Best PlacesLufkin, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lufkin, 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.
Lufkin ranks 1,700th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lufkin
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.
Lufkin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lufkin ranks high
- Cheap childcare$592 a month, better than 96% of cities
- Short commute18.9 minutes each way, better than 91% of cities
- QuietBetter than 90% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of cities
Where Lufkin ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 6% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 13% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Lufkin
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lufkin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,857, 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 Lufkin's effective rate of 1.23%, 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 Lufkin
Lufkin's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lufkin.
Who works in Lufkin, and how
Work in Lufkin centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Lufkin
Lufkin has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of cities and more parkland per resident than 80% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lufkin and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lufkin, month by month
Lufkin sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 49° | 40° |
| April | 79° | 67° | 57° |
| July | 94° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Lufkin
The nearest airport, East Texas Regional, is about 73 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is George Bush Intcntl/Houston, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lufkin
Schools across Lufkin average a C+, better than 45% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Brandon ElB · 48% proficient
- Sarah Strinden ElB · 45% proficient
- Huntington ElB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hudson MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Woden J HA− · 58% proficient
- Dr Terry Robbins MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Hudson H SA− · 65% proficient
- Pineywoods Community Academy H SB+ · 57% proficient
- Lufkin H SB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lufkin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lufkin 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 Lufkin against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Lufkin suits
Common questions about living in Lufkin
Is Lufkin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lufkin ranks 1,700th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and quiet, and lowest on health outcomes and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lufkin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $182,627. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $63,857 median income, cost of living beats 17% of cities.
Is Lufkin safe?
Lufkin is safer than 32% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $474 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lufkin?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 40. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 52% of cities.
Is Lufkin good for families?
Schools beat 45% of cities, crime safety beats 32%, and childcare runs $592 a month.
Compare Lufkin with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lufkin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lufkin 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.
Lufkin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lufkin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lufkin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lufkin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lufkin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lufkin 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.
- 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.