Best Places77973, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 77973, 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.
77973 ranks 27,191st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 77973
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.
77973's strengths and weaknesses
Where 77973 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 204 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter 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
- Air qualityBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 77973 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 77973
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 77973 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,265, 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 77973's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 77973
77973 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 77973.
Who works in 77973, and how
Work in 77973 centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 77973
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 77973.
What the weather is like in 77973, month by month
77973 sees roughly 204 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 55° | 45° |
| April | 81° | 71° | 63° |
| July | 91° | 83° | 75° |
| October | 84° | 73° | 63° |
Flying in and out of 77973
The nearest airport, Victoria Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around 77973
Schools across 77973 average a C−, better than 27% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Aloe ElC · 35% proficient
- Refugio ElC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Refugio J HC · 35% proficient
- Patti Welder MiddleD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Refugio H SB · 47% proficient
- Victoria West H SC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 77973 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
77973 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 77973 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 77973
Is 77973 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 77973 ranks 27,191st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, a stable housing market, and low taxes, and lowest on biking and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 77973 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,500. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $60,265 median income, cost of living beats 22% of zip codes.
Is 77973 safe?
77973 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $480 per resident a year.
Compare 77973 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 77973. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 77973 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.
77973 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 77973: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 77973: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 77973: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 77973: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
77973 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.