Best PlacesBlanco County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Blanco County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Blanco County ranks 952nd of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Blanco 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.
Blanco County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Blanco County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 157 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of counties
- Household income$90,345 median, better than 87% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 86% of counties
Where Blanco County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of counties
- Short commute29.4 minutes each way, better than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Blanco County
A household needs to earn about $133,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Blanco County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,345, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Blanco County's effective rate of 1.03%, 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 Blanco County
Blanco 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 Blanco County.
Who works in Blanco County, and how
Work in Blanco County centers on construction and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Blanco County
Blanco County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of counties and more parkland per resident than 98% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Blanco County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Blanco County growing, and who is moving in?
Blanco County has grown about 24% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from San Antonio, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Blanco County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Blanco County, month by month
Blanco County sees roughly 157 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 49° | 39° |
| April | 82° | 68° | 58° |
| July | 97° | 85° | 74° |
| October | 84° | 70° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Blanco County
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 43 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 10.7 million passengers in 2025, with 127 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Blanco County
Schools across Blanco County average a B, better than 78% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Blanco ElB · 45% proficient
- Lyndon B Johnson ElB− · 42% proficient
- Fredericksburg ElB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fredericksburg MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Lyndon B Johnson MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Blanco MiddleB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Lyndon B Johnson H SA− · 62% proficient
- Fredericksburg H SB+ · 51% proficient
- Blanco H SB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Blanco County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Blanco 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 Blanco County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Blanco County
Is Blanco County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Blanco County ranks 952nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, low taxes, and civic engagement, and lowest on summer heat and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Blanco County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $491,655. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $90,345 median income, cost of living beats 78% of counties.
Is Blanco County safe?
Blanco County is safer than 30% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $476 per resident a year.
Compare Blanco County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Blanco County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Blanco 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.
Blanco County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Blanco County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Blanco County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Blanco County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Blanco County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Blanco 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.