Best PlacesDowntown Houston, Houston, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Houston, 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.
Downtown Houston, Houston ranks 3,561st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Houston, 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.
Downtown Houston, Houston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Houston, Houston ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Houston, Houston ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Houston, Houston
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Houston, Houston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $93,152; 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 Downtown Houston, Houston's effective rate of 1.30%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Houston, Houston
Downtown Houston, Houston runs younger 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 Downtown Houston, Houston.
Who works in Downtown Houston, Houston, and how
Work in Downtown Houston, Houston centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in Downtown Houston, Houston
Downtown Houston, Houston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 75% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 25 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Houston, Houston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Houston, Houston, month by month
Downtown Houston, Houston sees roughly 138 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 49. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 55° | 49° |
| April | 80° | 71° | 64° |
| July | 94° | 85° | 79° |
| October | 83° | 74° | 67° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Houston, Houston
William P Hobby sits about 9 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 Downtown Houston, Houston
Schools across Downtown Houston, Houston average a D, better than 16% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Gregory-lincoln Ed CtrC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hogg MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- Baylor College Of Medicine Academy At RyanC+ · 36% proficient
- Baylor College Of Medicine Biotech Academy At RuskC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Kinder H S For Performing And Visual ArtsA+ · 90% proficient
- Heights H SB · 48% proficient
- Northside H SD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Houston, Houston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Houston, 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 Downtown Houston, Houston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Houston, Houston
Is Downtown Houston, Houston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Houston, Houston ranks 3,561st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, state finances, and low taxes, and lowest on noise and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Houston, Houston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $352,914. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $93,152 median income, cost of living beats 80% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Houston, Houston safe?
Downtown Houston, Houston is safer than 5% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,194 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Houston, Houston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Houston, Houston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Houston, 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.
Downtown Houston, Houston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Houston, Houston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Houston, Houston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Houston, Houston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Houston, Houston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Houston, 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.