Best PlacesBandera County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Bandera 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.
Bandera County ranks 1,525th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Bandera 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.
Bandera County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bandera County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 94% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 141 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 83% of counties
Where Bandera County ranks low
- Short commute41.0 minutes each way, better than only 1% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 4% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 7% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Bandera County
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bandera County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $75,989; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Bandera County's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Bandera County
Bandera County 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 Bandera County.
Who works in Bandera County, and how
Work in Bandera County centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, 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 Bandera County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Bandera County.
Is Bandera County growing, and who is moving in?
Bandera County has grown about 10% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the San Antonio, TX metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Bandera County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Bandera County, month by month
Bandera County sees roughly 141 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 48° | 36° |
| April | 81° | 67° | 55° |
| July | 95° | 82° | 72° |
| October | 82° | 68° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Bandera County
San Antonio International sits about 36 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 87 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Bandera County
Schools across Bandera County average a C+, better than 50% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mcandrew ElB+ · 53% proficient
- Hill Country ElB− · 41% proficient
- Alkek ElC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- Boerne Middle SouthA · 64% proficient
- Folks MiddleB · 45% proficient
- Bandera MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Boerne - Samuel V Champion H SA · 75% proficient
- Harlan H SB · 48% proficient
- Bandera H SC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bandera County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bandera 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 Bandera County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Bandera County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Bandera County
Is Bandera County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bandera County ranks 1,525th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, low taxes, and the weather, and lowest on long commutes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bandera County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $304,807. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $75,989 median income, cost of living beats 61% of counties.
Is Bandera County safe?
Bandera County is safer than 43% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $448 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Bandera County?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 36. That works out to about 141 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of counties.
Is Bandera County good for families?
Schools beat 50% of counties, crime safety beats 43%, and childcare runs $783 a month.
Compare Bandera County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bandera County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bandera 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.
Bandera County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bandera County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bandera County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bandera County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bandera County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bandera 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.