Best Places78586, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78586, 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.
78586 ranks 29,370th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78586
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.
78586's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78586 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
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Short commute21.4 minutes each way, better than 79% of zip codes
Where 78586 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78586
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78586 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,318, 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 78586's effective rate of 1.18%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 78586
78586 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 78586.
Who works in 78586, and how
Work in 78586 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 78586
The coast is about 38 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 78586, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78586, month by month
78586 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 78586
The nearest airport, Valley International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 242 miles away.
The best schools in and around 78586
Schools across 78586 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Laureles ElC+ · 37% proficient
- Dora Romero ElC+ · 35% proficient
- Raul Garza Jr Steam AcademyC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Texas Isd Rising Scholars AcademyA · 62% proficient
- Liberty Memorial MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
- Los Cuates MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Brownsville Early College H SA · 73% proficient
- Harlingen Collegiate H SA− · 60% proficient
- Los Fresnos H SB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78586 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78586 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 78586 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78586 suits
Common questions about living in 78586
Is 78586 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78586 ranks 29,370th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, low taxes, and state finances, and lowest on education levels 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 78586 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $101,793. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $51,318 median income, cost of living beats 18% of zip codes.
Is 78586 safe?
78586 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $435 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78586?
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 78586 good for families?
Schools beat 8% of zip codes, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $712 a month.
Compare 78586 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78586. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78586 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.
78586 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78586: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78586: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78586: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78586: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78586 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.