Best Places79938, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 79938, 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.
79938 ranks 10,035th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 79938
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.
79938's strengths and weaknesses
Where 79938 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 174 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 79938 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 79938
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 79938 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,920, 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 79938's effective rate of 1.85%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 79938
79938 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 79938.
Who works in 79938, and how
Work in 79938 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 79938
79938 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 73% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 79938 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 79938, month by month
79938 sees roughly 174 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 100 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 47° | 32° |
| April | 84° | 69° | 52° |
| July | 100° | 87° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 79938
The nearest airport, El Paso International, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 225 miles away.
The best schools in and around 79938
Schools across 79938 average a C+, better than 45% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cactus TrailsC+ · 38% proficient
- James P Butler ElC · 32% proficient
- Sgt Roberto ItuarteC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Idea Edgemere College PreparatoryB+ · 49% proficient
- Ssg Manuel R PuentesB− · 41% proficient
- Sun Ridge MiddleC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Transmountain Early College H SA · 73% proficient
- Clint Isd Early College AcademyA · 68% proficient
- Mission Early College H SA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 79938 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
79938 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 79938 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 79938 suits
Families
Schools land around the 45th percentile and crime safety beats 72%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 79938
Is 79938 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 79938 ranks 10,035th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, the weather, and cell coverage, and lowest on tree cover 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 79938 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $211,627. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $79,920 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 79938 safe?
Yes, 79938 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $302 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 79938?
July highs average about 100 degrees, and January highs near 62 with lows near 32. That works out to about 174 pleasant days a year, more than 95% of zip codes.
Is 79938 good for families?
Schools beat 45% of zip codes, crime safety beats 72%, and childcare runs $564 a month.
Compare 79938 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 79938. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 79938 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.
79938 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 79938: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 79938: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 79938: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 79938: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
79938 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.