Best Places78746, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78746, 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.
78746 ranks 73rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 78746
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.
78746's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78746 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$203,338 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 96% of zip codes
Where 78746 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78746
A household needs to earn about $410,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78746 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $203,338, 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 78746's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 78746
78746 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 78746.
Who works in 78746, and how
Work in 78746 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 54%
- Work from home 41%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 78746
78746 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 78746 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 78746, month by month
78746 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 78746
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 11 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 78746
Schools across 78746 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Barton Creek ElA+ · 73% proficient
- Forest Trail ElA · 66% proficient
- Cedar Creek ElA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hill Country MiddleA+ · 75% proficient
- West Ridge MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
- Four Points MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Westlake H SA+ · 85% proficient
- Vandegrift H SA · 73% proficient
- Austin H SA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78746 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78746 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 78746 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 78746 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 41% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 92% of zip codes and health care access beats 89%.
Common questions about living in 78746
Is 78746 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78746 ranks 73rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, what local pay buys, and high incomes, and lowest on summer heat and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78746 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,505,498. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $203,338 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 78746 safe?
Yes, 78746 is safer than 63% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $344 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 78746?
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 78746 good for families?
Schools beat 96% of zip codes, crime safety beats 63%, and childcare runs $1,048 a month.
Compare 78746 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78746. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78746 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.
78746 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78746: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78746: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78746: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78746: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78746 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.