Best Places78947, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78947, 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.
78947 ranks 9,406th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 78947
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.
78947's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78947 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 147 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Household income$112,116 median, better than 87% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 78947 ranks low
- Short commute48.2 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78947
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78947 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $112,116, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 78947's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 78947
78947 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 78947.
Who works in 78947, and how
Work in 78947 centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 78947
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 78947.
What the weather is like in 78947, month by month
78947 sees roughly 147 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 51° | 42° |
| April | 80° | 68° | 59° |
| July | 96° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 84° | 70° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 78947
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 40 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 78947
Schools across 78947 average a B, better than 66% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lexington ElB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Caldwell J HB+ · 50% proficient
- Lexington MiddleB− · 43% proficient
- Caldwell IntC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Caldwell H SB+ · 52% proficient
- Lexington H SB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78947 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78947 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 78947 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78947
Is 78947 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78947 ranks 9,406th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, the weather, and what local pay buys, and lowest on long commutes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78947 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $333,450. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $112,116 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 78947 safe?
Yes, 78947 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $348 per resident a year.
Compare 78947 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78947. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78947 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.
78947 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78947: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78947: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78947: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78947: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78947 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.