Best Places78163, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78163, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
78163 ranks 2,148th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 78163
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.
78163's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78163 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$139,644 median, better than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 78163 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Short commute33.5 minutes each way, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78163
A household needs to earn about $126,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78163 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $139,644, 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 78163's effective rate of 1.14%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 78163
78163 runs older 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 78163.
Who works in 78163, and how
Work in 78163 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 78163
78163 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 78163 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78163, month by month
78163 sees roughly 151 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 53° | 40° |
| April | 84° | 70° | 58° |
| July | 98° | 85° | 76° |
| October | 86° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of 78163
San Antonio International sits about 16 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 78163
Schools across 78163 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Arlon R Seay ElA · 65% proficient
- Johnson Ranch ElA · 62% proficient
- Rahe Bulverde ElA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Smithson Valley MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Spring Branch MiddleA · 66% proficient
- Boerne Middle SouthA · 64% proficient
Top high schools
- Memorial Early College H S With St Philip'sA+ · 82% proficient
- Boerne - Samuel V Champion H SA · 75% proficient
- Smithson Valley H SA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78163 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78163 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 78163 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78163
Is 78163 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78163 ranks 2,148th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, a strong job market, and high incomes, and lowest on summer heat and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78163 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $461,245. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $139,644 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 78163 safe?
78163 is safer than 27% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $496 per resident a year.
Compare 78163 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78163. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78163 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.
78163 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78163: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78163: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78163: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78163: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78163 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.