Best PlacesElmwood Area, Abilene, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elmwood Area, Abilene, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Elmwood Area, Abilene ranks 4,287th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Elmwood Area, Abilene
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.
Elmwood Area, Abilene's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elmwood Area, Abilene ranks high
- Cheap childcare$571 a month, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Short commute15.2 minutes each way, better than 97% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
Where Elmwood Area, Abilene ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Elmwood Area, Abilene
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elmwood Area, Abilene home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,331, 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 Elmwood Area, Abilene's effective rate of 1.40%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Elmwood Area, Abilene
Elmwood Area, Abilene runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Elmwood Area, Abilene.
Who works in Elmwood Area, Abilene, and how
Work in Elmwood Area, Abilene centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Elmwood Area, Abilene
Elmwood Area, Abilene has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Elmwood Area, Abilene and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Elmwood Area, Abilene, month by month
Elmwood Area, Abilene sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 44° | 33° |
| April | 80° | 65° | 53° |
| July | 98° | 85° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 67° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Elmwood Area, Abilene
The nearest airport, Abilene Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 162 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elmwood Area, Abilene
Schools across Elmwood Area, Abilene average a C, better than 41% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
Top middle schools
- Clack MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Madison MiddleC− · 29% proficient
- Mann MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Abilene H SB− · 41% proficient
- Cooper H SC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elmwood Area, Abilene school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elmwood Area, Abilene 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 Elmwood Area, Abilene against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Elmwood Area, Abilene
Is Elmwood Area, Abilene a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elmwood Area, Abilene ranks 4,287th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, clean air, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elmwood Area, Abilene expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,014. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $62,331 median income, cost of living beats 51% of neighborhoods.
Is Elmwood Area, Abilene safe?
Elmwood Area, Abilene is safer than 37% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $634 per resident a year.
Compare Elmwood Area, Abilene with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elmwood Area, Abilene. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elmwood Area, Abilene 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.
Elmwood Area, Abilene detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elmwood Area, Abilene: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elmwood Area, Abilene: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elmwood Area, Abilene: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elmwood Area, Abilene: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elmwood Area, Abilene 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.