Best Places79606, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 79606, 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.
79606 ranks 6,472nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 79606
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.
79606's strengths and weaknesses
Where 79606 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% 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
- Local economyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$571 a month, better than 87% of zip codes
Where 79606 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 79606
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 79606 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,717, 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 79606's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 79606
79606 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 79606.
Who works in 79606, and how
Work in 79606 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 79606
79606 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 79606 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 79606, month by month
79606 sees roughly 98 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 44° | 33° |
| April | 80° | 65° | 53° |
| July | 98° | 85° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 67° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 79606
The nearest airport, Abilene Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 163 miles away.
The best schools in and around 79606
Schools across 79606 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wylie West IntA · 64% proficient
- Buffalo Gap ElB+ · 55% proficient
- Austin ElB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wylie East J HA · 65% proficient
- Jim Ned MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Wylie West J HA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Wylie H SA · 71% proficient
- Jim Ned H SA− · 62% proficient
- Cooper H SC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 79606 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
79606 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 79606 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 79606 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 79606
Is 79606 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 79606 ranks 6,472nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, short commutes, and low taxes, and lowest on tree cover and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 79606 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $271,913. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $91,717 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 79606 safe?
79606 is safer than 48% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $424 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 79606?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 33. That works out to about 98 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of zip codes.
Is 79606 good for families?
Schools beat 68% of zip codes, crime safety beats 48%, and childcare runs $571 a month.
Compare 79606 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 79606. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 79606 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.
79606 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 79606: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 79606: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 79606: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 79606: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
79606 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.