Best Places78144, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78144, 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.
78144 ranks 13,221st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78144
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.
78144's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78144 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 180 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 78144 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78144
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78144 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $91,667; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 78144's effective rate of 0.94%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 78144
78144 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 78144.
Who works in 78144, and how
Work in 78144 centers on mining & oil & gas and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 78144
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 78144.
What the weather is like in 78144, month by month
78144 sees roughly 180 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 53° | 43° |
| April | 85° | 71° | 61° |
| July | 99° | 85° | 75° |
| October | 87° | 73° | 62° |
Flying in and out of 78144
San Antonio International sits about 53 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 78144
Schools across 78144 average a C, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Roger E Sides ElD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Karnes City J HC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Karnes City H SC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78144 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78144 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 78144 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78144
Is 78144 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78144 ranks 13,221st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, the weather, and quiet, and lowest on a weak job market and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78144 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $383,300. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $91,667 median income, cost of living beats 97% of zip codes.
Is 78144 safe?
78144 is safer than 23% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $511 per resident a year.
Compare 78144 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78144. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78144 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.
78144 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78144: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78144: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78144: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78144: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78144 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.