Best PlacesFourth Ward, Houston, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fourth Ward, 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.
Fourth Ward, Houston ranks 2,111th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Fourth Ward, 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.
Fourth Ward, Houston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fourth Ward, Houston ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
Where Fourth Ward, Houston ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Fourth Ward, Houston
A household needs to earn about $133,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fourth Ward, Houston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $88,979, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Fourth Ward, Houston's effective rate of 1.50%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Fourth Ward, Houston
Fourth Ward, 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 Fourth Ward, Houston.
Who works in Fourth Ward, Houston, and how
Work in Fourth Ward, Houston centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Fourth Ward, Houston
Fourth Ward, Houston has more parkland per resident than 87% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 25 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Fourth Ward, Houston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Fourth Ward, Houston, month by month
Fourth Ward, 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 Fourth Ward, Houston
William P Hobby sits about 10 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 Fourth Ward, Houston
Schools across Fourth Ward, Houston average a C−, better than 35% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Wharton K-8 Dual Language AcademyC+ · 39% proficient
- Gregory-lincoln Ed CtrC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hogg MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Carnegie Vanguard H SA+ · 91% proficient
- Lamar H SB+ · 54% proficient
- Heights H SB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fourth Ward, Houston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fourth Ward, 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 Fourth Ward, Houston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Fourth Ward, Houston
Is Fourth Ward, Houston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fourth Ward, Houston ranks 2,111th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on population health, transit, and state finances, and lowest on air quality and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fourth Ward, Houston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $463,271. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $88,979 median income, cost of living beats 73% of neighborhoods.
Is Fourth Ward, Houston safe?
Fourth Ward, Houston is safer than 27% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $715 per resident a year.
Compare Fourth Ward, Houston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fourth Ward, Houston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fourth Ward, 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.
Fourth Ward, Houston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fourth Ward, Houston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fourth Ward, Houston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fourth Ward, Houston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fourth Ward, Houston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fourth Ward, 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.