Best Places78963, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 78963, 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.
78963 ranks 9,151st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 78963
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.
78963's strengths and weaknesses
Where 78963 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 169 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 78963 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 78963
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 78963 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,993, 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 78963's effective rate of 0.67%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 78963
78963 runs older 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 78963.
Who works in 78963, and how
Work in 78963 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 78963
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 78963.
What the weather is like in 78963, month by month
78963 sees roughly 169 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 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 | 81° | 70° | 61° |
| July | 96° | 85° | 76° |
| October | 84° | 72° | 62° |
Flying in and out of 78963
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 43 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 78963
Schools across 78963 average a B, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Flatonia ElB · 47% proficient
- Smithville ElB− · 42% proficient
- La Grange ElC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- La Grange MiddleA− · 53% proficient
- Smithville J HB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- La Grange H SB+ · 53% proficient
- Smithville H SB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 78963 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
78963 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 78963 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 78963
Is 78963 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 78963 ranks 9,151st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, the weather, and low taxes, and lowest on summer heat and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 78963 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $252,497. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $85,993 median income, cost of living beats 70% of zip codes.
Is 78963 safe?
78963 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $376 per resident a year.
Compare 78963 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 78963. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 78963 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.
78963 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 78963: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 78963: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 78963: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 78963: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
78963 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.