Best Places79401, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 79401, 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.
79401 ranks 21,563rd 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 79401
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.
79401's strengths and weaknesses
Where 79401 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute13.4 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 79401 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$36,107 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 79401
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 79401 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $36,107, 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 79401's effective rate of 1.44%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 79401
79401 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 79401.
Who works in 79401, and how
Work in 79401 centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 79401
79401 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 79401 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 79401, month by month
79401 sees roughly 137 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 40° | 26° |
| April | 81° | 62° | 45° |
| July | 97° | 83° | 70° |
| October | 80° | 63° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 79401
The nearest airport, Lubbock Preston Smith International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 283 miles away.
The best schools in and around 79401
Schools across 79401 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wilson ElA · 65% proficient
- Ramirez ElB− · 43% proficient
- Wolffarth ElC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hutchinson MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Cavazos MiddleD · 23% proficient
- Dunbar College Preparatory AcademyD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Lubbock H SB+ · 51% proficient
- Monterey H SC · 32% proficient
- Estacado H SC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 79401 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
79401 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 79401 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 79401
Is 79401 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 79401 ranks 21,563rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, short commutes, and walkability, 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 79401 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $117,744. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $36,107 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 79401 safe?
79401 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,275 per resident a year.
Compare 79401 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 79401. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 79401 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.
79401 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 79401: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 79401: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 79401: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 79401: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
79401 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.