Best PlacesClear Lake, Houston, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Clear Lake, Houston, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Clear Lake, Houston ranks 1,553rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Clear Lake, Houston
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.
Clear Lake, Houston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clear Lake, Houston ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$842 a month, better than 83% of neighborhoods
Where Clear Lake, Houston ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Clear Lake, Houston
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clear Lake, Houston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $108,769, 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 Clear Lake, Houston's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 Clear Lake, Houston
Clear Lake, Houston's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Clear Lake, Houston.
Who works in Clear Lake, Houston, and how
Work in Clear Lake, Houston centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Clear Lake, Houston
Clear Lake, Houston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 11 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Clear Lake, Houston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Clear Lake, Houston, month by month
Clear Lake, Houston sees roughly 141 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 48. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 55° | 48° |
| April | 79° | 71° | 63° |
| July | 93° | 84° | 78° |
| October | 82° | 73° | 66° |
Flying in and out of Clear Lake, Houston
William P Hobby sits about 11 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 6.8 million passengers in 2025, with 101 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Clear Lake, Houston
Schools across Clear Lake, Houston average a B+, better than 80% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Falcon Pass ElB+ · 54% proficient
- G W RobinsonB+ · 53% proficient
- Brookwood ElB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fairmont J HA+ · 69% proficient
- Westbrook IntA+ · 69% proficient
- Seabrook IntA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Clear Springs H SA− · 65% proficient
- Clear Lake H SA− · 64% proficient
- Clear Falls H SA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clear Lake, Houston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clear Lake, Houston 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 Clear Lake, Houston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Clear Lake, Houston
Is Clear Lake, Houston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clear Lake, Houston ranks 1,553rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, what local pay buys, and state finances, and lowest on disaster risk and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Clear Lake, Houston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $335,235. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $108,769 median income, cost of living beats 91% of neighborhoods.
Is Clear Lake, Houston safe?
Yes, Clear Lake, Houston is safer than 74% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $429 per resident a year.
Compare Clear Lake, Houston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clear Lake, Houston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clear Lake, Houston 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.
Clear Lake, Houston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clear Lake, Houston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clear Lake, Houston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clear Lake, Houston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clear Lake, Houston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clear Lake, Houston 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.