Best PlacesCaldwell County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Caldwell 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.
Caldwell County ranks 1,865th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Caldwell 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.
The best areas in Caldwell County
The parts of Caldwell County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Martindale
More adults hold degrees, it is quieter, and crime runs lower.
Lockhart
Fewer households have young kids and heat risk is higher.
Dale & Lytton Springs
Commutes are longer and streets are more car-dependent.
Luling
Prices have run up less, though more homes sit empty.
Scores across Caldwell County run from about the 6th to the 69th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Caldwell County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Caldwell County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 149 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of counties
Where Caldwell County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Short commute34.3 minutes each way, better than only 5% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Caldwell County
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Caldwell County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,895, 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 Caldwell County's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 Caldwell County
Caldwell County 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 Caldwell County.
Who works in Caldwell County, and how
Work in Caldwell County centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Caldwell County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Caldwell County.
Is Caldwell County growing, and who is moving in?
Caldwell County has grown about 32% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Austin, TX metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Caldwell County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Caldwell County, month by month
Caldwell County sees roughly 149 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 51° | 41° |
| April | 82° | 69° | 58° |
| July | 97° | 84° | 74° |
| October | 85° | 71° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Caldwell County
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 23 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 Caldwell County
Schools across Caldwell County average a C−, better than 22% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Gonzales North AvenueC+ · 37% proficient
- Clear Fork ElC+ · 36% proficient
- Plum Creek ElC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dr T C Mccormick Jr MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Lockhart J HD+ · 27% proficient
- Cedar Creek MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Lockhart H SC+ · 39% proficient
- Trinity Charter Schools - Lockhart CampusC+ · 38% proficient
- Gonzales H SC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Caldwell County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Caldwell 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 Caldwell County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Caldwell County suits
Common questions about living in Caldwell County
Is Caldwell County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Caldwell County ranks 1,865th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, few empty homes, and the weather, and lowest on civic engagement and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Caldwell County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,076. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $72,895 median income, cost of living beats 66% of counties.
Is Caldwell County safe?
Caldwell County is safer than 55% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $390 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Caldwell County?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 41. That works out to about 149 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Caldwell County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Martindale, Lockhart, and Dale & Lytton Springs. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Caldwell County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Caldwell County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Caldwell 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.
Caldwell County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Caldwell County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Caldwell County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Caldwell County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Caldwell County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Caldwell 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.