Best Places78729, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78729, 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.
78729 ranks 2,833rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 78729
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.
78729's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78729 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 78729 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78729
A household needs to earn about $132,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78729 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,010, 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 78729's effective rate of 1.41%, 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 78729
78729 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 78729.
Who works in 78729, and how
Work in 78729 centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 78729
78729 has more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 78729 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78729, month by month
78729 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 78729
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 19 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 78729
Schools across 78729 average a B−, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jollyville ElB · 47% proficient
- Pond Springs ElC+ · 37% proficient
- Live Oak ElC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Canyon Vista MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
- Cedar Valley MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
- Deerpark MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Westwood H SA · 78% proficient
- Mcneil H SA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78729 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78729 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 78729 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78729 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 28% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 78729
Is 78729 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78729 ranks 2,833rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, biking, and cell coverage, and lowest on air quality and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78729 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $467,548. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $94,010 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 78729 safe?
78729 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $366 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78729?
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 78729 good for families?
Schools beat 63% of zip codes, crime safety beats 50%, and childcare runs $932 a month.
Compare 78729 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78729. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78729 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.
78729 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78729: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78729: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78729: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78729: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78729 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.