Best Places78503, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78503, 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.
78503 ranks 28,360th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 78503
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.
78503's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78503 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 183 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute18.8 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 78503 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78503
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78503 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,306, 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 78503's effective rate of 1.63%, 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 78503
78503 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 78503.
Who works in 78503, and how
Work in 78503 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 78503
78503 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78503 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78503, month by month
78503 sees roughly 183 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 74, with lows near 52. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74° | 62° | 52° |
| April | 90° | 77° | 69° |
| July | 99° | 87° | 78° |
| October | 90° | 78° | 69° |
Flying in and out of 78503
The nearest airport, McAllen International, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 232 miles away.
The best schools in and around 78503
Schools across 78503 average a C, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dr Alejo Salinas Jr ElC · 31% proficient
- Ruben Hinojosa ElC− · 30% proficient
- Romulo D Martinez ElC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- B L Gray J HB+ · 52% proficient
- Idea Los Encinos College PreparatoryC− · 29% proficient
- Diaz J HC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Achieve Early College H SA+ · 80% proficient
- Sharyland H SB · 49% proficient
- Psja Thomas Jefferson T-stem Early College H SB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78503 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78503 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 78503 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78503 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78503
Is 78503 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78503 ranks 28,360th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, low taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on summer heat 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 78503 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $205,445. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $60,306 median income, cost of living beats 37% of zip codes.
Is 78503 safe?
78503 is safer than 9% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $808 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78503?
July highs average about 99 degrees, and January highs near 74 with lows near 52. That works out to about 183 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of zip codes.
Is 78503 good for families?
Schools beat 48% of zip codes, crime safety beats 9%, and childcare runs $664 a month.
Compare 78503 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78503. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78503 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.
78503 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78503: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78503: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78503: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78503: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78503 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.