El Paso County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 865,657, making it the tenth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is the city of El Paso, the sixth-most populous city in Texas and the 22nd-most populous city in the United States. The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1871.
El Paso is from the name El Paso del Norte, which is Spanish for "the Route of the North". It is named for the pass the Rio Grande creates through the mountains on either side of the river. The county is northeast of the Mexico–United States border.
El Paso County is included in the El Paso metropolitan area. Along with Hudspeth County, it is one of two counties of Texas entirely in the Mountain Time Zone (all other Texas counties except for northwestern Culberson County use Central Time). El Paso County is one of nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.
Geography
thumb|right|El Paso is on the US-Mexico border According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.2%) are covered by water.
Adjacent counties and municipalities
- Doña Ana County, New Mexico – northwest
- Otero County, New Mexico – northeast
- Hudspeth County, Texas – east
- Guadalupe, Chihuahua, Mexico – south
- Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico – south
- Práxedis G. Guerrero, Chihuahua, Mexico – southeast
National protected area
- Chamizal National Memorial
- El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail (part)
Major highways
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