Best Places77044, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 77044, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
77044 ranks 14,236th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 77044
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.
77044's strengths and weaknesses
Where 77044 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 77044 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 77044
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 77044 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,460, 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 77044's effective rate of 1.60%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 77044
77044 runs younger 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 77044.
Who works in 77044, and how
Work in 77044 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 77044
77044 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. The coast is about 27 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 77044 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 77044, month by month
77044 sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 54° | 43° |
| April | 82° | 70° | 59° |
| July | 96° | 85° | 76° |
| October | 86° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of 77044
George Bush Intcntl/Houston sits about 11 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.3 million passengers in 2025, with 214 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 77044
Schools across 77044 average a C−, better than 28% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Centennial ElB− · 42% proficient
- Summerwood ElC+ · 39% proficient
- Crosby ElC+ · 36% proficient
Top middle schools
- Woodcreek MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Crosby MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
- Michael R Null MiddleD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Guy M Sconzo Early College H SA− · 65% proficient
- Crosby H SB · 46% proficient
- Summer Creek H SB · 46% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 77044 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
77044 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 77044 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 77044 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 77044
Is 77044 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 77044 ranks 14,236th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, what local pay buys, and low taxes, and lowest on air quality 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 77044 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $286,207. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $104,460 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 77044 safe?
77044 is safer than 38% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $453 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 77044?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 43. That works out to about 96 pleasant days a year, more than 61% of zip codes.
Is 77044 good for families?
Schools beat 28% of zip codes, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $842 a month.
Compare 77044 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 77044. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 77044 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.
77044 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 77044: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 77044: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 77044: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 77044: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
77044 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.