on $100k a year, leaving Los Angeles

change
El Paso, TX cityscape

swapping out of los angeles

El Paso

tx · metro 872k

photo: Gene Maysonet / pexels

a dispatch from

el paso

TX

31.76°N

106.49°W

El Paso has the Franklin Mountains running right through the middle of the city (which is rare), with hiking trails inside city limits and the desert wide open just past the suburbs. The Mexican food is exceptional in ways that the rest of Texas doesn't quite match (it's true regional border food). Ciudad Juarez is literally next door across the Rio Grande. The light at sunset is unreal.

metro872k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$2,201

lighter monthly cost than Los Angeles

El Paso is the kind of cheap that changes the math. Same salary, a different life on the other side.
landable, recorded on the el paso entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

49% cheaper than Los Angeles(vs $2,899/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$775/mo less in state tax than Los Angeles

vs 9.3% in Los Angeles

03after rent

$6,860/mo

$2,201 more than Los Angeles

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$231k

78% cheaper than Los Angeles

vs $1029k in Los Angeles

05metro size

872k

vs 12.8M in Los Angeles

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

222

pleasant days a year, in el paso.

Los Angeles gets 283 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine. Heat is the cost: 60 days top 95° vs Los Angeles's 19.

Los Angeles hosts 11.6× more events.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

65/100

3% lower than Los Angeles

vs 67/100 in Los Angeles

Closest outdoor draw: White Sands National Park, 72.1 mi.

·walk score®

93/100

3% lower than Los Angeles

vs 96/100 in Los Angeles

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

13

91% fewer than Los Angeles

vs 150 nonstops in Los Angeles

04 · see also

cities that play in el paso's register:

see also

roanoke

more things to do

turn the page

see also

lexington

more things to do

turn the page

see also

huntsville

more things to do

turn the page

compare el paso with:

RoanokeLexingtonHuntsville