Best PlacesGreater Fifth Ward, Houston, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Greater Fifth 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.
Greater Fifth Ward, Houston ranks 5,855th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. Air quality pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on cell coverage.
The best neighborhoods in Greater Fifth 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.
Greater Fifth Ward, Houston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Greater Fifth Ward, Houston ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% 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
- TransitBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where Greater Fifth Ward, Houston ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Household income$38,315 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Greater Fifth Ward, Houston
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Greater Fifth Ward, Houston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $38,315, 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 Greater Fifth Ward, Houston's effective rate of 1.06%, 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 Greater Fifth Ward, Houston
Greater Fifth Ward, Houston runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Greater Fifth Ward, Houston.
Who works in Greater Fifth Ward, Houston, and how
Work in Greater Fifth Ward, Houston centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Greater Fifth Ward, Houston
The coast is about 26 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Greater Fifth Ward, Houston, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Greater Fifth Ward, Houston, month by month
Greater Fifth 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 Greater Fifth 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 Greater Fifth Ward, Houston
Schools across Greater Fifth Ward, Houston average a D−, better than 8% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Atherton ElF · 10% proficient
- Henderson N ElF · 7% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mcreynolds MiddleF · 12% proficient
- Fleming MiddleF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Yes Prep - 5th WardC · 31% proficient
- Mickey Leland College Prep Acad For Young MenC− · 28% proficient
- Northside H SD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Greater Fifth Ward, Houston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Greater Fifth 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 Greater Fifth Ward, Houston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Greater Fifth Ward, Houston
Is Greater Fifth Ward, Houston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Greater Fifth Ward, Houston ranks 5,855th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, 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 Greater Fifth Ward, Houston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $200,794. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $38,315 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Greater Fifth Ward, Houston safe?
Greater Fifth Ward, Houston is safer than 11% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $975 per resident a year.
Compare Greater Fifth Ward, Houston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Greater Fifth Ward, Houston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Greater Fifth 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.
Greater Fifth Ward, Houston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Greater Fifth Ward, Houston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Greater Fifth Ward, Houston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Greater Fifth Ward, Houston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Greater Fifth Ward, Houston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Greater Fifth 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.