Best Places78634, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78634, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
78634 ranks 1,260th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78634
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.
78634's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78634 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 172 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Household income$125,281 median, better than 91% of zip codes
Where 78634 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78634
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78634 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $125,281, 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 78634's effective rate of 1.69%, 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 78634
78634 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 78634.
Who works in 78634, and how
Work in 78634 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 78634
78634 has more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 78634 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78634, month by month
78634 sees roughly 172 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 50° | 42° |
| April | 80° | 68° | 59° |
| July | 96° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 83° | 71° | 61° |
Flying in and out of 78634
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 25 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 10.7 million passengers in 2025, with 127 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 78634
Schools across 78634 average a C+, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Forest Creek ElB · 49% proficient
- Benjamin Doc Kerley ElC+ · 37% proficient
- Howard Norman ElC+ · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kelly Lane MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Ridgeview MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Hutto MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Hendrickson H SA− · 59% proficient
- Hutto H SB · 50% proficient
- Cedar Ridge H SB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78634 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78634 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 78634 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78634 suits
Families
Schools land around the 48th percentile and crime safety beats 91%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78634
Is 78634 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78634 ranks 1,260th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, what local pay buys, and the weather, and lowest on tree cover and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78634 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $385,533. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $125,281 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 78634 safe?
Yes, 78634 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $225 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78634?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 62 with lows near 42. That works out to about 172 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of zip codes.
Is 78634 good for families?
Schools beat 48% of zip codes, crime safety beats 91%, and childcare runs $924 a month.
Compare 78634 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78634. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78634 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.
78634 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78634: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78634: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78634: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78634: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78634 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.