Best Places78552, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78552, 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.
78552 ranks 21,987th 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 78552
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.
78552's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78552 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 179 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute19.4 minutes each way, better than 87% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 78552 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78552
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78552 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,887, 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 78552's effective rate of 1.37%, 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 78552
78552 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 78552.
Who works in 78552, and how
Work in 78552 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 78552
78552 has more parkland per resident than 66% of zip codes. The coast is about 44 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 78552 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78552, month by month
78552 sees roughly 179 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 73, with lows near 51. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 73° | 60° | 51° |
| April | 87° | 75° | 66° |
| July | 96° | 85° | 76° |
| October | 88° | 76° | 66° |
Flying in and out of 78552
The nearest airport, Valley International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 235 miles away.
The best schools in and around 78552
Schools across 78552 average a C+, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Idea Harlingen AcademyC · 33% proficient
- Stuart Place ElC− · 30% proficient
- Wilson ElC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Coakley MiddleC− · 30% proficient
- Idea Harlingen College PreparatoryC− · 30% proficient
- Lyford MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Harlingen Collegiate H SA− · 60% proficient
- La Feria H SB− · 43% proficient
- Lyford H SC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78552 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78552 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 78552 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78552 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78552
Is 78552 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78552 ranks 21,987th 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 78552 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $163,675. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $67,887 median income, cost of living beats 54% of zip codes.
Is 78552 safe?
78552 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $434 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78552?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 73 with lows near 51. That works out to about 179 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of zip codes.
Is 78552 good for families?
Schools beat 42% of zip codes, crime safety beats 39%, and childcare runs $712 a month.
Compare 78552 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78552. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78552 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.
78552 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78552: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78552: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78552: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78552: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78552 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.