Live in Ysleta
The old town around the Ysleta Mission, taken as the City's South Loop neighborhood without the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo's reservation: 1,779 residents at the end of the Alameda Brio and 3 km from the Zaragoza bridge, where the mission's own blocks sit in a City historic district and most homes are zoned to an elementary school rated D for 2026.
The Tigua people came here from Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico in 1680 and 1682 and built the mission that still stands on South Zaragoza Road, rebuilt on higher ground in 1744 and repaired after a fire in 1907; the river moved south of the town between 1829 and 1831, and Ysleta was the county seat from 1873 to 1883 before El Paso annexed it, against its residents' vote, in 1955. This guide takes the City's South Loop neighborhood, which holds the mission, as its boundary and leaves out the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo's reservation inside it, which is sovereign land: 1,779 residents on the 2020 census, down from 2,030 on about the same ground in 2010, with owners in 71% of the occupied homes. Zillow's typical value for ZIP code 79907 was $181,064 in August 2026, up 4.4% on the year, but the ZIP held 50,971 people in 2020 and is not an Ysleta price. The name reaches farther than the guide: the City's Ysleta historic district lies mostly to the north, and Ysleta High School is outside it too.
The blocks around the oldest parish in Texas, on a City line that leaves the Pueblo out
The City of El Paso's South Loop neighborhood (FID 85 on the Neighborhood Boundaries layer, 279 acres) less the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo's reservation as the Census Bureau draws it, which takes about a fifth of South Loop's area and all 303 of the reservation's 2020 residents out of the guide. Traced against the Census Bureau's road file, South Loop runs from Alameda Avenue (State Highway 20) on the north, between South Carnes Road and South Zaragoza Road; down South Zaragoza Road on the west, across Socorro Road, to about Cemetery Road; then along a line through Apodaca Place, Carmelita Circle, Southside Road, San Simon Lane and Carl Longuemare Road on the south; and back up Socorro Road (FM 258) and South Carnes Road on the east. It is not the City's Ysleta historic district, which held 601 residents in 2020, only 25 of them in this guide, the rest mostly in Valumbrosa and Pueblo Viejo to the north. All of it is in El Paso County, Ysleta ISD and City Council District 7.
Ysleta is older than El Paso. Tigua people brought from Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico settled here in 1680 and 1682, and their mission on South Zaragoza Road was rebuilt on higher ground in 1744 and repaired after a fire in 1907. Between 1829 and 1831 the Rio Grande cut a new channel south of the town, which is how it came to be in the United States; it was the county seat from 1873 to 1883, and El Paso annexed it on 15 March 1955, against its residents' vote.
The guide is South Loop, not the whole of Ysleta. The City draws no neighborhood called Ysleta, so this guide takes its South Loop neighborhood, which holds the mission, between Alameda Avenue, Zaragoza Road and Socorro Road, and leaves out the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo's reservation inside it, about a fifth of the area. That is sovereign land and no part of any neighborhood here, and its 303 residents are not counted. What remains held 1,779 residents in 2020, down from 2,030, with owners in 71% of the occupied homes. The City's Ysleta historic district lies mostly to the north: only 25 of its 601 residents live in this guide. The mission's own blocks, 13.8% of the ground and 66 residents, are in the City's Mission Trail historic district, where exterior work needs the Historic Preservation Office's approval or a certificate of appropriateness before a building permit.
The school zone is the thing to check. Every block is in Ysleta ISD. Its SchoolSearch returns Ysleta Elementary for the point at the mission, but no populated block is zoned there: blocks holding 1,350 residents go to Capistrano Elementary, which absorbed South Loop Elementary in 2020 and was rated D (62) for 2026 after B (80), and the other 429 to Presa Elementary, rated A (91), which the superintendent named as a possible closure in June 2025, with no decision before the 2026-27 budget. Ysleta Middle (B, 89) and Ysleta High (A, 92) serve every block.
Ysleta ISD's exemption does most of the tax work. An address pays 2.763493 per $100 for 2025, but the district takes 20% off a homestead on top of the state's $140,000. Zillow's typical value for ZIP code 79907 was $181,064 in August 2026, up 4.4% on the year, and a homestead there would owe the school district about $58 and about $2,827 a year in all; a rental, about $5,004. The ZIP held 50,971 people in 2020 and is not an Ysleta price. Every lot is also inside El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1, which assessed $30 an acre for 2025 where a water right is attached; which lots carry one was not checked. The El Paso ISD arithmetic is on the El Paso page.
