Best PlacesMason County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Mason 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.
Mason County ranks 1,478th 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 Mason 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.
Mason County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mason County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 184 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of counties
- Cheap childcare$518 a month, better than 87% of counties
Where Mason County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Short commute30.7 minutes each way, better than only 13% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Mason County
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mason County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $61,307, 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 Mason County's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 Mason County
Mason County runs older 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 Mason County.
Who works in Mason County, and how
Work in Mason County centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Mason County
Mason County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Mason County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Mason County growing, and who is moving in?
Mason County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Dallas, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Mason County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Mason County, month by month
Mason County sees roughly 184 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 46° | 36° |
| April | 79° | 65° | 55° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 72° |
| October | 80° | 67° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Mason County
The nearest airport, Robert Gray AAF, is about 85 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 96 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mason County
Schools across Mason County average an A−, better than 90% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mason ElB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mason J HB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Mason H SA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mason County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mason 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 Mason County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Mason County
Is Mason County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mason County ranks 1,478th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, civic engagement, and low taxes, and lowest on summer heat and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mason County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $349,022. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $61,307 median income, cost of living beats 18% of counties.
Is Mason County safe?
Mason County is safer than 30% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $511 per resident a year.
Compare Mason County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mason County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mason 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.
Mason County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mason County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mason County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mason County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mason County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mason 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.