Best Places78705, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78705, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
78705 ranks 4,625th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78705
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.
78705's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78705 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
Where 78705 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$36,978 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78705
A household needs to earn about $183,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78705 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $36,978, 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 78705's effective rate of 1.25%, 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 78705
78705 runs younger than the country, 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 78705.
Who works in 78705, and how
Work in 78705 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 40%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 39%
Life in 78705
78705 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 66% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78705 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78705, month by month
78705 sees roughly 160 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 78705
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 8 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 78705
Schools across 78705 average an A−, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lee ElB+ · 55% proficient
- Mathews ElB+ · 55% proficient
- Bryker Woods ElB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kealing MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Lamar MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- O Henry MiddleB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- University Of Texas At Austin H SA+ · 90% proficient
- Mccallum H SA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78705 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78705 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 78705 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78705 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 21% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78705
Is 78705 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78705 ranks 4,625th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, cell coverage, and transit, and lowest on thin health care access and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78705 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $659,684. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $36,978 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 78705 safe?
78705 is safer than 46% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $391 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78705?
July highs average about 99 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 43. That works out to about 160 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of zip codes.
Is 78705 good for families?
Schools beat 92% of zip codes, crime safety beats 46%, and childcare runs $1,048 a month.
Compare 78705 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78705. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78705 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.
78705 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78705: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78705: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78705: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78705: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78705 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.