Best Places78046, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78046, 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.
78046 ranks 23,632nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78046
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.
78046's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78046 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 198 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$582 a month, better than 86% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 78046 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78046
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78046 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,354, 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 78046's effective rate of 1.53%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 78046
78046 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 78046.
Who works in 78046, and how
Work in 78046 centers on transportation & warehousing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 78046
78046 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78046 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78046, month by month
78046 sees roughly 198 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 78046
The nearest airport, Laredo International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 156 miles away.
The best schools in and around 78046
Schools across 78046 average a C−, better than 22% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- J Kawas ElA+ · 80% proficient
- Sigifredo Perez ElD+ · 25% proficient
- Santo Nino ElD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Los Obispos MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- Antonio Gonzalez MiddleC · 31% proficient
- United South MiddleC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- United South H SB− · 42% proficient
- Lyndon B JohnsonC · 32% proficient
- Dr Leo Cigarroa H SD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78046 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78046 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 78046 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78046 suits
Families
Schools land around the 22nd percentile and crime safety beats 79%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 5% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78046
Is 78046 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78046 ranks 23,632nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, low disaster risk, and low taxes, and lowest on thin health care access and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78046 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $148,880. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $58,354 median income, cost of living beats 18% of zip codes.
Is 78046 safe?
Yes, 78046 is safer than 79% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $289 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78046?
July highs average about 102 degrees, and January highs near 71 with lows near 47. That works out to about 198 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of zip codes.
Is 78046 good for families?
Schools beat 22% of zip codes, crime safety beats 79%, and childcare runs $582 a month.
Compare 78046 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78046. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78046 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.
78046 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78046: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78046: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78046: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78046: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78046 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.