Best Places78071, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78071, 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.
78071 ranks 26,128th 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 78071
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.
78071's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78071 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 185 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 78071 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Household income$52,541 median, better than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78071
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78071 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,541, 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 78071's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 78071
78071 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 78071.
Who works in 78071, and how
Work in 78071 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 78071
78071 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 78071 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78071, month by month
78071 sees roughly 185 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 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 | 84° | 72° | 62° |
| July | 96° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 87° | 74° | 64° |
Flying in and out of 78071
The nearest airport, Corpus Christi International, is about 65 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around 78071
Schools across 78071 average a B−, better than 58% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- George West PriA · 70% proficient
- Three Rivers ElB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- George West J HA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- George West H SB+ · 55% proficient
- Three Rivers Jr/sr H SC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78071 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78071 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 78071 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78071
Is 78071 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78071 ranks 26,128th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, a stable housing market, and low taxes, and lowest on education levels and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78071 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $169,397. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $52,541 median income, cost of living beats 15% of zip codes.
Is 78071 safe?
78071 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $599 per resident a year.
Compare 78071 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78071. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78071 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.
78071 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78071: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78071: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78071: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78071: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78071 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.