As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, El Paso ranks the 23rd largest city in the nation.
A year of infant center care in El Paso costs $9,871 — about $7,300 below the national average and one of the lowest absolute prices in any large American city. The workers in those infant rooms earn $10.92 an hour, a dollar wage that puts El Paso among the lowest childcare-pay markets in the index. Cross-border household-help arrangements from Ciudad Juárez add a layer of context, but the within-system labor pool faces the chronic Southern wage trap. The city's $58,734 median household income makes that low tuition a 16.8% burden — easier than the larger Texas metros, harder than the federal benchmark. Mothers' labor force participation is 58.5%, almost ten points below the national rate. El Paso ranks 28th of 31 in Texas, 126th of 250 nationally.
Key highlights & actionable takeaways
- Score 50 (Moderate), ranked 126 of 250; 28th of 31 in Texas — among the lowest tuition prices in the country, paired with the lowest childcare wages.
- Infant care $9,871/year — $7,300 below national average — still 16.8% of $58,734 median income.
- El Paso County childcare workers earn $10.92/hour, 58.9% of a local living wage; mothers' LFP 58.5%, almost 10 points below national.
Actionable takeaways
- Lowest absolute infant tuition in any large US city, paired with the lowest childcare wages. Same Lafayette/Jackson dynamic — affordability and worker pay are two readings of one number, not independent levers.
- Cross-border household help is part of the local labor context. Daily Ciudad Juárez commuters under work authorization shape the in-home market in ways no other US city in the index reflects; coverage of the system requires understanding both sides of the bridge.
- Mothers' LFP at 58.5% signals the price-supply trap is binding. Almost 10 points below national rate despite below-state tuition — the cheap-care advantage doesn't carry through to second-earner participation.
Affordability — 77/100
A year of full-time infant center care in El Paso County runs $9,871 — about $7,300 below the national average of $17,163 and among the lowest absolute prices in any large U.S. city. The figure consumes 16.8% of El Paso's $58,734 median household income — a meaningfully lighter burden than the larger Texas metros. Toddler care is $9,133; preschool, $8,518; family child care infant care, $8,022.
Childcare-to-rent runs 0.79 — rent ($1,041/month) still exceeds tuition. An El Paso family with one infant in center care pays roughly $2,000 less per year than the Texas state median. The Affordability score of 77.0/100 is one of the stronger marks in the Texas cluster on a relative basis, even with the city's lower household income.
Supply — 51/100
El Paso County has roughly 40,400 licensed slots and 73,000 children under 5 with working parents — the same Texas-wide ratio of 56 slots per 100 kids in need. The county's 152 licensed establishments work out to 2.59 per 1,000 children under 5 — below the Texas state rate of 3.17 and well below the national rate of 4.21. El Paso is not a designated childcare desert, but the establishment density is among the lower readings in the Texas cluster.
Workforce — 26/100
The median El Paso County childcare worker earns $10.92/hour — about $22,710 a year — or 58.9% of the local living wage of $18.54/hour. The dollar wage is one of the lowest in any large U.S. city, and the Workforce Health score of 25.9/100 is the second-worst in the Texas cluster after Laredo. The El Paso living wage itself is lower than in the major Texas metros, but not low enough to pull provider pay into a sustainable range.
The structural impact lands on El Paso parents through chronic teacher turnover and on the youngest children through broken caregiver attachments at the moments developmental research identifies as most consequential.
Family strain — 22/100
Mothers' labor force participation among kids under 6 sits at 58.5% in El Paso — well below the Texas state average of 62.8% and almost ten points under the national rate of 68.2%. Single-parent households make up 39.3% of families with kids — close to ten points above the national average. The Family Strain score of 21.9/100 is among the lowest in the Texas cluster and a primary drag on the city's overall ranking.
The pattern echoes Houston and San Antonio: the cost-and-supply math doesn't pencil for many El Paso families, and the consequence is a parent — usually a mother — staying home rather than spend most of a second income on care.
Policy support — 48/100
Inherited from Texas. The state enrolls 52% of 4-year-olds in public pre-K and 11% of 3-year-olds at $4,682 per child, meets 2 of NIEER's 10 quality benchmarks, reaches 16.4% of eligible children with CCDF subsidies, and offers zero weeks of paid family leave.
In-home care in El Paso
In-home care in El Paso typically reflects the broader West Texas and border-region nanny market, with full-time live-out rates well below the rates seen in the Dallas-Fort Worth or Austin corridors. Cross-border household help arrangements — particularly daily commuters from Ciudad Juárez under appropriate work authorization — are part of the local labor market context. Au pair placements through the State Department's J-1 program remain a niche option for the city's professional medical and academic households.
Methodology: The the score is a 0-100 composite score across five dimensions: Affordability (30 pts), Supply (25 pts), Workforce Health (15 pts), Family Strain (15 pts), and Policy Support (15 pts). City-level prices and supply use the city's primary containing county. Policy Support is measured at the state level. Full methodology and data sources: beverly.io/research/methodology.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates; U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS (May 2024) and QCEW; Buffett Early Childhood Institute / Bipartisan Policy Center / Child Care Aware childcaregap.org (Sept 2025); NIEER State of Preschool Yearbook 2024; HHS ACF CCDF FY2023; National Partnership for Women & Families (March 2026).