Best PlacesHutchinson County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hutchinson 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.
Hutchinson County ranks 1,855th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hutchinson 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.
Hutchinson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hutchinson County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 127 pleasant days a year, better than 80% of counties
- Short commute20.3 minutes each way, better than 77% of counties
Where Hutchinson County ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hutchinson County
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hutchinson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,744, 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 Hutchinson County's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hutchinson County
Hutchinson County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Hutchinson County.
Who works in Hutchinson County, and how
Work in Hutchinson County centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Hutchinson County
Hutchinson County has more parkland per resident than 77% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hutchinson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hutchinson County growing, and who is moving in?
Hutchinson County has lost about 10% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Amarillo, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hutchinson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hutchinson County, month by month
Hutchinson County sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 39° | 28° |
| April | 77° | 61° | 48° |
| July | 98° | 84° | 72° |
| October | 79° | 62° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Hutchinson County
The nearest airport, Rick Husband Amarillo International, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Albuquerque International Sunport, about 294 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hutchinson County
Schools across Hutchinson County average a C+, better than 56% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Gus Birdwell ElB · 48% proficient
- Travis ElB− · 40% proficient
- Sanford-fritch ElC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Spearman J HA+ · 70% proficient
- Borger MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Sanford-fritch J HB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Spearman H SA · 68% proficient
- Borger H SB · 46% proficient
- Sanford-fritch H SB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hutchinson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hutchinson 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 Hutchinson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hutchinson County suits
Common questions about living in Hutchinson County
Is Hutchinson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hutchinson County ranks 1,855th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, cell coverage, and low taxes, and lowest on empty homes and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hutchinson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $120,132. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $75,744 median income, cost of living beats 68% of counties.
Is Hutchinson County safe?
Hutchinson County is safer than 19% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $574 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hutchinson County?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 28. That works out to about 127 pleasant days a year, more than 80% of counties.
Is Hutchinson County good for families?
Schools beat 56% of counties, crime safety beats 19%, and childcare runs $678 a month.
Compare Hutchinson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hutchinson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hutchinson 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.
Hutchinson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hutchinson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hutchinson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hutchinson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hutchinson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hutchinson 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.