Best Places78389, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78389, 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.
78389 ranks 28,923rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 78389
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.
78389's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78389 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 182 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$572 a month, better than 87% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 78389 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$42,271 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78389
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78389 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $42,271, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 78389's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 78389
78389 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 78389.
Who works in 78389, and how
Work in 78389 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 78389
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 78389.
What the weather is like in 78389, month by month
78389 sees roughly 182 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 55° | 45° |
| April | 84° | 72° | 62° |
| July | 96° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 87° | 74° | 64° |
Flying in and out of 78389
The nearest airport, Corpus Christi International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 101 miles away.
The best schools in and around 78389
Schools across 78389 average a C+, better than 50% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mathis IntC · 34% proficient
- Skidmore-tynan ElC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Skidmore-tynan J HB− · 42% proficient
- Mathis MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Moreno J HD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Skidmore-tynan H SB · 47% proficient
- Mathis H SC+ · 35% proficient
- A C Jones H SC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78389 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78389 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 78389 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78389
Is 78389 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78389 ranks 28,923rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, low taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78389 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $205,000. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $42,271 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 78389 safe?
78389 is safer than 21% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $526 per resident a year.
Compare 78389 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78389. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78389 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.
78389 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78389: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78389: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78389: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78389: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78389 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.