Best PlacesJim Wells County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jim Wells 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.
Jim Wells County ranks 2,601st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Jim Wells 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 Jim Wells County
The parts of Jim Wells 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.
Orange Grove
It is quieter, schools score higher, and incomes run higher.
Premont
More households have young kids and local pay stretches further.
Alice
Streets are more walkable and homes cost less.
Scores across Jim Wells County run from about the 4th to the 57th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Jim Wells County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jim Wells County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 188 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 79% of counties
Where Jim Wells County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jim Wells County
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jim Wells County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,997, 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 Jim Wells County's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 Jim Wells County
Jim Wells 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 Jim Wells County.
Who works in Jim Wells County, and how
Work in Jim Wells County centers on health care & social 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 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Jim Wells County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Jim Wells County.
Is Jim Wells County growing, and who is moving in?
Jim Wells County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Houston, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jim Wells County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jim Wells County, month by month
Jim Wells County sees roughly 188 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 71, with lows near 47. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 71° | 57° | 47° |
| April | 87° | 73° | 64° |
| July | 98° | 85° | 74° |
| October | 88° | 74° | 64° |
Flying in and out of Jim Wells County
The nearest airport, Corpus Christi International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 125 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jim Wells County
Schools across Jim Wells County average a D+, better than 17% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Orange Grove ElB · 49% proficient
- La Gloria ElC− · 28% proficient
- Collins-parr ElC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orange Grove J HB− · 42% proficient
- Bernarda Jaime J HD+ · 26% proficient
- Adams MiddleD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Orange Grove H SB+ · 53% proficient
- San Diego H SC+ · 37% proficient
- Alice H SC− · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jim Wells County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jim Wells 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 Jim Wells County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jim Wells County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Jim Wells County
Is Jim Wells County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jim Wells County ranks 2,601st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, low taxes, and a stable housing market, and lowest on summer heat 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 Jim Wells County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $154,623. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $58,997 median income, cost of living beats 36% of counties.
Is Jim Wells County safe?
Jim Wells County is safer than 18% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $574 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jim Wells County?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 71 with lows near 47. That works out to about 188 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Jim Wells County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Orange Grove, Premont, and Alice. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Jim Wells County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jim Wells County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jim Wells 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.
Jim Wells County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jim Wells County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jim Wells County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jim Wells County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jim Wells County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jim Wells 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.