Best PlacesCochran County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cochran County, 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.
Cochran County ranks 2,888th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Cochran 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.
Cochran County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cochran County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 145 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- QuietBetter than 88% of counties
Where Cochran County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of counties
- School gradeD−, better than only 3% of counties
- Household income$45,845 median, better than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cochran County
A household needs to earn about $15,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cochran County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $45,845, 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 Cochran County's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cochran County
Cochran County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Cochran County.
Who works in Cochran County, and how
Work in Cochran County centers on agriculture & forestry and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Cochran County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Cochran County.
Is Cochran County growing, and who is moving in?
Cochran County has lost about 12% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Eddy County, NM.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cochran County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cochran County, month by month
Cochran County sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 37° | 22° |
| April | 78° | 58° | 40° |
| July | 95° | 79° | 64° |
| October | 78° | 58° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Cochran County
The nearest airport, Lubbock Preston Smith International, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 239 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cochran County
Schools across Cochran County average a D−, better than 3% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Sundown ElB · 50% proficient
- Dora ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sundown J HA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Dora HighA− · 65% proficient
- Sundown H SB+ · 53% proficient
- Tatum HighD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cochran County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cochran 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 Cochran County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Cochran County
Is Cochran County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cochran County ranks 2,888th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, clean air, and the weather, and lowest on education levels and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cochran County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $56,794. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $45,845 median income, cost of living beats 5% of counties.
Is Cochran County safe?
Cochran County is safer than 12% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $609 per resident a year.
Compare Cochran County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cochran County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cochran 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.
Cochran County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cochran County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cochran County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cochran County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cochran County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cochran 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.