Best Places76520, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 76520, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
76520 ranks 16,938th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 76520
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
76520's strengths and weaknesses
Where 76520 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$614 a month, better than 84% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 76520 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 76520
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 76520 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,639, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 76520's effective rate of 1.07%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 76520
76520's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 76520.
Who works in 76520, and how
Work in 76520 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 76520
76520 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 91% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 76520 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 76520, month by month
76520 sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 50° | 41° |
| April | 80° | 68° | 58° |
| July | 97° | 85° | 75° |
| October | 84° | 70° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 76520
The nearest airport, Easterwood Field, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Austin-Bergstrom International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around 76520
Schools across 76520 average a C+, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Milano ElB · 47% proficient
- Rockdale IntC+ · 39% proficient
- Cameron ElC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Milano J HA− · 57% proficient
- Cameron MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Rockdale J HC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Milano H SA− · 60% proficient
- Rosebud-lott H SC+ · 37% proficient
- Cameron Yoe H SC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 76520 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
76520 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 76520 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 76520
Is 76520 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 76520 ranks 16,938th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on summer heat and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 76520 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $159,434. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $70,639 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 76520 safe?
76520 is safer than 36% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $438 per resident a year.
Compare 76520 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 76520. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 76520 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
76520 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 76520: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 76520: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 76520: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 76520: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
76520 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.