Best Places76853, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 76853, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
76853 ranks 25,154th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 76853
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.
76853's strengths and weaknesses
Where 76853 ranks high
- 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 76% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 71% of zip codes
Where 76853 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 76853
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 76853 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,964, 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 76853's effective rate of 0.69%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 76853
76853 runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 76853.
Who works in 76853, and how
Work in 76853 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 76853
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 76853.
What the weather is like in 76853, month by month
76853 sees roughly 106 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 47° | 37° |
| April | 79° | 66° | 55° |
| July | 97° | 85° | 73° |
| October | 80° | 67° | 57° |
Flying in and out of 76853
The nearest airport, Robert Gray AAF, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Austin-Bergstrom International, about 83 miles away.
The best schools in and around 76853
Schools across 76853 average a C−, better than 26% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Goldthwaite ElA− · 62% proficient
- Hanna Springs ElB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Goldthwaite MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Lampasas MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Goldthwaite H SA · 73% proficient
- Lampasas H SB+ · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 76853 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
76853 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 76853 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 76853
Is 76853 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 76853 ranks 25,154th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, affordable childcare, and state finances, and lowest on summer heat and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 76853 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $266,307. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $70,964 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 76853 safe?
76853 is safer than 36% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $435 per resident a year.
Compare 76853 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 76853. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 76853 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.
76853 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 76853: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 76853: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 76853: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 76853: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
76853 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.