Live in Sunrise Acres
The acre lots recorded in 1929 and 1930 north of the old city, cut in two by US 54 and divided lot by lot ever since, where renters hold 55% of the occupied homes and which side of the freeway a house is on decides its middle and high school.
Sunrise Acres began as three subdivisions recorded in 1929 and 1930, two of them over 200 acres each, on the plain below the Franklin Mountains; the City annexed nearly all of the ground in April 1953, and the large lots have been divided in dozens of replats since, the latest in 2024. This guide takes the City's Sunrise Acres and Sunrise Acres East neighborhoods together, 787 acres on both sides of US 54, where the 2020 census counted 7,208 residents in 2,958 homes, down from 7,823 people in 2010, and renters held 55% of the occupied homes. Its northern edge, Hondo Pass Avenue, runs along Castner Range National Monument, which the Army keeps closed while munitions are cleared. Zillow's typical value for ZIP code 79904 was $190,808 in August 2026, but the ZIP holds more than four times the guide's residents and is not a Sunrise Acres price.
Acre lots of 1929, cut in two by a freeway and split again by the school zones
The City of El Paso's Sunrise Acres (FID 195) and Sunrise Acres East (FID 210) neighborhoods on its Neighborhood Boundaries layer, taken together, about 787 acres, traced against the Census Bureau's road file. West of US 54, Sunrise Acres runs from Hondo Pass Avenue on the north, where Castner Range comes within about 30 meters, to Atlas Avenue on the south, between Echo Street and Magnetic Drive on the west and Gateway Boulevard South, the freeway's west frontage road, on the east. East of the freeway, Sunrise Acres East runs from Gateway Boulevard North to Diana Drive, between Hercules Avenue on the north and Apollo Avenue on the south. US 54 runs between the two. Three neighborhood associations registered with the City overlap the line: the Sunrise association's area takes in 3,995 of the guide's 2020 residents, and the Mountain View and Logan Sunrise associations' 3,213 each, so the name a seller uses may not be the City's. All of it is in El Paso County, El Paso ISD and City Council District 2.
Sunrise Acres is older than the neighborhoods around it. Three plats of large lots were recorded in 1929 and 1930, well outside the city, which annexed nearly all of the ground in April 1953. Since then the acre lots have been divided again and again: small plats through the 1950s and 1960s, replats of the original subdivisions from 1971, and new ones as recent as Diamantina in 2016 to 2020 and a plat in 2024. This guide takes the City's Sunrise Acres and Sunrise Acres East neighborhoods together: 787 acres where the 2020 census counted 7,208 residents, down from 7,823 in 2010, while the homes rose from 2,846 to 2,958.
US 54 runs through the middle, and that line matters more than any other. West of the freeway, Sunrise Acres runs from Hondo Pass Avenue, along Castner Range, down to Atlas Avenue, with Sunrise Park, Park Elementary and Canyon Hills Middle School inside. East of it, Sunrise Acres East runs from Gateway Boulevard North to Diana Drive, with Sunrise Mountain Elementary inside. Three neighborhood associations overlap the line, so the name on a listing may not be the City's.
Most homes are rented. Renters held 1,467 of the 2,653 occupied homes in 2020, 55%, and 28% of the residents were under 18. Every resident is in ZIP code 79904, where Zillow's typical value was $190,808 in August 2026, up 2.7% on the year, but the ZIP held 31,491 people in 2020, more than four times this guide. The five taxing units on a City and El Paso ISD address add to 2.643693 per $100 for 2025. A homestead valued at the ZIP figure owes about $3,470 a year, the same house as a rental about $5,044, and a homestead at the county's $280,615 median sale price about $5,845. The arithmetic is on the El Paso page. No historic district, management district or tax increment zone reaches the guide.
The flood maps are mostly quiet here, and neither is complete. FEMA's effective map for this part of the city is not in its digital layer, so an address has to be read on the scanned panel at FEMA's Map Service Center. The preliminary countywide map of 8 August 2025, not yet in force, puts 2.6% of the guide in the 1% annual chance zone and none of its residents, and only 32 in the 0.2% zone. The study maps three stormwater basins inside the line, Hondo Pass, Amber and Sunrise, and traces overland flow paths No. 15B, 15E and 15F through its streets. Water off the mountain still runs down the streets in a monsoon storm: on 30 July 2006 spotters in the northeast reported 3 inches of rain in 40 minutes.
The rest is a short drive. Dyer Brio stops at Dyer Street and Hercules Avenue, about a kilometer east, every 20 minutes at weekday peaks and 25 otherwise, and route 41 runs about once an hour. University Medical Center's emergency department on Cohen Avenue is the nearest; the hospital itself is about 10 kilometers south in a straight line.
