offer guide , the handling multiple offers guide , the choosing a builder guide , the Texas option period guide , the upfront costs of buying a home guide , the low appraisal guide , the seller-side low appraisal guide , the preparing for showings guide , the after you buy guide , the buyer backs out guide , the FHA and VA offers guide , the when you get paid guide and the costs due at closing guide. The Addendum Concerning Right to Terminate Due to Lender's Appraisal is the TREC form that protects conventional buyers when an appraisal comes in low. The One to Four Family Residential Contract is the promulgated form where the option fee, option period, earnest money and contingency deadlines are filled in.

How we handle numbers that change

Three rules, and they are the reason this page exists.

• Every tax rate on this site is stamped with a tax year. Rates are set every fall. A rate without a year on it is not information, it is a guess with a decimal point.
• We do not publish a number we cannot source. There are things we believe about this market that are not on this website, because we could not find a source we would stand behind. When research turned up nothing, the claim came out rather than getting softened into something vaguer.
• We publish the thing that makes us look worse when it is true. Property taxes here are high. Some neighborhoods sit for months. New construction loses value before it gains it. A website that only tells you the good parts is not being nice to you, it is selling you something.

Rates, program funding, district boundaries and flood maps all change. Everything on this page was checked in 2026. This is not legal, tax, or lending advice. Verify your specific address and your specific situation before you rely on any of it.