Best Places78660, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78660, 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.
78660 ranks 1,582nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $119,772, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, air quality, and tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in 78660
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.
78660's strengths and weaknesses
78660 ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys, the weather, and population health carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Property taxes, air quality, and tree cover hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where 78660 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 185 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 78660 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78660
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78660 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $119,772, 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 78660's effective rate of 1.57%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 78660
78660 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 78660.
Who works in 78660, and how
Work in 78660 centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 78660
78660 has more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 78660 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78660, month by month
78660 sees roughly 185 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 78660
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 18 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 78660
Schools across 78660 average a B−, better than 58% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Murchison ElA · 63% proficient
- Rowe Lane ElA− · 59% proficient
- Riojas ElB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kelly Lane MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Cele MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Chisholm Trail MiddleB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Mcneil H SA− · 64% proficient
- Hendrickson H SA− · 59% proficient
- Hutto H SB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78660 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78660 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 78660 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78660 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 25% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78660
Is 78660 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78660 ranks 1,582nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, the weather, and population health, and lowest on property taxes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78660 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $399,361. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $119,772 median income, cost of living beats 97% of zip codes.
Is 78660 safe?
Yes, 78660 is safer than 79% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $273 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78660?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 62 with lows near 42. That works out to about 185 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of zip codes.
Is 78660 good for families?
Schools beat 58% of zip codes, crime safety beats 79%, and childcare runs $1,048 a month.
Is 78660 good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of zip codes, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 84% of zip codes. About 25% of workers already work from home.
Compare 78660 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78660. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78660 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.
78660 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78660: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78660: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78660: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78660: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78660 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.