- Check the address against El Paso ISD's 2026-27 zone files, since its address lookup was down when this was written
- Read the effective flood panel at FEMA's Map Service Center and the preliminary panel, 48141C0377F at the reference point
- Ask which recorded plat or replat the lot is on, and whether it has been divided since
- File for the homestead exemption with the El Paso Central Appraisal District once you live there
How Sunrise Acres got here
- 1893Fort Bliss moves to the plain northeast of El Paso; its land is now about 640 meters from the guide.
- 1926The Army begins using Castner Range, on the mountain's eastern slope north of today's Hondo Pass Avenue, as a weapons test site.
- 1929Sunrise Acres No. 1 is recorded, a plat of about 263 acres of large lots, outside the city limits.
- 1930Sunrise Acres No. 2, about 219 acres, and No. 3, about 51 acres, follow.
- 1953The City annexes nearly all of the guide by Ordinance 908, adopted on 23 April; a small piece follows by Ordinance 4515 on 19 November 1970.
- 1954Park Foothills No. 1 is recorded, the first of the post-war plats inside today's line; No. 2 and part of Mountain View follow in 1955, and more than a dozen small plats by 1965.
- 1960NorthPark Mall opens on Dyer Street on 1 May.
- 1966The Army closes Castner Range as a weapons test site.
- 1971Sunrise Acres No. 2 Replat A is recorded, the first of the replats dividing the original acre lots; No. 1 has been replatted from A to J since 1982.
- 2006On 30 July storm spotters in northeast El Paso report up to 3 inches of rain in 40 minutes, and on 1 August 4 to 7 inches fall across the north and northeast; the Sunrise Neighborhood Association registers with the City on 15 August.
- 2016The Diamantina plat is recorded on 16 August; Diamantina II, IV and VI follow by 2020, more houses on the old lots.
- 2020The census counts 7,208 residents and 2,958 homes inside the line, against 7,823 residents and 2,846 homes in 2010.
- 2023Castner Range is proclaimed a national monument on 21 March, 6,672 acres that stay closed to the public while munitions are cleared.
- 2024In November El Paso ISD drops its plan to close Park Elementary or move it into Canyon Hills Middle School, both inside the guide; the M&J Abraham plat is recorded on 2 May.
- 2025FEMA issues its preliminary countywide flood map on 8 August; it puts none of the guide's residents in the 1% annual chance zone and is not yet in force.
- 2026The Bowling Family YMCA, in the Northeast since 1959, closes on 15 May, and in June El Paso ISD declares financial exigency.
A park inside the line, and a mountain across the road that nobody may walk
Sunrise Park, about eight acres on Sunrise Avenue with a shelter to rent, is the City park inside the guide. Across Hondo Pass Avenue is Castner Range National Monument, 6,672 acres of the mountain's eastern slope proclaimed in March 2023. The trails are in Franklin Mountains State Park, reached by Transmountain Road for $5 a day.
What the map does not show: Castner Range is closed. It was a weapons test site from 1926 to 1966, and more than 4,800 unexploded munitions are estimated to remain, so the gold poppies that bloom on it in spring are not for walking among.
Elsewhere in El Paso, not Sunrise Acres
24 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 24 places, nearest first.
Method: distances are straight lines from the reference point, OpenStreetMap's Sunrise Acres node west of US 54, multiplied by a road factor, with a tiered speed model for the drive: honest ranges, not routed times.
Every gym within reach
The nearest City recreation center is Nolan Richardson on Maxwell Avenue, east of the freeway, with Rae Gilmore on Diana Drive the next. Both Northeast pools are shut, so the nearest open City pool is Memorial in central El Paso, and the nearest YMCA is the Loya Family YMCA on the east side.
- Nolan Richardson Recreation Center: about 1.3 km, closed Sunday
- Memorial Aquatic Center: about 10 km, indoor, year-round
- Loya Family YMCA: about 20 km, closed Sunday
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Nolan Richardson Recreation Center open | The City's nearest recreation center, at 4435 Maxwell Avenue east of US 54: open Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The City's page lists no amenities for it. | 4–5 min |
| Rae Gilmore Recreation Center open | The next City recreation center, at 8501 Diana Drive: open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 6–9 min |
| Memorial Aquatic Center open | The nearest open City indoor pool, at 3251 Copper Avenue in central El Paso: a 25-yard pool, open year-round, $3 for adults and $2 for children and seniors. | 12–18 min |
| Loya Family YMCA open | One of the YMCA of El Paso's two remaining branches, at 2044 Trawood Drive on the east side, since the Bowling Family YMCA in the Northeast closed on 15 May 2026: open Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday. | 16–25 min |
| Veterans Aquatic Center closed | The Northeast's indoor City pool, at 5301 Salem Drive, a 25-yard pool; closed until further notice on the City's aquatics page. The outdoor pool at Nations Tobin Park is listed as permanently closed. | 10–15 min |
The free option is Sunrise Park inside the line, and Sue Young Park on Diana Drive, which has a spray park.
