Best Places78218, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78218, 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.
78218 ranks 19,965th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78218
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.
78218's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78218 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 152 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 78218 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78218
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78218 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $60,831; 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 78218's effective rate of 1.66%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 78218
78218's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 78218.
Who works in 78218, and how
Work in 78218 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 78218
78218 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 91% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78218 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78218, month by month
78218 sees roughly 152 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 78218
San Antonio International sits about 5 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 78218
Schools across 78218 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northwood ElB · 50% proficient
- Ft Sam Houston ElB− · 41% proficient
- Camelot ElC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Krueger MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
- White MiddleC · 34% proficient
- Woodlake Hills MiddleC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Judson Early College AcademyA+ · 80% proficient
- Macarthur H SB · 46% proficient
- Roosevelt H SC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78218 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78218 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 78218 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78218 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78218
Is 78218 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78218 ranks 19,965th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, cell coverage, and low taxes, and lowest on civic engagement 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 78218 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $215,489. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $60,831 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 78218 safe?
78218 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $607 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78218?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 40. That works out to about 152 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of zip codes.
Is 78218 good for families?
Schools beat 38% of zip codes, crime safety beats 18%, and childcare runs $783 a month.
Compare 78218 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78218. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78218 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.
78218 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78218: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78218: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78218: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78218: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78218 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.