Best Places78244, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78244, 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.
78244 ranks 8,105th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78244
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.
78244's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78244 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 143 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of zip codes
Where 78244 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78244
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78244 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,709, 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 78244's effective rate of 1.44%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 78244
78244 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 78244.
Who works in 78244, and how
Work in 78244 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 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 78244
78244 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 78244 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78244, month by month
78244 sees roughly 143 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 78244
San Antonio International sits about 8 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 78244
Schools across 78244 average a C, better than 50% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- James L MastersD · 19% proficient
- William Paschall ElD · 19% proficient
- Elolf ElD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Judson MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Woodlake Hills MiddleC · 31% proficient
- East Central Heritage MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Judson Early College AcademyA+ · 80% proficient
- East Central H SC− · 26% proficient
- Karen Wagner H SC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78244 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78244 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 78244 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78244 suits
Families
Schools land around the 50th percentile and crime safety beats 80%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78244
Is 78244 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78244 ranks 8,105th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, fast internet, 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 78244 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $217,055. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $76,709 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 78244 safe?
Yes, 78244 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $259 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78244?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 42. That works out to about 143 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of zip codes.
Is 78244 good for families?
Schools beat 50% of zip codes, crime safety beats 80%, and childcare runs $783 a month.
Compare 78244 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78244. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78244 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.
78244 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78244: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78244: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78244: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78244: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78244 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.