Best PlacesCentral, El Paso, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central, El Paso, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Central, El Paso ranks 5,177th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on tree cover and air quality. It does better on affordable childcare, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Central, El Paso
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Central, El Paso's strengths and weaknesses
Central, El Paso ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. Affordable childcare is the standout, in the top 1% of neighborhoods. State finances and low taxes follow.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: tree cover, air quality, and education levels all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where Central, El Paso ranks high
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 175 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
Where Central, El Paso ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Household income$43,991 median, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central, El Paso
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central, El Paso home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $43,991, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Central, El Paso's effective rate of 1.67%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Central, El Paso
Central, El Paso runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Central, El Paso.
Who works in Central, El Paso, and how
Work in Central, El Paso centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Central, El Paso
Central, El Paso has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 88% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Central, El Paso and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central, El Paso, month by month
Central, El Paso sees roughly 175 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 100 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 47° | 32° |
| April | 84° | 69° | 52° |
| July | 100° | 87° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Central, El Paso
The nearest airport, El Paso International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 225 miles away.
The best schools in and around Central, El Paso
Schools across Central, El Paso average a C+, better than 58% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Milam ElB · 48% proficient
- Hawkins ElB− · 44% proficient
- Hughey ElC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wiggs MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Eastwood MiddleC · 34% proficient
- Ross MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Silva Health MagnetA+ · 80% proficient
- Transmountain Early College H SA · 73% proficient
- Valle Verde Early College H SA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central, El Paso school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central, El Paso measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Central, El Paso against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Central, El Paso suits
Common questions about living in Central, El Paso
Is Central, El Paso a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central, El Paso ranks 5,177th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state finances, and low taxes, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Central, El Paso expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $147,327. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $43,991 median income, cost of living beats 16% of neighborhoods.
Is Central, El Paso safe?
Central, El Paso is safer than 27% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $813 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Central, El Paso?
July highs average about 100 degrees, and January highs near 62 with lows near 32. That works out to about 175 pleasant days a year, more than 84% of neighborhoods.
Is Central, El Paso good for families?
Schools beat 58% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 27%, and childcare runs $564 a month.
Is Central, El Paso good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 16% of neighborhoods, though advertised internet speeds beat only 48% of neighborhoods. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Central, El Paso with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central, El Paso. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central, El Paso represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Central, El Paso detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central, El Paso: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central, El Paso: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central, El Paso: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central, El Paso: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central, El Paso detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.