Best Places79837, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 79837, 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.
79837 ranks 31,654th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 79837
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.
79837's strengths and weaknesses
Where 79837 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 162 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$574 a month, better than 87% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 86% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 79837 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 79837
A household needs to earn about $20,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 79837 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,315, 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 79837's effective rate of 0.93%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 79837
79837 runs older 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 79837.
Who works in 79837, and how
Work in 79837 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 79837
79837 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 79837 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 79837, month by month
79837 sees roughly 162 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 42° | 32° |
| April | 78° | 61° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 75° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 79837
The nearest airport, Cavern City Air Terminal, is about 63 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 229 miles away.
The best schools in and around 79837
Schools across 79837 average a C−, better than 27% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Red Sands ElD− · 12% proficient
- Benito Martinez ElD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fort Hancock MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Centennial High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Alta Vista Early College High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Cloudcroft HighB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 79837 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
79837 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 79837 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 79837
Is 79837 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 79837 ranks 31,654th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and affordable childcare, and lowest on crime and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 79837 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $76,369. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $51,315 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 79837 safe?
79837 is safer than 1% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,359 per resident a year.
Compare 79837 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 79837. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 79837 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.
79837 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 79837: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 79837: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 79837: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 79837: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
79837 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.