Best Places78728, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78728, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
78728 ranks 4,012th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78728
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.
78728's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78728 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 185 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 78728 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78728
A household needs to earn about $127,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78728 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $86,633, 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 78728's effective rate of 1.47%, 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 78728
78728 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 78728.
Who works in 78728, and how
Work in 78728 centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 78728
78728 has more parkland per resident than 70% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 71% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78728 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78728, month by month
78728 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 78728
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 78728
Schools across 78728 average a C+, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jollyville ElB · 47% proficient
- Joe Lee Johnson ElC · 34% proficient
- Caldwell ElC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chisholm Trail MiddleB · 46% proficient
- Deerpark MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
- Pflugerville MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Round Rock H SA · 74% proficient
- Mcneil H SA− · 64% proficient
- Cedar Ridge H SB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78728 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78728 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 78728 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78728 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 29% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78728
Is 78728 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78728 ranks 4,012th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, the weather, and population health, and lowest on civic engagement and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78728 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $445,725. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $86,633 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 78728 safe?
78728 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $355 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78728?
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 78728 good for families?
Schools beat 49% of zip codes, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $1,031 a month.
Compare 78728 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78728. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78728 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.
78728 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78728: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78728: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78728: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78728: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78728 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.