City employees, like all El Paso residents, have not been immune to high costs of living, but the real question is how salaries stack up.
As the city continues to grapple with low-wage issues, the municipal government released salary data indicating efforts to stay competitive with average salaries across the state.
Laura Cruz Acosta, the city’s strategic communications director, noted that there are different categories of city employees with distinct average salary ranges. Those wages are subject to very specific changes to maintain equity.
“Currently, the city mostly gives pay raises across the board instead of individual merit raises,” Acosta said. “This helps keep things fair and consistent across a large workforce with many different types of jobs.
“The last time the city offered both across-the-board raises and individual merit-based increases was in 2011. Since then, the city has primarily relied on across-the-board adjustments.”
What is the average salary for city of El Paso employees?
Acosta noted that there are two categories of employees with different average salaries.
“At the same time, the city has to make these decisions within a limited budget,” Acosta said. “Over the past decade, a large portion of available funding has gone toward meeting salary commitments through public safety union agreements.”
She noted that, as a result, there has not always been “a consistent focus” on keeping starting wages at a livable level for all employees. The city has taken steps to address that, including raising the minimum wage to $15.75 per hour to better reflect today’s cost of living.
“Across-the-board raises have been the most practical approach given these financial realities,” Acosta said. “Looking ahead, the city is continuing to review its pay practices, including whether merit-based raises could be part of the approach in the future.”
What does the mayor and City Council get paid?
The mayor’s salary is now about $95,000. The mayor’s pay is reviewed annually and is based on one and one-half times the El Paso County area median household income as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or its successor agency.
Any salary changes beyond that must be approved by voters under a charter amendment if proposed by the City Council.
City representatives get paid $45,300 annually following a 2018 change to the city’s charter, overwhelmingly supported by voters, that increased their pay from $29,000.
How many employees does the city of El Paso have?
City data indicated it currently has 6,492 employees who are distributed as follows:
Among the highest salaries on the books are City Manager Dionne Mack at $373,264 annually, El Paso City Attorney Karla Nieman at $339,779 annually and city of El Paso Chief Financial Officer/Deputy City Manager Robert Cortinas at $272,321 annually.
While Mack commands the highest salary among city employees, some of the lowest paid are those earning $15.75 an hour ($32,760 annually) in departments like Health, Sun Metro, Animal Services, Parks & Recreation, Street & Maintenance, Environmental Services and Zoo.
Uniform staff includes slightly over 1,000 police officers with a similar number of professional firefighters.
An estimated 2,509 city employees earn less than the average El Paso salary of $49,170.
What is the average income across El Paso?
As of 2026, the average salary is approximately $49,170, or about $24.06 an hour in El Paso, according to Zip Recruiter.
The 2026 average salary in Texas is $54,693, but salaries across the state can differ greatly, according to Zip Recruiter.
Kristian Jaime is the Top Story Reporter for the El Paso Times and is reachable at Kjaime@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: What to know about pay for El Paso employees, mayor, City Council
Reporting by Kristian Jaime, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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