Best PlacesGrimes County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Grimes County, 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.
Grimes County ranks 1,792nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Grimes 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.
Grimes County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Grimes County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 94% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 124 pleasant days a year, better than 77% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of counties
Where Grimes County ranks low
- Short commute35.8 minutes each way, better than only 3% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 14% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Grimes County
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Grimes County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,332, 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 Grimes County's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 Grimes County
Grimes 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 Grimes County.
Who works in Grimes County, and how
Work in Grimes County centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Grimes County
Grimes County has less parkland per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Grimes County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Grimes County growing, and who is moving in?
Grimes County has grown about 24% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Houston, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Grimes County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Grimes County, month by month
Grimes County sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 64, 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 | 64° | 52° | 44° |
| April | 81° | 70° | 60° |
| July | 96° | 85° | 76° |
| October | 84° | 72° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Grimes County
The nearest airport, Easterwood Field, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is George Bush Intcntl/Houston, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around Grimes County
Schools across Grimes County average a C+, better than 51% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Anderson-shiro ElB+ · 53% proficient
- Lincoln ElB · 50% proficient
- Iola ElB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Madisonville J HA− · 55% proficient
- Navasota J HC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Madisonville H SA− · 60% proficient
- Anderson-shiro Jr/sr H SB+ · 56% proficient
- Iola H SB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Grimes County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Grimes 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 Grimes County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Grimes County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Grimes County
Is Grimes County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Grimes County ranks 1,792nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, big-city access, 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 Grimes County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $245,737. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $78,332 median income, cost of living beats 63% of counties.
Is Grimes County safe?
Grimes County is safer than 49% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $434 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Grimes County?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 44. That works out to about 124 pleasant days a year, more than 77% of counties.
Is Grimes County good for families?
Schools beat 51% of counties, crime safety beats 49%, and childcare runs $707 a month.
Compare Grimes County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Grimes County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Grimes 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.
Grimes County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Grimes County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Grimes County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Grimes County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Grimes County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Grimes 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.