Best Places79738, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 79738, 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.
79738 ranks 15,497th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 79738
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.
79738's strengths and weaknesses
Where 79738 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute13.6 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 79738 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 79738
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 79738 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,625, 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 79738's effective rate of 0.22%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 79738
79738 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 79738.
Who works in 79738, and how
Work in 79738 centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 79738
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 79738.
What the weather is like in 79738, month by month
79738 sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 42° | 32° |
| April | 79° | 64° | 52° |
| July | 96° | 84° | 72° |
| October | 79° | 65° | 54° |
Flying in and out of 79738
The nearest airport, Lubbock Preston Smith International, is about 65 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 256 miles away.
The best schools in and around 79738
Schools across 79738 average an A−, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Borden County SchoolA · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 79738 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
79738 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 79738 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 79738
Is 79738 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 79738 ranks 15,497th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low property taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on disaster risk and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 79738 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $108,900. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $65,625 median income, cost of living beats 48% of zip codes.
Is 79738 safe?
79738 is safer than 13% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $623 per resident a year.
Compare 79738 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 79738. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 79738 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.
79738 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 79738: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 79738: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 79738: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 79738: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
79738 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.