Best PlacesEast Houston, Houston, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East 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.
East Houston, Houston ranks 5,831st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in East 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.
East Houston, Houston's strengths and weaknesses
Where East Houston, Houston ranks high
- QuietBetter than 93% 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
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
Where East Houston, Houston ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Household income$41,975 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in East Houston, Houston
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Houston, Houston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $41,975, 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 East Houston, Houston's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in East Houston, Houston
East Houston, Houston 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 East Houston, Houston.
Who works in East Houston, Houston, and how
Work in East Houston, Houston centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in East Houston, Houston
The coast is about 27 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across East Houston, Houston, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in East Houston, Houston, month by month
East Houston, Houston sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 54° | 43° |
| April | 82° | 70° | 59° |
| July | 96° | 85° | 76° |
| October | 86° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of East Houston, Houston
George Bush Intcntl/Houston sits about 11 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.3 million passengers in 2025, with 214 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around East Houston, Houston
Schools across East Houston, Houston average a D−, better than 9% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Tice ElC− · 26% proficient
- Marshall ElD− · 13% proficient
- Kipp Legacy PreparatoryD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cobb 6th Grade CampusC− · 29% proficient
- Kipp Polaris Academy For BoysD · 20% proficient
- C E King MiddleD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- North Shore Senior HighC+ · 39% proficient
- C E King H SC− · 27% proficient
- Kipp Northeast College PreparatoryC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every East Houston, Houston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
East 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 East Houston, Houston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in East Houston, Houston
Is East Houston, Houston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Houston, Houston ranks 5,831st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on quiet, state finances, and low taxes, and lowest on air quality and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Houston, Houston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $144,753. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $41,975 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is East Houston, Houston safe?
East Houston, Houston is safer than 19% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $821 per resident a year.
Compare East Houston, Houston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Houston, Houston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East 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.
East Houston, Houston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Houston, Houston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Houston, Houston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Houston, Houston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Houston, Houston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East 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.