Best PlacesHouston County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Houston 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.
Houston County ranks 2,459th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Summer heat pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Houston 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.
Houston County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Houston County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 85% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 76% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 122 pleasant days a year, better than 76% of counties
Where Houston County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Houston County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Houston County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,552, 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 Houston County's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 Houston County
Houston County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Houston County.
Who works in Houston County, and how
Work in Houston County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Houston County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Houston County.
Is Houston County growing, and who is moving in?
Houston County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Houston, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Houston County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Houston County, month by month
Houston County sees roughly 122 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 39° |
| April | 78° | 66° | 57° |
| July | 94° | 83° | 73° |
| October | 82° | 68° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Houston County
The nearest airport, Easterwood Field, is about 72 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is George Bush Intcntl/Houston, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around Houston County
Schools across Houston County average a C+, better than 51% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Elkhart IntB− · 43% proficient
- Lovelady ElC+ · 38% proficient
- Groveton ElC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Elkhart MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Grapeland J HC+ · 37% proficient
- Alto MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Hudson H SA− · 65% proficient
- Elkhart H SA− · 60% proficient
- Lovelady J H H SB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Houston County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Houston 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 Houston County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Houston County suits
Common questions about living in Houston County
Is Houston County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Houston County ranks 2,459th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, a stable housing market, and tree cover, and lowest on summer heat and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Houston County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,634. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $62,552 median income, cost of living beats 29% of counties.
Is Houston County safe?
Houston County is safer than 10% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $662 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Houston County?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 39. That works out to about 122 pleasant days a year, more than 76% of counties.
Is Houston County good for families?
Schools beat 51% of counties, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $592 a month.
Compare Houston County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Houston County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Houston 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.
Houston County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Houston County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Houston County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Houston County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Houston County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Houston 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.