Tornillo, Texas

Community in El Paso County · population 1,432 (2020 Census)

Median home: $77,300
Household income: $50,119
Jan low / Jul high: 29° / 95°
Snow a year: 2 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 0
Median age: 41.6

Tornillo is a community of 1,432 people in El Paso County, Texas. The median home is worth $77,300, below the typical Texas town ($184,100). It ranks better for first-time buyers than 96% of Texas towns, more of a college town than 96% of Texas towns, easier by car than 83% of Texas towns.

Tornillo in our rankings:

#4 in 25 Small Towns in Texas With the Fewest Tornadoes Since 1950

How Tornillo ranks

Percentile among Texas towns with at least 500 people on The Town Files lifestyle rankings. 50 is typical for the state; 90 means better than 90% of Texas towns.

The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025).

Homes and cost of living

The median home in Tornillo is worth $77,300, below the typical Texas town ($184,100). Homes cost about 1.5 times the median household income of $50,119, which is more affordable than 94% of Texas towns. 89.3% of households own their home.

Census ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. "Typical town" = median of Texas towns with 500+ people.

Housing	Tornillo	Typical Texas town
Median home value	$77,300	$184,100
Median rent	—	$1,086
Median household income	$50,119	$65,842
Home value ÷ income	1.5×	2.9×
Homeownership	89.3%	72.9%
Median year built	1992	1985
Seasonal / vacation homes	0.0%	—

Who lives in Tornillo

People	Tornillo	Typical Texas town
Median age	41.6	37.1
Age 65 and over	22.4%	15.6%
Under 18	19.2%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	7.1%	18.9%
Below the poverty line	32.2%	13.1%
Veterans	0.9%	—
Born outside the U.S.	38.6%	—
Work from home	4.6%	7.8%
Average commute	28.4 min	26.1 min
Homes with broadband	85.0%	89.2%

Weather in Tornillo

July highs average 95.4°F and January lows 28.8°F. About 8.3 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 1.7 inches of snow (typical Texas town: 0.2 in). Expect about 110 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 81 nights at or below freezing.

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals: average daily high and low by month; precipitation and snowfall in inches. Temperatures from the Tornillo 2 Sse station (3.5 mi away).

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

NOAA's Storm Events Database has no tornado within 10 miles of Tornillo since 1950.

Hail of 1 inch or larger has been reported within 10 miles 15 times; the largest was 2.00 inches on June 9, 1969.

Severe weather in El Paso County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, El Paso County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 6 deaths recorded.

El Paso County has been included in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for fire, flood, other.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
February 19, 2021	Severe Ice Storm	DR-4586: Severe Winter Storms
February 14, 2021	Severe Ice Storm	EM-3554: Severe Winter Storm
March 25, 2020	Biological	DR-4485: Covid-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020	Biological	EM-3458: Covid-19
September 10, 2008	Hurricane	EM-3294: Hurricane Ike

Jobs and pay in El Paso County

El Paso County had 333,908 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $50,230 a year. Unemployment was 4.4% in 2023; in Tornillo itself the ACS puts it at 6.6%.

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, private-sector jobs and average annual pay.

Annual average unemployment rate (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics via USDA ERS).

Public schools in Tornillo

3 public schools with 762 students, about 12.7 students per teacher.

School	Grades	Students	Per teacher
TORNILLO INT	PK-6	376	13.4
TORNILLO H S	9-12	283	11.8
TORNILLO J H	7-8	103	12.9

Towns near Tornillo

Fabens, TX
5.9 mi · 7,498 people · home $95,500
Morning Glory, TX
10.8 mi · 522 people · home $160,000
Clint, TX
12.9 mi · 923 people · home $203,700
San Elizario, TX
13.5 mi · 10,116 people · home $110,400
Agua Dulce, TX
15.2 mi · 3,218 people · home $120,600
Socorro, TX
16.6 mi · 34,306 people · home $144,500
Horizon City, TX
17.6 mi · 22,489 people · home $170,200
Sparks, TX
18.2 mi · 4,760 people · home $103,800

Tornillo questions

Is Tornillo, Texas a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Tornillo scores better for retirees than 36% of Texas towns and quieter than 75%. 22.4% of residents are 65 or older (median age 41.6).

How much does a house cost in Tornillo?

The median owner-occupied home in Tornillo is valued at $77,300 (Census ACS 2020–2024), against a median household income of $50,119, so homes cost about 1.5 times income. Median rent is — a month.

What is the weather like in Tornillo?

July highs average 95.4°F and January lows 28.8°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 8.3 inches of precipitation a year and 1.7 inches of snow.

Does Tornillo get tornadoes?

No tornado has been recorded within 10 miles of Tornillo in NOAA's Storm Events Database since 1950.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Tornillo's Census boundary (GEOID 4873376). Comparisons use the median of Texas towns with at least 500 people. Weather comes from the nearest NOAA normals station; storm counts use NOAA tornado tracks within 10 miles of the town center.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2025 Gazetteer (2020 / 2025)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020)
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (1950–2026)
FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations (this product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA) (1953–2026)
NCES Common Core of Data (2023–24)
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; USDA ERS county unemployment (BLS LAUS) (2000–2024)
The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025)

Data snapshot 2026-11-13.