Best Places78040, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78040, 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.
78040 ranks 28,735th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78040
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.
78040's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78040 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 197 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 78040 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78040
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78040 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $37,675, 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 78040's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 78040
78040 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 78040.
Who works in 78040, and how
Work in 78040 centers on retail trade and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 78040
78040 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78040 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78040, month by month
78040 sees roughly 197 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 71, with lows near 47. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 71° | 57° | 47° |
| April | 91° | 76° | 65° |
| July | 102° | 89° | 77° |
| October | 89° | 76° | 66° |
Flying in and out of 78040
The nearest airport, Laredo International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 153 miles away.
The best schools in and around 78040
Schools across 78040 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Farias ElB · 44% proficient
- Ryan ElC · 33% proficient
- T Sanchez El / H Ochoa ElC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Memorial MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Lamar MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
- Joaquin Cigarroa MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Nixon H SC · 34% proficient
- Martin H SC · 31% proficient
- Dr Leo Cigarroa H SD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78040 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78040 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 78040 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78040 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78040
Is 78040 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78040 ranks 28,735th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, walkability, and cell coverage, and lowest on education levels and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78040 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $123,065. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $37,675 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 78040 safe?
78040 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $447 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78040?
July highs average about 102 degrees, and January highs near 71 with lows near 47. That works out to about 197 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of zip codes.
Is 78040 good for families?
Schools beat 14% of zip codes, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $582 a month.
Compare 78040 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78040. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78040 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.
78040 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78040: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78040: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78040: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78040: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78040 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.