Best Places78061, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78061, 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.
78061 ranks 23,868th 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 78061
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.
78061's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78061 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 189 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 78061 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- School gradeD−, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78061
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78061 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,779, 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 78061's effective rate of 1.25%, 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 78061
78061 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 78061.
Who works in 78061, and how
Work in 78061 centers on education and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 78061
78061 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 78061 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78061, month by month
78061 sees roughly 189 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 71, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 71° | 56° | 45° |
| April | 89° | 74° | 64° |
| July | 102° | 88° | 77° |
| October | 89° | 75° | 65° |
Flying in and out of 78061
San Antonio International sits about 58 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 87 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 78061
Schools across 78061 average a D−, better than 5% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Newell E Woolls IntC− · 30% proficient
- Dilley ElD+ · 22% proficient
- Zavala ElD− · 14% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mcdowell MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
- Sterling H Fly Jr H SD− · 16% proficient
- Pearsall J HD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Hondo H SB · 47% proficient
- Dilley H SD · 22% proficient
- Pearsall H SD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78061 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78061 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 78061 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78061
Is 78061 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78061 ranks 23,868th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, 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 78061 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $111,158. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $72,779 median income, cost of living beats 60% of zip codes.
Is 78061 safe?
78061 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $619 per resident a year.
Compare 78061 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78061. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78061 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.
78061 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78061: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78061: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78061: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78061: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78061 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.