Best PlacesHale County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hale 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.
Hale County ranks 2,504th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hale 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.
Hale County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hale County ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 143 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of counties
- Short commute19.8 minutes each way, better than 80% of counties
Where Hale County ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 3% of counties
- Household income$53,486 median, better than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hale County
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hale County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,486, 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 Hale County's effective rate of 1.31%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hale County
Hale County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hale County.
Who works in Hale County, and how
Work in Hale County centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Hale County
Hale County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 90% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hale County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hale County growing, and who is moving in?
Hale County has lost about 7% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lubbock, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hale County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hale County, month by month
Hale County sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 36° | 24° |
| April | 75° | 57° | 43° |
| July | 93° | 79° | 66° |
| October | 75° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Hale County
The nearest airport, Lubbock Preston Smith International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 284 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hale County
Schools across Hale County average a C, better than 41% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Abernathy ElB · 47% proficient
- Hp Webb ElB− · 40% proficient
- Akin ElB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Abernathy MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Lockney J HC− · 30% proficient
- Olton J HC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Plainview H SB+ · 57% proficient
- Abernathy H SB · 48% proficient
- Hale Center H SC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hale County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hale 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 Hale County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hale County suits
Common questions about living in Hale County
Is Hale County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hale County ranks 2,504th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cell coverage, a stable housing market, and low taxes, and lowest on thin health care access and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hale County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $139,367. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $53,486 median income, cost of living beats 22% of counties.
Is Hale County safe?
Hale County is safer than 14% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $586 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hale County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 24. That works out to about 143 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of counties.
Is Hale County good for families?
Schools beat 41% of counties, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $672 a month.
Compare Hale County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hale County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hale 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.
Hale County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hale County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hale County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hale County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hale County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hale 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.