Best Places78409, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78409, 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.
78409 ranks 25,993rd 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 78409
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.
78409's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78409 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 172 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 78409 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78409
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78409 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,552, 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 78409's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 78409
78409 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 78409.
Who works in 78409, and how
Work in 78409 centers on construction and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 78409
The coast is about 26 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 78409, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78409, month by month
78409 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 78409
The nearest airport, Corpus Christi International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around 78409
Schools across 78409 average a B−, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Tuloso-midway MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Adkins MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Harold T Branch Academy For Career & Technical EdB+ · 57% proficient
- Tuloso-midway H SB− · 44% proficient
- Tuloso-midway Academic Career CenterD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78409 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78409 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 78409 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78409
Is 78409 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78409 ranks 25,993rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, the weather, and low taxes, and lowest on summer heat and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78409 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $170,092. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $62,552 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 78409 safe?
78409 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $590 per resident a year.
Compare 78409 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78409. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78409 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.
78409 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78409: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78409: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78409: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78409: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78409 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.