Two feeders, divided by the freeway
Every block is in the El Paso Independent School District. West of US 54, its 2026-27 zones send 3,108 residents to Park Elementary, Canyon Hills Middle (B, 84) and Chapin High (B, 85), and 887 to Moye Elementary, Canyon Hills and Irvin. East of it, all 3,213 go to Sunrise Mountain Elementary, Magoffin Middle and Irvin High, each rated C (78). The district dropped a 2024 plan to close Park or move it into Canyon Hills.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Park Elementary School | El Paso Independent School District | 3601 Edgar Park Avenue, inside the guide, prekindergarten to grade 5. El Paso ISD's 2026-27 zones assign it the reference point and 3,108 of the guide's 2020 residents, west of US 54. Rated C, 78, for 2026, after C, 74, for 2025. In November 2024 the district dropped a plan to close it or move it into Canyon Hills Middle School. |
| Sunrise Mountain Elementary School | El Paso Independent School District | 7710 Pandora Street, inside Sunrise Acres East, prekindergarten to grade 5: the zone for the 3,213 residents east of US 54. Rated C, 78, for 2026. |
| Moye Elementary School | El Paso Independent School District | 4825 Alps, outside the guide, prekindergarten to grade 5: the zone for 887 residents west of US 54. |
| Canyon Hills Middle School | El Paso Independent School District | 8930 Eclipse Street, inside the guide, grades 6 to 8: the zone for the reference point and the 3,995 residents west of US 54. Rated B, 84, for 2026, after B, 85, for 2025. |
| Magoffin Middle School | El Paso Independent School District | 4931 Hercules Avenue, east of Diana Drive, grades 6 to 8: the zone for the 3,213 residents east of US 54. Rated C, 78, for 2026 and for 2025. |
| Chapin High School | El Paso Independent School District | 7000 Dyer Street, south of the guide, grades 9 to 12: the zone for the reference point and the 3,108 residents in Park Elementary's zone. Rated B, 85, for 2026, after B, 86, for 2025. |
| Irvin High School | El Paso Independent School District | 5400 Sanders, north of Hondo Pass Avenue, grades 9 to 12: the zone for the other 4,100 residents, everyone east of US 54 and Moye's zone west of it. Rated C, 78, for 2026, after C, 75, for 2025. |
Run your own address. The district's address lookup was unavailable when this was written, so the zones here come from its published files. El Paso ISD declared financial exigency in June 2026; its plan cuts staff and names no closures, but ask what it means for these campuses before an offer.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- The El Paso Central Appraisal District values every property as of 1 January, and last year's tax bill is due by 31 January
- Highs near 15 °C and lows near 1 °C at El Paso International Airport, with about 14 nights at or below freezing on the 1991 to 2020 normal
- Penalty and interest start on unpaid tax bills on 1 February
- Highs near 18 °C, about 10 mm of rain and six or seven freezing nights; the windy season can begin
- The windy season peaks from March to April, and dust events are common; the National Weather Service counted 36 in El Paso from February to June 2025
- Highs near 22 °C and about 6 mm of rain
- The Mexican gold poppy blooms across Castner Range, across Hondo Pass Avenue, in the spring; the monument itself is closed
- Highs near 27 °C and about 4 mm of rain, the driest month on the normal, with the wind still at its peak
- 15 May, or 30 days after the appraisal notice is mailed if that is later, is the deadline to protest a value
- Highs near 32 °C and about 16 days reaching 32 °C (90 °F)
- Highs near 36 °C, the hottest afternoons of the year, with about 27 days reaching 32 °C and 11 reaching 38 °C (100 °F)
- About 19 mm of rain as the monsoon begins
- About 40 mm of rain, most of it in short, heavy storms; July to September bring more than half the year's 223 mm
- Highs near 35 °C and the warmest nights of the year, near 23 °C
- On 30 July 2006 storm spotters in northeast El Paso reported up to 3 inches of rain in 40 minutes, and streets flooded
- About 42 mm of rain, the wettest month on the normal
- Highs near 34 °C, with about 26 days reaching 32 °C
- On 1 August 2006, 4 to 7 inches fell across the north and northeast of the city
- About 39 mm of rain as the monsoon tails off; highs near 31 °C
- Highs near 26 °C and about 15 mm of rain
- Highs near 19 °C and lows near 6 °C, with about five nights at or below freezing
- Highs near 14 °C and lows near 1 °C, with about 14 freezing nights and about 3 cm of snow on the normal
- The tax bill for the year is due by 31 January
5 more photographs of El Paso and the region
Drawn from the site's shared, freely licensed El Paso photo library, not photographs of Sunrise Acres itself. Filter by category.
Showing 1–5 of 5 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images from the site's shared El Paso library, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. None of them is presented as a photograph of Sunrise Acres.