Best PlacesMartin Luther King, Austin, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Martin Luther King, Austin, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Martin Luther King, Austin ranks 1,431st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Martin Luther King, Austin
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.
Martin Luther King, Austin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Martin Luther King, Austin ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Martin Luther King, Austin ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 36% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Martin Luther King, Austin
A household needs to earn about $152,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Martin Luther King, Austin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $119,566, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Martin Luther King, Austin's effective rate of 1.13%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Martin Luther King, Austin
Martin Luther King, Austin runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Martin Luther King, Austin.
Who works in Martin Luther King, Austin, and how
Work in Martin Luther King, Austin centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Martin Luther King, Austin
Martin Luther King, Austin has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 87% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Martin Luther King, Austin and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Martin Luther King, Austin, month by month
Martin Luther King, Austin sees roughly 160 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 82° | 70° | 60° |
| July | 99° | 86° | 76° |
| October | 85° | 72° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Martin Luther King, Austin
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 6 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 10.7 million passengers in 2025, with 127 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Martin Luther King, Austin
Schools across Martin Luther King, Austin average a C, better than 57% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Maplewood ElB− · 43% proficient
- Shadowglen ElD+ · 24% proficient
- Campbell ElD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kealing MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Idea Health Professions College PreparatoryC− · 30% proficient
- Dailey MiddleC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Lasa H SA+ · 99% proficient
- Manor New Technology HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Eastside Early College H SD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Martin Luther King, Austin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Martin Luther King, Austin 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 Martin Luther King, Austin against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Martin Luther King, Austin
Is Martin Luther King, Austin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Martin Luther King, Austin ranks 1,431st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on what local pay buys, fast internet, and state finances, and lowest on summer heat and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Martin Luther King, Austin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $555,325. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $119,566 median income, cost of living beats 91% of neighborhoods.
Is Martin Luther King, Austin safe?
Martin Luther King, Austin is safer than 44% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $571 per resident a year.
Compare Martin Luther King, Austin with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Martin Luther King, Austin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Martin Luther King, Austin 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.
Martin Luther King, Austin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Martin Luther King, Austin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Martin Luther King, Austin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Martin Luther King, Austin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Martin Luther King, Austin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Martin Luther King, Austin 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.