Best Places77642, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 77642, 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.
77642 ranks 32,362nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 77642
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.
77642's strengths and weaknesses
Where 77642 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$624 a month, better than 83% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 77642 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 77642
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 77642 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,494, 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 77642's effective rate of 1.43%, 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 77642
77642 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 77642.
Who works in 77642, and how
Work in 77642 centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 77642
77642 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. The coast is about 41 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 77642 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 77642, month by month
77642 sees roughly 92 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 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 | 81° | 70° | 59° |
| July | 94° | 83° | 75° |
| October | 85° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of 77642
The nearest airport, Jack Brooks Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is William P Hobby, about 83 miles away.
The best schools in and around 77642
Schools across 77642 average a D, better than 9% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Helena Park ElA− · 57% proficient
- Ridgewood ElB · 48% proficient
- Bridge City IntB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wilson MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Central MiddleB+ · 47% proficient
- Port Neches MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Nederland H SB+ · 58% proficient
- Bridge City H SB+ · 54% proficient
- Port Neches-groves H SB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 77642 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
77642 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 77642 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 77642 suits
Common questions about living in 77642
Is 77642 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 77642 ranks 32,362nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, walkability, and affordable childcare, and lowest on disaster risk 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 77642 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $139,154. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $50,494 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 77642 safe?
77642 is safer than 10% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $737 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 77642?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 43. That works out to about 92 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of zip codes.
Is 77642 good for families?
Schools beat 9% of zip codes, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $624 a month.
Compare 77642 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 77642. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 77642 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.
77642 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 77642: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 77642: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 77642: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 77642: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
77642 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.