Best PlacesHood County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hood County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hood County ranks 633rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hood 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 Hood County
The parts of Hood 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.
DeCordova
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Pecan Plantation
It is quieter, though fewer households have young kids.
Tolar
Heat risk is lower and fewer homes sit empty.
Granbury
Streets are more walkable, though prices have run up more.
Scores across Hood County run from about the 16th to the 87th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Hood County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hood County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 94% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 139 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of counties
- Household income$89,804 median, better than 86% of counties
Where Hood County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Short commute32.8 minutes each way, better than only 8% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 16% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 21% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hood County
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hood County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $89,804, 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 Hood County's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 Hood County
Hood County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hood County.
Who works in Hood County, and how
Work in Hood County centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Hood County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hood County.
Is Hood County growing, and who is moving in?
Hood County has grown about 28% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Dallas, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hood County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hood County, month by month
Hood County sees roughly 139 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 45° | 35° |
| April | 79° | 66° | 55° |
| July | 98° | 86° | 76° |
| October | 82° | 68° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Hood County
Dallas-Fort Worth International sits about 53 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 41.3 million passengers in 2025, with 289 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Hood County
Schools across Hood County average a B, better than 78% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Woods SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Acton ElB · 49% proficient
- Mambrino SchoolB · 49% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tolar J HA · 62% proficient
- Acton MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Glen Rose J H SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Glen Rose H SA− · 65% proficient
- Tolar H SA− · 62% proficient
- Premier H S Of GranburyB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hood County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hood 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 Hood County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hood County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hood County
Is Hood County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hood County ranks 633rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, low taxes, and big-city access, and lowest on summer heat and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hood County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $328,115. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $89,804 median income, cost of living beats 86% of counties.
Is Hood County safe?
Yes, Hood County is safer than 75% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $328 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hood County?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 35. That works out to about 139 pleasant days a year, more than 88% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hood County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are DeCordova, Pecan Plantation, and Tolar. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Hood County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hood County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hood 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.
Hood County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hood County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hood County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hood County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hood County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hood 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.