Best PlacesMagnolia, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Magnolia, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Magnolia ranks 804th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Magnolia
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 Magnolia
The parts of Magnolia, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first.
Westwood North
Sterling Ridge
High Meadow Ranch
Hazy Hollow Estates
Indigo Lake Estates & Clear Creek Forest
Lake Windcrest
Scores across Magnolia run from about the 18th to the 90th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Magnolia's strengths and weaknesses
Where Magnolia ranks high
- QuietBetter than 96% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 91% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of cities
Where Magnolia ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 3% of cities
- Short commute34.7 minutes each way, better than only 6% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 10% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Magnolia
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Magnolia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $120,459, 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 Magnolia'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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Magnolia
Magnolia'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 Magnolia.
Who works in Magnolia, and how
Work in Magnolia centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Magnolia
Magnolia has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of cities and more parkland per resident than 75% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Magnolia and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Magnolia, month by month
Magnolia sees roughly 110 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| April | 81° | 70° | 61° |
| July | 95° | 84° | 76° |
| October | 84° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of Magnolia
George Bush Intcntl/Houston sits about 24 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.3 million passengers in 2025, with 214 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Magnolia
Schools across Magnolia average a B+, better than 68% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Galatas ElA+ · 81% proficient
- Buckalew ElA+ · 80% proficient
- Deretchin ElA+ · 76% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mccullough J HA+ · 83% proficient
- Bear Branch J HA− · 53% proficient
- Tomball IntB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- The Woodlands H SA+ · 83% proficient
- Tomball H SA · 72% proficient
- Magnolia H SA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Magnolia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Magnolia 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 Magnolia against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Magnolia suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Magnolia
Is Magnolia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Magnolia ranks 804th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on quiet, a strong job market, and fast internet, and lowest on walkability and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Magnolia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $411,150. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $120,459 median income, cost of living beats 88% of cities.
Is Magnolia safe?
Magnolia is safer than 30% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $454 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Magnolia?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 44. That works out to about 110 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in Magnolia?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Westwood North, Sterling Ridge, and High Meadow Ranch. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Magnolia with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Magnolia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Magnolia 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.
Magnolia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Magnolia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Magnolia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Magnolia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Magnolia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Magnolia 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.