El Paso construction companies: how many, how big and how to check them

Use this page if you're looking for construction companies in El Paso, TX: to hire a builder, find a subcontractor, research the market or sell to contractors on the border. It covers the Census count, the city's registration rules and the local sources that give you names.

El Paso construction at a glance

These figures are for the El Paso, TX Metro Area (CBSA 21340), from the US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (CBP) for 2023, the latest year published.

El Paso has 2.2% of the state's construction establishments and 1.5% of its construction jobs. Pay is the biggest difference: $23,240 a year below the state figure.

A market of small firms

That's 1,108 establishments with 1 to 19 employees (89.1%), 124 with 20 to 99 (10.0%) and 12 with 100 or more (1.0%). No construction establishment in the metro has 500 or more employees.

El Paso County, Texas has 1,243 of the 1,244 establishments and 11,895 of the 11,911 employees. The metro's only other county, Hudspeth, accounts for the remaining one.

What kind of work they do

Building equipment contractors alone (406) outnumber all residential and nonresidential builders combined (399). Heavy civil is a small slice: 59 establishments and under 7% of construction jobs.

Reading the numbers correctly

• Locations, not companies. CBP counts establishments, so a firm with two offices counts twice.
• Employers only. Self-employed tradespeople with no payroll aren't included, which matters in a market where 732 establishments already have fewer than five employees.
• Sector 23 only. Architects, engineers and building suppliers are counted elsewhere.
• Texas side only. The El Paso metro stops at the state line. Contractors based in Las Cruces, New Mexico or Ciudad Juárez who work in El Paso are not in these counts.
• Confidentiality. The Census Bureau withholds figures that would identify one employer; none of the metro totals above are withheld.

Hiring a contractor in El Paso: the checks

Texas has no state general contractor license, so El Paso's own registration does the work. The City's Planning and Inspections Department publishes these requirements:

Every registered contractor also files a list of the people authorized to pull permits for the company. A practical vetting routine:

1. Ask for the firm's current City of El Paso contractor registration and confirm the person pulling your permit is on its authorized list.
2. Verify trade licenses on the TDLR license search (electrical, air conditioning) and with the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners.
3. Confirm the company is in good standing on the Texas Comptroller's franchise tax account status search.
4. Ask for the insurance certificate and bond directly from the agent, plus two references on similar work.

Local sources for names

• City of El Paso Planning and Inspections: registration forms and the Citizen Access Portal for permits and licenses.
• TDLR's TABS project registry: commercial and public projects estimated at $50,000 or more must be registered for accessibility review, so El Paso projects appear there with their owner, design firm and estimated cost.
• Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce: member directory searchable by category.
• El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce: serving small and women-owned businesses in the border area.
• The Borderplex Alliance: the economic development agency for El Paso, Ciudad Juárez and Las Cruces; its announced projects are tomorrow's construction work.
• AGC of Texas: the statewide association for highway, heavy and utility contractors, with a public member directory.

For a wider set of free list sources, see the construction companies industry guide.

Selling to El Paso contractors

Who decides. With 89% of establishments under 20 employees, the owner signs almost everything, and often runs a crew as well. An office manager or bookkeeper handles vendors and paperwork. At the 46 establishments with 50 or more employees, add an operations manager, a safety coordinator and a controller.

What to lead with. With average pay about 31% below the state figure, expect cost-conscious buyers. Lead with cost, time saved on the owner's paperwork, and anything that helps a small firm meet city registration, bonding or insurance requirements.

When to reach out. Owners are on site during the day. Early morning and late afternoon calls, and short emails they can answer from a phone, work better than mid-morning meetings.

A simple plan:

1. Choose a slice by trade and size, such as building equipment contractors with 10 to 49 employees.
2. Build names from the chamber directories, TDLR's license search for the trade and TABS projects.
3. Find the owner and one other contact, then a recent reason to write: a new project, a registration, a hire. Bebop can build this list from a plain description and research each account, which helps when the list runs to hundreds.
4. Keep the sequence short and personal; in a market this size, owners know each other and word travels.

Worked example

Illustrative example. The company, people and numbers are invented.

Franklin Ridge Safety (franklinridge.example) runs OSHA 10-hour and 30-hour classes in English and Spanish. It targets El Paso establishments with 10 to 49 employees: 146 plus 90, or 236. After removing duplicates and firms it already trains, 200 companies remain. With the owner and the office manager at each, that's 400 contacts. If 7% of companies reply with interest, that's 14 conversations; if a quarter book a class of 12 workers at $95 a seat, three classes bring in about $3,400.

Subject: OSHA 10 for your crew, in English or Spanish

Hi [first name],

I saw [company] is working on [project or permit]. When a general contractor asks for OSHA cards before a crew can start, it usually lands on the owner at short notice.

We run OSHA 10 classes in English and Spanish at your yard, on a Saturday if that's easier, and the cards come straight to you.

Would a class for [number] people next month help?

[Your name]

Next step: compare El Paso with Austin, San Antonio and the state in the Texas construction companies market report.