Best Places79831, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 79831, 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.
79831 ranks 32,135th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 79831
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.
79831's strengths and weaknesses
Where 79831 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$564 a month, better than 89% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 133 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 79831 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 79831
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 79831 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $46,019, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 79831's effective rate of 0.72%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 79831
79831 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 79831.
Who works in 79831, and how
Work in 79831 centers on hospitality & food and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 44%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 33%
Life in 79831
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 79831.
What the weather is like in 79831, month by month
79831 sees roughly 133 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 46° | 34° |
| April | 82° | 65° | 50° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 66° |
| October | 80° | 65° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 79831
The nearest airport, Midland International Air And Space Port, is about 119 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 293 miles away.
The best schools in and around 79831
Schools across 79831 average a C−, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Alpine ElC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alpine MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Alpine H SA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 79831 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
79831 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 79831 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 79831
Is 79831 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 79831 ranks 32,135th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, low taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on internet speeds and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 79831 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $240,000. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $46,019 median income, cost of living beats 6% of zip codes.
Is 79831 safe?
79831 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,158 per resident a year.
Compare 79831 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 79831. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 79831 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.
79831 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 79831: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 79831: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 79831: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 79831: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
79831 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.