Best PlacesFreestone County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Freestone County, 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.
Freestone County ranks 1,908th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on low taxes, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Freestone County
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.
Freestone County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Freestone County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 81% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 77% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of counties
- Cheap childcare$619 a month, better than 71% of counties
Where Freestone County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 19% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 19% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 19% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Freestone County
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Freestone County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,947, 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 Freestone County's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Freestone County
Freestone County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Freestone County.
Who works in Freestone County, and how
Work in Freestone County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Freestone County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Freestone County.
Is Freestone County growing, and who is moving in?
Freestone County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Limestone County, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Freestone County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Freestone County, month by month
Freestone County sees roughly 103 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 40° |
| April | 78° | 66° | 57° |
| July | 96° | 84° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Freestone County
The nearest airport, Waco Regional, is about 60 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around Freestone County
Schools across Freestone County average a B−, better than 66% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cayuga ElA− · 58% proficient
- Teague ElB+ · 53% proficient
- Dew SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buffalo J HB− · 42% proficient
- Wortham MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- Fairfield J HC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Teague H SA− · 62% proficient
- Buffalo H SB+ · 53% proficient
- Fairfield H SB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Freestone County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Freestone County 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 Freestone County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Freestone County
Is Freestone County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Freestone County ranks 1,908th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, low disaster risk, and big-city access, and lowest on summer heat and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Freestone County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $183,411. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $66,947 median income, cost of living beats 46% of counties.
Is Freestone County safe?
Freestone County is safer than 19% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $562 per resident a year.
Compare Freestone County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Freestone County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Freestone County 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.
Freestone County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Freestone County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Freestone County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Freestone County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Freestone County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Freestone County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.