The flood map shrinks here, and the bus starts here. FEMA's digital panels of 2006 cover 83% of the guide and put 5.0% of it, with 113 residents, in the 1% annual chance zone; the preliminary map of August 2025, not yet in force, puts 1.9% and no residents there and shows 78.9% as reduced risk behind a levee. The water runs to the Franklin Drain and the Middle Drain. The Mission Valley Transit Center on Alameda is the Alameda Brio's last stop, every 20 to 25 minutes on weekdays, and the Ysleta-Zaragoza bridge is about 3 km south.
- Run the address through Ysleta ISD's SchoolSearch and ask the district about Presa's future
- Check whether the lot is in the Mission Trail or Ysleta historic district before planning exterior work
- Ask the seller whether the lot carries an irrigation district water right and its assessment
- File for the homestead exemption with the El Paso Central Appraisal District once you live there
How Ysleta got here
- 1680Tigua people brought south from Isleta Pueblo settle here, in 1680 and 1682; the first Mass is said on 12 October 1680.
- 1682The mission is established; in 1691 an adobe church replaces the temporary one and Governor Diego de Vargas names it Corpus Christi de los Tiguas de Ysleta.
- 1744A flood in 1740 washes the church away, and it is rebuilt four years later on higher ground.
- 1831Between 1829 and 1831 the Rio Grande cuts a new channel south of the town; when the deepest channel becomes the border in 1848, Ysleta is in the United States.
- 1873Ysleta replaces San Elizario as county seat by election, and loses it to El Paso in a disputed election of 1883.
- 1907Fire burns the mission's roof and bell tower; it is repaired by 1908 with the narrower tower it has now.
- 1949The Alexander Addition to Ysleta is recorded, followed by the Singh plats of 1955 and 1957; with it they cover about two fifths of the guide on the City's plat map.
- 1955On 15 March the City annexes 21,096 acres of the Lower Valley by Ordinance 1285, Ysleta among them, though its residents had voted against it.
- 1968Congress hands responsibility for the Tiwa Indians of Ysleta to the State of Texas on 12 April.
- 1972The Ysleta Mission is listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 31 July.
- 1987The Restoration Act of 16 August restores the federal relationship with the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo.
- 2020The census counts 1,779 residents outside the reservation. At the end of the 2019-20 year Ysleta ISD moves South Loop Elementary into Capistrano.
- 2025In June Ysleta ISD names Presa Elementary as a possible closure, with a decision not expected before the 2026-27 budget; on 8 August FEMA issues its preliminary countywide flood map.
- 2026The Texas Education Agency rates Capistrano Elementary D (62), after B (80) the year before, and Presa Elementary A (91).
A small park by the mission and a big one a kilometer east
Ysleta Park on Socorro Road is 3 acres with a playground and a skate area, a few steps from the mission. A kilometer east, the City's Pavo Real Park has ball fields, a spray park, the recreation center and the outdoor pool, and Pueblo Viejo Park runs along the Middle Drain to the north. Downriver, the City's 372-acre Rio Bosque Wetlands Park is about 8 km by road.
What the map does not show: the heat. June brings about 11 days reaching 38 °C on the 1991 to 2020 normal, and the outdoor pool is open only from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend.
Elsewhere in El Paso, not Ysleta
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 OpenStreetMap's Ysleta node beside the mission, multiplied by a road factor, with a tiered speed model for the drive: honest ranges, not routed times.
Every gym within reach
The City's Pavo Real Recreation Center on Alameda has gyms, a boxing gym and pickleball and racquetball courts, and the Pavo Real Aquatic Center beside it is a 50-meter outdoor pool. The nearest indoor City pool open year-round is Marty Robbins, on Vista del Sol Drive.
- Pavo Real Recreation Center: about 1.2 km, closed Sunday
- Pavo Real Aquatic Center: about 1.2 km, Memorial Day to Labor Day
- Marty Robbins Aquatic Center: about 9.5 km, indoor, year-round
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Pavo Real Recreation Center open | The City's recreation center in Pavo Real Park at 9301 Alameda Avenue: large and small gyms, a boxing gym, pickleball and racquetball courts, a dance studio and a weight room. Open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday. | 3–4 min |
| Pavo Real Aquatic Center open | The City's outdoor 50-meter competition pool at 110 Presa Place, one of only three outdoor City pools and the one of them not permanently closed. It opens from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend and is closed for the season now; $3 for adults and $2 for children and seniors 60 and over. | 3–5 min |
| Sylvia A. Carreon Community Center open | The City's community center on Lomita Drive: a large gym, pickleball and volleyball courts, a weight room and showers, open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday. | 8–12 min |
| Marty Robbins Aquatic Center open | The nearest indoor City pool open year-round, at 11600 Vista del Sol Drive: a 25-yard competitive pool, open from 5 a.m. on weekdays and closed Sunday. | 11–16 min |
| Fred and Maria Loya Family YMCA open | The nearer of the YMCA of El Paso's two branches, at 2044 Trawood Drive on the east side. | 12–18 min |
The free option is Ysleta Park's skate area and Pavo Real Park's fields and courts.
