Best Places79106, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 79106, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
79106 ranks 17,384th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 79106
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.
79106's strengths and weaknesses
Where 79106 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute17.0 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 79106 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 79106
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 79106 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,191, 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 79106'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, 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 79106
79106 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 79106.
Who works in 79106, and how
Work in 79106 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 79106
79106 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 79106 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 79106, month by month
79106 sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 37° | 23° |
| April | 76° | 57° | 41° |
| July | 96° | 81° | 66° |
| October | 78° | 59° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 79106
The nearest airport, Rick Husband Amarillo International, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 267 miles away.
The best schools in and around 79106
Schools across 79106 average a C, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bushland ElA− · 60% proficient
- Belmar ElB+ · 52% proficient
- Olsen Park ElB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lorenzo De Zavala MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Crockett MiddleA− · 57% proficient
- Bushland MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Bushland H SA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 79106 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
79106 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 79106 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 79106 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 79106
Is 79106 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 79106 ranks 17,384th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, biking, and short commutes, and lowest on thin health care access and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 79106 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $171,623. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $66,191 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 79106 safe?
79106 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $634 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 79106?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 23. That works out to about 127 pleasant days a year, more than 79% of zip codes.
Is 79106 good for families?
Schools beat 42% of zip codes, crime safety beats 16%, and childcare runs $678 a month.
Compare 79106 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 79106. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 79106 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.
79106 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 79106: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 79106: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 79106: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 79106: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
79106 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.