Best Places77538, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 77538, 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.
77538 ranks 26,973rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 77538
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.
77538's strengths and weaknesses
Where 77538 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 85% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 77% of zip codes
Where 77538 ranks low
- Short commute41.4 minutes each way, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 77538
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 77538 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,740, 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 77538's effective rate of 1.25%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 77538
77538's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 77538.
Who works in 77538, and how
Work in 77538 centers on admin & support services and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 77538
The coast is about 41 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 77538, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 77538, month by month
77538 sees roughly 117 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 53° | 45° |
| April | 80° | 69° | 61° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 84° | 71° | 61° |
Flying in and out of 77538
The nearest airport, Jack Brooks Regional, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is George Bush Intcntl/Houston, about 46 miles away.
The best schools in and around 77538
Schools across 77538 average a B+, better than 77% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Devers ElA+ · 75% proficient
- Liberty ElC · 33% proficient
- Hull-daisetta ElF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Devers JhA+ · 72% proficient
- Liberty MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Hull-daisetta J HC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Liberty H SB · 48% proficient
- Hull-daisetta H SC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 77538 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
77538 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 77538 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 77538
Is 77538 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 77538 ranks 26,973rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, quiet, and state finances, and lowest on long commutes 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 77538 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $182,575. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $67,740 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 77538 safe?
77538 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $475 per resident a year.
Compare 77538 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 77538. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 77538 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.
77538 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 77538: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 77538: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 77538: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 77538: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
77538 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.