Best Places78701, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78701, 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.
78701 ranks 142nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 78701
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.
78701's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78701 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 78701 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78701
A household needs to earn about $223,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78701 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $153,797, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 78701's effective rate of 1.30%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 78701
78701's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 78701.
Who works in 78701, and how
Work in 78701 centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 37%
- Work from home 47%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in 78701
78701 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 89% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78701 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78701, month by month
78701 sees roughly 163 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 82° | 70° | 60° |
| July | 99° | 86° | 76° |
| October | 85° | 72° | 62° |
Flying in and out of 78701
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 7 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 78701
Schools across 78701 average a B−, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lee ElB+ · 55% proficient
- Mathews ElB+ · 55% proficient
- Becker ElB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kealing MiddleA · 64% proficient
- O Henry MiddleB− · 43% proficient
- Lively MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- University Of Texas At Austin H SA+ · 90% proficient
- Austin H SA− · 65% proficient
- Travis Early College H SD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78701 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78701 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 78701 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78701
Is 78701 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78701 ranks 142nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, transit, and walkability, and lowest on summer heat and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78701 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $800,202. The overall cost of living runs about 23% above the national average. Set against a $153,797 median income, cost of living beats 97% of zip codes.
Is 78701 safe?
78701 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $734 per resident a year.
Compare 78701 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78701. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78701 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.
78701 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78701: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78701: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78701: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78701: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78701 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.