Best Places77970, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 77970, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
77970 ranks 21,651st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 77970
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.
77970's strengths and weaknesses
Where 77970 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 158 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$572 a month, better than 87% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 77970 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 77970
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 77970 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,472, 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 77970's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 77970
77970 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 77970.
Who works in 77970, and how
Work in 77970 centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 77970
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 77970.
What the weather is like in 77970, month by month
77970 sees roughly 158 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 47. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 56° | 47° |
| April | 80° | 72° | 64° |
| July | 92° | 85° | 80° |
| October | 84° | 74° | 65° |
Flying in and out of 77970
The nearest airport, Victoria Regional, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is William P Hobby, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around 77970
Schools across 77970 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Industrial El EastB+ · 53% proficient
- Ganado ElB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Industrial J HA · 63% proficient
- Palacios J HC · 33% proficient
- Ganado JhC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Industrial H SA− · 67% proficient
- Palacios H SB · 48% proficient
- Ganado H SB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 77970 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
77970 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 77970 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 77970
Is 77970 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 77970 ranks 21,651st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, low taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on disaster risk and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 77970 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $240,429. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $80,472 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 77970 safe?
77970 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $424 per resident a year.
Compare 77970 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 77970. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 77970 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.
77970 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 77970: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 77970: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 77970: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 77970: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
77970 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.