Census-designated place · El Paso County, Texas

Fort Bliss, Texas

Fort Bliss is a census-designated place in El Paso County, Texas, part of the El Paso, TX metro area. It has 11,460 residents. Fort Bliss, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 30 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,879 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #311 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on income inequality (Gini index) (low), distance to an airport (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on mammography screening (low), voter turnout (low) and days with unhealthy air (high).

30Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,879 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #311 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 11,460 (2020-2024)
Land area: 18 mi²
Density: 640.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4826664

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety49#7,961/15,637
Economy27#11,417/15,631
Housing—
Health42#9,022/15,609
Healthcare25#11,754/15,650
Environment40#9,336/15,453
Education44#8,692/15,649
Infrastructure95#785/15,650
Community2#15,253/15,651
Leisure & amenities23#12,022/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fort Bliss, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “El Paso County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.327
97/100Texas 0.478United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Distance to an airport · low9 mi
96/100Texas 33 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauEl Paso County value
Average commute time · low14.2 min
96/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Broadband subscriptions · high97.3%
90/100Texas 91.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Comfortable days · high32.8%
89/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationEl Paso County value
Natural hazard risk · low6.4
89/100Texas 39.62025Federal Emergency Management AgencyEl Paso County value

Weaknesses

Mammography screening · low30.0%
2/100Texas 42.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEl Paso County value
Voter turnout · low48.0%
3/100Texas 57.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionEl Paso County value
Days with unhealthy air · high17.3%
3/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEl Paso County value
Median Air Quality Index · high70
3/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEl Paso County value
Hot days · high121 days
4/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationEl Paso County value
Unemployment rate · high12.3%
5/100Texas 4.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.1% (2015-2019) → 56.9% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
10.7 min (2015-2019) → 14.2 min (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.9% (2015-2019) → 34.3% (2020-2024)
+5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Unemployment rateWorsening
8.0% (2015-2019) → 12.3% (2020-2024)
+4.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
1.3% (2015-2019) → 4.7% (2020-2024)
+3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
99.4% (2015-2019) → 97.4% (2020-2024)
−2.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Fort Bliss, Texas improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Commute+3.5 min10.7 min → 14.2 min
Rent / income+5.4 points28.9% → 34.3%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Fort Bliss, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	10.7 min2015-2019	14.2 min2020-2024	+3.5 min	Declined	16%
Bachelor's degree or higher	32.5%2015-2019	33.4%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Broadband subscriptions	98.4%2015-2019	97.3%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Child poverty rate	13.8%2015-2019	13.3%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	48%
High school diploma or higher	99.4%2015-2019	97.4%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3622015-2019	0.3272020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$54,7072015-2019	$57,1112020-2024	+4.4%	Within the margin of error	11%
Poverty rate	12.1%2015-2019	13.0%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent as share of income	28.9%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Declined	21%
Rent-burdened households	45.1%2015-2019	56.9%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Unemployment rate	8.0%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	5%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Fort Bliss, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fort Bliss, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Fort Bliss, Texas itself moved −12.3 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

11,460 residents (±1,115)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,182 households (±242)

Fort Bliss, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k11%†233
$25k–50k28%†608
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,182 households (±242)

Fort Bliss, Texas
Texas share

Own0.0%0
Rent100%2,182

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

5,394 workers (±574)

Fort Bliss, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone61%3,265
Carpool5.7%†305
Public transit0.8%†44

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the El Paso, TX

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of El Paso County, the county holding most of Fort Bliss's residents.

