Best Places77081, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 77081, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
77081 ranks 29,821st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 77081
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.
77081's strengths and weaknesses
Where 77081 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 77081 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$43,034 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 77081
A household needs to earn about $99,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 77081 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $43,034, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 77081's effective rate of 1.49%, 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 77081
77081 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 77081.
Who works in 77081, and how
Work in 77081 centers on construction and admin & support services. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 77081
77081 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes. The coast is about 32 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 77081 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 77081, month by month
77081 sees roughly 146 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 49. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 55° | 49° |
| April | 80° | 71° | 64° |
| July | 94° | 85° | 79° |
| October | 83° | 74° | 67° |
Flying in and out of 77081
William P Hobby sits about 13 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 6.8 million passengers in 2025, with 101 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 77081
Schools across 77081 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mandarin Immersion Magnet SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Amigos Por Vida-friends For Life Charter SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Pilgrim AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pin Oak MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Pershing MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Ser-ninos Charter MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Bellaire H SB+ · 55% proficient
- Lamar H SB+ · 54% proficient
- Middle College H S At Hcc GulftonD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 77081 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
77081 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 77081 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 77081 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 4% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 77081
Is 77081 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 77081 ranks 29,821st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and cell coverage, and lowest on thin health care access and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 77081 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $347,494. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $43,034 median income, cost of living beats 6% of zip codes.
Is 77081 safe?
77081 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $825 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 77081?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 49. That works out to about 146 pleasant days a year, more than 88% of zip codes.
Is 77081 good for families?
Schools beat 14% of zip codes, crime safety beats 7%, and childcare runs $842 a month.
Compare 77081 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 77081. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 77081 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.
77081 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 77081: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 77081: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 77081: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 77081: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
77081 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.