LaRed Latina of the Intermountain Southwest.
El Paso Regional Demographics:
- According to the 1990 Census, El Paso, with over 650,000 residents,
is the fourth largest city in Texas, and the 19th largest in the Nation. Combined with Juarez, however, the Metropolitan area's population exceeds 2 million, making it the la
rgest international border community in the world.
- The population in the El Paso/Juarez Metro-Plex is projected to exceed
2.5 million by the year 2005.
- Hispanics comprise over 73 percent of the population (455,000)
in the El Paso Metro region.
- Hispanics account for over 66 percent of the 17,000 businesses in and
around the El Paso area.
- El Paso has a relatively young population. The median age is 27 years
within the El Paso MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area.)
- Inspite of the Peso devaluation, El Paso retains the most robust economy of all the communities in the Texas/Mexico border area. The job growth in the region has averaged a strong 3.5 gain in the last two years. This equals or even exceeds the state's
overall growth rate for the same period.
- Latinos are well represented in every private and public sector of the El Paso Metropolitan community.
- Although the attrition rate among Latino high school students continues to be relatively high, there is a positive trend in higher education enrollment and graduation among youth in the Hispanic community.
- Overall Hispanics have been riding the wave of prosperity that El Paso has been experiencing for the past ten years. This is evidenced by the fact that the middle class has been steadily increasing within the Latino Community.