Best PlacesGreenwood Forest, Houston, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Greenwood Forest, 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.
Greenwood Forest, Houston ranks 4,085th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. Long commutes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on quiet.
The best neighborhoods in Greenwood Forest, 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.
Greenwood Forest, Houston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Greenwood Forest, Houston ranks high
- QuietBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where Greenwood Forest, Houston ranks low
- Short commute36.5 minutes each way, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Greenwood Forest, Houston
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Greenwood Forest, Houston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,182, 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 Greenwood Forest, Houston's effective rate of 1.61%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Greenwood Forest, Houston
Greenwood Forest, Houston runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Greenwood Forest, Houston.
Who works in Greenwood Forest, Houston, and how
Work in Greenwood Forest, Houston centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Greenwood Forest, Houston
The coast is about 45 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Greenwood Forest, Houston, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Greenwood Forest, Houston, month by month
Greenwood Forest, Houston sees roughly 112 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| April | 81° | 70° | 61° |
| July | 95° | 84° | 76° |
| October | 84° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of Greenwood Forest, Houston
George Bush Intcntl/Houston sits about 10 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.3 million passengers in 2025, with 214 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Greenwood Forest, Houston
Schools across Greenwood Forest, Houston average a C−, better than 28% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Klenk ElC− · 27% proficient
- Greenwood Forest ElC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wunderlich IntC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Klein Forest H SC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Greenwood Forest, Houston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Greenwood Forest, 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 Greenwood Forest, Houston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Greenwood Forest, Houston
Is Greenwood Forest, Houston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Greenwood Forest, Houston ranks 4,085th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on quiet, state finances, and low taxes, 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 Greenwood Forest, Houston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $267,394. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $79,182 median income, cost of living beats 67% of neighborhoods.
Is Greenwood Forest, Houston safe?
Greenwood Forest, Houston is safer than 42% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $633 per resident a year.
Compare Greenwood Forest, Houston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Greenwood Forest, Houston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Greenwood Forest, 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.
Greenwood Forest, Houston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Greenwood Forest, Houston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Greenwood Forest, Houston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Greenwood Forest, Houston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Greenwood Forest, Houston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Greenwood Forest, 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.