El Paso County has 16,280 employer establishments, 186 for every 10,000 residents (0.75× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Texas's), with 254,282 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,760. The Census Bureau also counts 85,247 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 16,280; 85,247 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 186; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 254,282
Average annual pay: $42,760; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of El Paso County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	1,585	18.2	0.87×About typical	23,707	$49,102	3,276
Restaurants and other eating places	1,574	18	0.98×About typical	33,621	$19,368	827
Lessors of real estate	866	9.9	0.81×About typical	2,757	$50,054	5,254
Specialty trade contractors	785	9	0.58×Fewer than typical	7,904	$48,781	7,245
Truck transportation	710	8.1	1.61×More than typical	7,596	$56,578	5,618
Limited-service restaurants	703	8.1	1.00×About typical	15,864	$17,676	224
Full-service restaurants	662	7.6	0.99×About typical	14,891	$21,147	365
Offices of physicians	639	7.3	1.13×About typical	5,707	$85,636	597
Automotive repair and maintenance	430	4.9	0.98×About typical	2,502	$36,646	2,019
Building equipment contractors	406	4.6	0.77×Fewer than typical	4,155	$50,843	1,818
Construction of buildings	399	4.6	0.60×Fewer than typical	3,202	$57,825	4,564
Insurance agencies and brokerages	376	4.3	0.98×About typical	2,342	$50,567	1,361

Rank places for an industry Open El Paso County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 873,242 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1B of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fort Bliss, Texas: $91,306 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1B; +206% vs FY2025
Per resident: $91,306; US $1,994
Sole-source: 49%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.7%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$920.4M88%
Department of the Army$88.4M8.4%
Defense Logistics Agency$20.4M1.9%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$10.1M1.0%
Federal Acquisition Service$5M0.5%
Drug Enforcement Administration$733.4K0.1%
Department of Veterans Affairs$556K0.1%
Department of the Air Force$522K0.0%

Top recipients

AMENTUM SERVICES, INC.$481.9M46%
ACQUISITION LOGISTICS LLC$438.6M42%
VINCORION LLC$16.7M1.6%
MAIN BUILDING MAINTENANCE, INC.$12.9M1.2%
RIELES GROUP LLC$6.2M0.6%

Spending by fiscal year

110.7MFY2017
128.4MFY2018
150.6MFY2019
134.7MFY2020
928.9MFY2021
1.4BFY2022
571.7MFY2023
238.9M

Top industries (NAICS)

Investigation and security services · 5616$481.9M46%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$442.2M42%
General medical and surgical hospitals · 6221$18.9M1.8%
Electrical equipment manufacturing · 3353$16.7M1.6%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$14.4M1.4%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Fort Bliss, Texas

THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONTRACT IS TO PROVIDE THE FULL COMPLEMENT OF SERVICES NECESSARY TO CARE FOR UC IN ORR CUSTODY INCLUDING FACILITIES SET-UP, MAINTENANCE, AND SUPPORT INTERNAL AND PERIMETER (IF APPLICABLE) SECURITY, DIRECT CARE AND SUPERVISION INC$3.5B
RAPID DEPLOYMENT INC· El Paso County, TX· Professional services· Mar 24, 2021 – Jul 1, 2026· 75ACF121C00020
THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONTRACT IS TO PROVIDE DETENTION, TRANSPORTATION AND MEDICAL SERVICES AT THE CAMP EAST MONTANA TEMPORARY DETENTION CENTER IN EL PASO, TX.$657.6M
AMENTUM SERVICES, INC.· El Paso County, TX· Facilities & utilities· Mar 12, 2026 – Sep 28, 2026· 70CDCR26C00000016
ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSFER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TASK ORDER W9124J25FA075 TO THE US IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT FOR DETENTION, TRANSPORTATION AND MEDICAL SERVICES AT CAMP EAST MONTANA TEMPORARY DETENTION CENTER IN EL PASO, TX$598.4M
ACQUISITION LOGISTICS LLC· El Paso County, TX

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Fort Bliss, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Fort Bliss, Texas's figures are part of those of El Paso County, TX ($5.4B in FY2026), never added to them: 19% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Fort Bliss is mostly in El Paso County.

See federal money in El Paso County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Fort Bliss, Texas is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Veronica EscobarD-TX-16 · 85% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

El Paso County32100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

El Paso, TX21

Other cities and towns in El Paso County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4826664

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends