Best PlacesHidalgo County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hidalgo County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hidalgo County ranks 2,737th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on civic engagement and thin health care access. It does better on the weather, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Hidalgo 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.
The best areas in Hidalgo County
The parts of Hidalgo County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Edinburg
More adults hold degrees, health outcomes score higher, and local pay stretches further.
Mission & McAllen
Fewer households have young kids and heat risk is higher.
Hidalgo
Homes cost more and crime runs higher.
San Juan
Streets are more walkable, though it is noisier.
Pharr
Scores close to San Juan, except that schools score lower here.
Alton, Penitas & Sullivan City
Fewer homes sit empty.
Weslaco, Donna & Mercedes
Scores close to Alton, Penitas & Sullivan City, except that health care is easier to reach here.
Muniz
Biking is worse.
Nurillo, Edcouch & Elsa
Incomes run lower.
Scores across Hidalgo County run from about the 1st to the 89th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Hidalgo County's strengths and weaknesses
Hidalgo County ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. The weather is the standout, in the top 3% of counties. Cell coverage and low taxes follow.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: civic engagement, thin health care access, and education levels all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where Hidalgo County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 175 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of counties
Where Hidalgo County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hidalgo County
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hidalgo County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,206, 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 Hidalgo County's effective rate of 1.60%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hidalgo County
Hidalgo County 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 Hidalgo County.
Who works in Hidalgo County, and how
Work in Hidalgo County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Hidalgo County
Hidalgo County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of counties and less late-night activity than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hidalgo County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hidalgo County growing, and who is moving in?
Hidalgo County has grown about 10% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Houston, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hidalgo County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hidalgo County, month by month
Hidalgo County sees roughly 175 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 74, with lows near 52. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74° | 62° | 52° |
| April | 90° | 77° | 69° |
| July | 99° | 87° | 78° |
| October | 90° | 78° | 69° |
Flying in and out of Hidalgo County
The nearest airport, McAllen International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 228 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hidalgo County
Schools across Hidalgo County average a C−, better than 26% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Milam ElA− · 62% proficient
- Gonzalez ElB+ · 55% proficient
- Canterbury ElB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Texas Isd Preparatory AcademyA+ · 72% proficient
- Morris MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- B L Gray J HB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Achieve Early College H SA+ · 80% proficient
- South Texas Isd Science AcademyA · 70% proficient
- South Texas Isd Health ProfessionsA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hidalgo County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hidalgo County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hidalgo County
Is Hidalgo County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hidalgo County ranks 2,737th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and low taxes, and lowest on civic engagement and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hidalgo County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $151,216. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $58,206 median income, cost of living beats 27% of counties.
Is Hidalgo County safe?
Hidalgo County is safer than 25% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $514 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hidalgo County?
July highs average about 99 degrees, and January highs near 74 with lows near 52. That works out to about 175 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hidalgo County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Edinburg, Mission & McAllen, and Hidalgo. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Hidalgo County good for families?
Schools beat 26% of counties, crime safety beats 25%, and childcare runs $664 a month.
Is Hidalgo County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 27% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 80% of counties. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Hidalgo County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hidalgo County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hidalgo 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.
Hidalgo County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hidalgo County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hidalgo County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hidalgo County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hidalgo County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hidalgo 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.