El Paso County Ranks First in Texas for Households Without Air Conditioning
In one of the hottest corners of Texas, thousands of households face the summer without air conditioning. An estimated 10,964 households in El Paso County have no AC, the highest share of any county in the state, according to U.S. Census Bureau data reported by KVIA. About 3.7 percent of the county's households go without, which puts El Paso first in Texas even though the state as a whole has some of the best air conditioning coverage in the country.
The number is small as a percentage but heavy in a desert border county where summer highs routinely top 100 degrees. And the raw count understates the problem, because the households that show up in the data as lacking AC are joined by many more that have a unit they cannot afford to run.
Why El Paso, and not somewhere hotter
The answer is less about temperature than about money. El Paso is one of the lower-income large counties in Texas, and cooling a home is a recurring cost, not a one-time purchase. The county's own numbers make the squeeze clear.
| # | El Paso County | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Households without air conditioning | 10,964 (3.7%) |
| 2 | Median household income | $59,806 |
| 3 | Texas median household income | $78,476 |
| 4 | Residents below the poverty line | ~163,000 (19%) |
A typical El Paso household earns about $59,806 a year, nearly $19,000 below the Texas median of $78,476, and close to one in five residents lives below the poverty line. When the temperature climbs, an electric bill that jumps by a hundred dollars a month is not a nuisance; it is a choice between cooling and other necessities. Refrigerated air and even a modest swamp cooler sit out of reach for some households entirely.
For residents like Anyalo Martinez, the math is unforgiving. Martinez told ABC-7 that a higher summer electric bill is simply too much to carry, so his family gets through the heat with fans, cool showers during the day, and sleeping without a shirt. It is the same story we found in the mother whose inherited unit failed in our piece on Tennessee's air conditioning gap, and it fits the broader pattern across the Mississippi River basin: the households counted as lacking AC are only the visible edge of a wider affordability problem.
Where El Paso residents can find relief
Help in El Paso is local and immediate. The El Paso Extreme Weather Task Force distributes fans to households in need; residents can dial 211 to check whether they qualify for a free one. The city also keeps a list of public buildings with free air conditioning, open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the city:
- Galatzan Recreation Center, 650 Wallenberg Dr.
- Marty Robbins Recreation Center, 11620 Vista Del Sol Dr.
- Valle Bajo Community Center, 7380 Alameda
- Nations Tobin Sports Center, 8831 Railroad
- Chalio Acosta Sports Center, 4321 Delta
Hours and locations can change through the season, so residents should confirm current details with the city or by calling 211 before heading out.
The bigger picture
The Census Bureau's local air conditioning estimates are a new way to see a problem that used to be invisible, because the American Community Survey does not directly ask whether a home has AC. What the El Paso number shows is that even in a state with near-universal air conditioning, pockets of real vulnerability remain, and they track income more than latitude. You can look up the full demographic and housing profile of El Paso County, or see how it compares with the rest of Texas using the compare tool.
Sources
Air conditioning figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau's experimental Local Air Conditioning Estimates, as reported by KVIA ABC-7 (July 2026), which includes the interview with Anyalo Martinez and the city's cooling-center list. Income, poverty, and population figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.
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How many households in El Paso County lack air conditioning?
An estimated 10,964 households in El Paso County have no air conditioning, about 3.7 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Local Air Conditioning Estimates. That is the highest share of any county in Texas.
Why does El Paso rank first in Texas when hotter counties exist?
The driver is income more than temperature. El Paso is one of the lower-income large counties in Texas, with a median household income of $59,806 versus $78,476 statewide and roughly 19 percent of residents in poverty. Cooling a home is a recurring cost, and for many households a high summer electric bill is unaffordable.
Where can El Paso residents find cooling help?
The El Paso Extreme Weather Task Force distributes free fans to households that qualify; residents can dial 211 to check. The city also lists public buildings with free air conditioning, including the Galatzan, Marty Robbins, and Chalio Acosta recreation and sports centers, though hours and locations should be confirmed with the city.
