Best Places79096, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 79096, 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.
79096 ranks 15,279th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 79096
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.
79096's strengths and weaknesses
Where 79096 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute17.1 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 79096 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 79096
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 79096 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,555, 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 79096's effective rate of 1.38%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 79096
79096's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 79096.
Who works in 79096, and how
Work in 79096 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 79096
79096 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 79096 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 79096, month by month
79096 sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 36° | 23° |
| April | 76° | 59° | 44° |
| July | 96° | 82° | 68° |
| October | 77° | 60° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 79096
The nearest airport, Rick Husband Amarillo International, is about 83 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 255 miles away.
The best schools in and around 79096
Schools across 79096 average a B+, better than 71% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shamrock ElC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Shamrock MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Shamrock H SC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 79096 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
79096 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 79096 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 79096
Is 79096 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 79096 ranks 15,279th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, a stable housing market, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 79096 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $149,397. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $66,555 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 79096 safe?
79096 is safer than 45% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $393 per resident a year.
Compare 79096 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 79096. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 79096 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.
79096 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 79096: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 79096: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 79096: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 79096: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
79096 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.