Best Places78217, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78217, 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.
78217 ranks 15,393rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 78217
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.
78217's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78217 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 78217 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78217
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78217 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $68,777; 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 78217's effective rate of 1.54%, 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 78217
78217 runs younger 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 78217.
Who works in 78217, and how
Work in 78217 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 78217
78217 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78217 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78217, month by month
78217 sees roughly 153 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 78217
San Antonio International sits about 3 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 78217
Schools across 78217 average a C, better than 33% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northwood ElB · 50% proficient
- Northern Hills ElC− · 26% proficient
- Stahl ElC− · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Krueger MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
- Harris MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Driscoll MiddleC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Macarthur H SB · 46% proficient
- Madison H SB− · 43% proficient
- Sst Sa College Prep H SC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78217 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78217 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 78217 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78217 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78217
Is 78217 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78217 ranks 15,393rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, fast internet, and transit, and lowest on summer heat and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78217 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $242,192. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $68,777 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 78217 safe?
78217 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $610 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78217?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 40. That works out to about 153 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of zip codes.
Is 78217 good for families?
Schools beat 33% of zip codes, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $783 a month.
Compare 78217 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78217. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78217 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.
78217 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78217: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78217: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78217: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78217: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78217 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.