Best Places78109, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78109, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
78109 ranks 5,132nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 78109
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.
78109's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78109 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 78109 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78109
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78109 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,077, 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 78109's effective rate of 1.55%, 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 78109
78109 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 78109.
Who works in 78109, and how
Work in 78109 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 78109
78109 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 78% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78109 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78109, month by month
78109 sees roughly 142 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 82° | 70° | 60° |
| July | 97° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 84° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of 78109
San Antonio International sits about 10 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 78109
Schools across 78109 average a C+, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Randolph ElA− · 62% proficient
- Crestview ElB · 45% proficient
- Wiederstein ElB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Randolph MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Barbara Jordan IntB− · 42% proficient
- Idea Converse College PreparatoryC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Judson Early College AcademyA+ · 80% proficient
- Randolph H SA · 72% proficient
- Samuel Clemens H SA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78109 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78109 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 78109 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78109 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78109
Is 78109 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78109 ranks 5,132nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, few empty homes, and low taxes, and lowest on property taxes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78109 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $235,638. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $90,077 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 78109 safe?
Yes, 78109 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $258 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78109?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 42. That works out to about 142 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of zip codes.
Is 78109 good for families?
Schools beat 60% of zip codes, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $783 a month.
Compare 78109 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78109. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78109 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.
78109 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78109: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78109: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78109: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78109: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78109 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.