Best PlacesElk, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elk, 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.
Elk ranks 18,358th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Elk
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.
Elk's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elk ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 92% of towns
- QuietBetter than 89% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 136 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 81% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 81% of towns
Where Elk ranks low
- Short commute39.0 minutes each way, better than only 6% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 12% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Elk
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elk home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $92,177, 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 Elk's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 Elk
Elk runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Elk.
Who works in Elk, and how
Work in Elk centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Elk
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Elk.
What the weather is like in Elk, month by month
Elk sees roughly 136 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 78° | 69° | 57° |
| July | 96° | 88° | 75° |
| October | 82° | 71° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Elk
The nearest airport, Waco Regional, is about 19 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 84 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elk
Schools across Elk average a B−, better than 54% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Axtell ElB · 45% proficient
- Hallsburg SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Mart ElC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Axtell Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Axtell H SB · 48% proficient
- Mart H SB− · 42% proficient
- Riesel SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elk school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elk 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 Elk against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Elk
Is Elk a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elk ranks 18,358th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, quiet, and the weather, and lowest on long commutes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elk expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $211,754. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $92,177 median income, cost of living beats 81% of towns.
Is Elk safe?
Elk is safer than 41% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $375 per resident a year.
Compare Elk with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elk. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elk 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.
Elk detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elk: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elk: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elk: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elk: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elk 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.