Best Places78406, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78406, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
78406 ranks 29,518th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78406
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.
78406's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78406 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 172 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute20.2 minutes each way, better than 84% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 78406 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78406
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78406 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $56,321, 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 78406's effective rate of 1.29%, 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 78406
78406 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 78406.
Who works in 78406, and how
Work in 78406 centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 78406
The coast is about 25 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 78406, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78406, month by month
78406 sees roughly 172 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 72, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 72° | 58° | 46° |
| April | 85° | 74° | 63° |
| July | 95° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 88° | 75° | 64° |
Flying in and out of 78406
The nearest airport, Corpus Christi International, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 134 miles away.
The best schools in and around 78406
Schools across 78406 average a C+, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- West Oso ElD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tuloso-midway MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Adkins MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
- West Oso J HD− · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Harold T Branch Academy For Career & Technical EdB+ · 57% proficient
- Tuloso-midway H SB− · 44% proficient
- West Oso H SB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78406 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78406 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 78406 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78406
Is 78406 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78406 ranks 29,518th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, a stable housing market, and low taxes, and lowest on civic engagement and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78406 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $325,559. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $56,321 median income, cost of living beats 14% of zip codes.
Is 78406 safe?
78406 is safer than 30% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $453 per resident a year.
Compare 78406 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78406. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78406 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.
78406 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78406: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78406: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78406: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78406: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78406 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.