Best PlacesBuda, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Buda, 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.
Buda ranks 382nd of 2,098 U.S. cities 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 Buda
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.
Buda's strengths and weaknesses
Where Buda ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of cities
Where Buda ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of cities
- Short commute33.1 minutes each way, better than only 11% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Buda
A household needs to earn about $124,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Buda home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $117,231; 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 Buda's effective rate of 1.68%, 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 Buda
Buda 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 Buda.
Who works in Buda, and how
Work in Buda centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Buda
Buda has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of cities and more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Buda and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Buda, month by month
Buda sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 83° | 68° | 56° |
| July | 99° | 85° | 74° |
| October | 86° | 71° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Buda
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 13 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 Buda
Schools across Buda average a B, better than 63% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Carpenter Hill ElA · 62% proficient
- Elm Grove ElA− · 61% proficient
- Walnut Springs ElB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Olympia HillsA+ · 75% proficient
- Dripping Springs MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- R C Barton MiddleA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Dripping Springs H SA− · 65% proficient
- Moe And Gene Johnson H SB+ · 55% proficient
- Jack C Hays H SB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Buda school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Buda 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 Buda against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Buda suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of cities and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Buda
Is Buda a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Buda ranks 382nd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a strong job market, few empty homes, and what local pay buys, and lowest on tree cover and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Buda expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $422,785. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $117,231 median income, cost of living beats 94% of cities.
Is Buda safe?
Yes, Buda is safer than 93% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $239 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Buda?
July highs average about 99 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 38. That works out to about 131 pleasant days a year, more than 75% of cities.
Is Buda good for families?
Schools beat 63% of cities, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $929 a month.
Compare Buda with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Buda. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Buda 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.
Buda detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Buda: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Buda: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Buda: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Buda: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Buda 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.