Best PlacesBig Wells, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Big Wells, 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.
Big Wells ranks 49,169th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Big Wells
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.
Big Wells' strengths and weaknesses
Where Big Wells ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 193 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 92% of towns
- BikingBetter than 88% of towns
Where Big Wells ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Big Wells
A household needs to earn about $22,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Big Wells home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $44,612, 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 Big Wells' effective rate of 1.05%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Big Wells
Big Wells 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 Big Wells.
Who works in Big Wells, and how
Work in Big Wells centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Big Wells
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Big Wells.
What the weather is like in Big Wells, month by month
Big Wells sees roughly 193 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 71, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 71° | 56° | 45° |
| April | 89° | 74° | 64° |
| July | 102° | 88° | 77° |
| October | 89° | 75° | 65° |
Flying in and out of Big Wells
The nearest airport, Laredo International, is about 72 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Big Wells
Schools across Big Wells average a D, better than 5% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Dilley ElD+ · 22% proficient
- Zavala ElD− · 14% proficient
- Carrizo Springs ElD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carrizo Springs IntD · 22% proficient
- Sterling H Fly Jr H SD− · 16% proficient
- Mary Harper MiddleF · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Dilley H SD · 22% proficient
- Carrizo Springs H SD · 18% proficient
- Crystal City H SD− · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Big Wells school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Big Wells 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 Big Wells against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Big Wells
Is Big Wells a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Big Wells ranks 49,169th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and cell coverage, and lowest on summer heat and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Big Wells expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $81,800. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $44,612 median income, cost of living beats 11% of towns.
Is Big Wells safe?
Big Wells is safer than 3% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $915 per resident a year.
Compare Big Wells with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Big Wells. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Big Wells 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.
Big Wells detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Big Wells: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Big Wells: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Big Wells: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Big Wells: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Big Wells 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.