Two elementary zones, neither of them the one at the mission
Every block is in the Ysleta Independent School District. Its SchoolSearch zones most homes to Capistrano Elementary (D, 62, for 2026) and the rest to Presa Elementary (A, 91), with Ysleta Middle (B, 89) and Ysleta High School (A, 92) for every block.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Capistrano Elementary School | Ysleta Independent School District | 240 Mecca Drive, kindergarten to grade 5. Ysleta ISD's SchoolSearch returns it for the blocks that held 1,350 of the guide's 1,779 residents in 2020; the app states no school year. Ysleta ISD moved South Loop Elementary into Capistrano at the end of 2019-20. The Texas Education Agency rated it D, 62, for 2026 after B, 80, for 2025. |
| Presa Elementary School | Ysleta Independent School District | 128 Presa Place, early education to grade 5, returned for the blocks that held the other 429 residents. Rated A, 91, for 2026 and A, 92, for 2025. In June 2025 the superintendent named it as a possible closure because its enrollment had fallen below 300, with no decision expected before the 2026-27 budget; this guide found no decision since. |
| Ysleta Elementary School | Ysleta Independent School District | 8624 Dorbandt Circle, kindergarten to grade 5. SchoolSearch returns it for the reference point at the mission, but for none of the guide's populated blocks, so a house here is most likely zoned Capistrano or Presa instead. Rated B, 81, for 2026. |
| Ysleta Middle School | Ysleta Independent School District | 8691 Independence Drive, grades 6 to 8, returned for every populated block. Rated B, 89, for 2026 and B, 88, for 2025. |
| Ysleta High School | Ysleta Independent School District | 8600 Alameda Avenue, grades 9 to 12, north of the guide and returned for every populated block. Rated A, 92, for 2026 and for 2025. |
Run your own address. SchoolSearch states no school year and says its results do not guarantee placement, and the reference point at the mission returns Ysleta Elementary, which serves none of the guide's homes. Ask the district what Presa's enrollment means for the coming years.
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; last year's tax bill is due by 31 January
- Highs near 15 °C and lows near 1 °C at El Paso International, 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 and about 10 mm of rain; dust events can start this early, El Paso Matters reports
- The windy season peaks from March to April; there were 36 dust events from February to June of 2025
- Highs near 22 °C and about 6 mm of rain
- About 4 mm of rain, the driest month on the normal, and highs near 27 °C
- The appraisal review board begins hearing protests around 15 May, so read the notice of value as soon as it comes
- 15 May, or 30 days after the notice is mailed if that is later, is the deadline to protest a value
- Pavo Real's outdoor pool opens on Memorial Day weekend, and the City's spray parks opened on 23 May in 2026
- Highs near 32 °C, with about 16 days reaching 32 °C (90 °F)
- 13 June is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the principal of the Tigua's feast days at the mission, in the mission's own account
- Highs near 36 °C, the hottest month by afternoon high, with about 11 days reaching 38 °C (100 °F)
- The summer monsoon: about 40 mm of rain, often in short, heavy storms; El Paso Water warns a year's rain can fall in days
- Highs near 35 °C and the warmest nights, near 23 °C
- About 42 mm of rain, the wettest month; here the water runs to the Franklin Drain and the Middle Drain
- The 2006 storms ran from 27 July to 4 August and pushed the Rio Grande to its highest level since 1912
- The outdoor pool closes on Labor Day weekend, and the spray park season ended on 13 September in 2026
- About 39 mm of rain, and highs near 31 °C
- Tax bills go out around 1 October for payment by 31 January
- The Amigo Airsho flies at Biggs Army Airfield on 24 and 25 October 2026, and the City's Día de los Muertos festival is downtown on 24 October
- Highs near 26 °C
- Highs near 19 °C and lows near 6 °C, with about five freezing nights
- About 11 mm of rain
- Highs near 14 °C and lows near 1 °C, with about 14 freezing nights and most of the year's 7 cm of snow
- About 16 mm of rain, more than any month from October to May
Every photograph in this guide's library is above
This library holds one photograph and the page has already printed it. The credits are in the footer.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near Ysleta, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. Inline photos elsewhere on the page may still come from the site's shared El Paso library.