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Towns / Texas

Canutillo, Texas

Canutillo is an unincorporated community of about 6,000 people in El Paso County, Texas, in the El Paso area. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 2.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tucson, is about 251 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of El Paso

Population
5,962
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$106,600
El Paso County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$40,682
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, El Paso area
89.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
11 miles
El Paso, TX
To Tucson
251 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.1% below the U.S. average in the El Paso metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 3 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byThe Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus in El Paso, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTucson is about 251 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Canutillo meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Canutillo runs into the built-up area around El Paso (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$106,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%El Paso County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$838 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$40,682U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,598 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
16%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.9U.S. average = 100 (the El Paso metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the El Paso metro area, not Canutillo alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
5,962The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
30.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
34%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (31%); professional and business services (15%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus, El Paso, TX, about 11 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

6 public schools in Canutillo, run by Canutillo Isd.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Texas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
76%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
34°F
July average high
94°F
Days 90°F or hotter
114 a year
Nights at or below freezing
53 a year
Rain and melted snow
9.1 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
3,768 feet

Weather station: La Tuna 1 S (5 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus, El Paso, Tucson.

El Paso County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Chamizal National Memorial13 miles
  • White Sands National Park52 miles

Read about Canutillo's history on Wikipedia.

Know Canutillo?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Prado Verde, TX (unincorporated)474 people, 2 miles
  • La Union, NM (unincorporated)1,071 people, 4 miles
  • Chamberino, NM (unincorporated)580 people, 9 miles
  • Berino, NM (unincorporated)1,454 people, 10 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.