Best PlacesArcher County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Archer County, 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.
Archer County ranks 823rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Archer County
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.
Archer County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Archer County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 92% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 91% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 136 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 83% of counties
Where Archer County ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Archer County
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Archer County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,164, 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 Archer County's effective rate of 1.29%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Archer County
Archer County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Archer County.
Who works in Archer County, and how
Work in Archer County centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Archer County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Archer County.
Is Archer County growing, and who is moving in?
Archer County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Wichita Falls, TX metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Archer County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Archer County, month by month
Archer County sees roughly 136 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 42° | 33° |
| April | 78° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 98° | 85° | 74° |
| October | 80° | 66° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Archer County
The nearest airport, Sheppard AFB/Wichita Falls Municipal, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around Archer County
Schools across Archer County average an A−, better than 91% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Windthorst ElA− · 62% proficient
- Archer City ElA− · 60% proficient
- Holliday ElB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Windthorst JhA · 62% proficient
- Holliday MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Olney J HA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Iowa Park H SA · 70% proficient
- Holliday H SA · 68% proficient
- Olney H SA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Archer County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Archer County 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 Archer County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Archer County
Is Archer County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Archer County ranks 823rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, good schools, and low taxes, and lowest on tree cover and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Archer County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $201,524. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $76,164 median income, cost of living beats 74% of counties.
Is Archer County safe?
Archer County is safer than 51% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $416 per resident a year.
Compare Archer County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Archer County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Archer County 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.
Archer County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Archer County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Archer County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Archer County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Archer County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Archer County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.