Best PlacesMatagorda County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Matagorda County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Matagorda County ranks 2,480th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Matagorda 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 Matagorda County
The parts of Matagorda 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.
Palacios
Prices have run up less, it is quieter, and health outcomes score higher.
Van Vleck
More households have young kids and local pay stretches further.
Bay City
Homes cost less, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Scores across Matagorda County run from about the 3rd to the 55th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Matagorda County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Matagorda County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 158 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 83% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of counties
Where Matagorda County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 7% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Matagorda County
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Matagorda County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,556, 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 Matagorda County's effective rate of 1.32%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Matagorda County
Matagorda County'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 Matagorda County.
Who works in Matagorda County, and how
Work in Matagorda County centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Matagorda County
Matagorda County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of counties. The coast is about 50 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Matagorda County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Matagorda County growing, and who is moving in?
Matagorda County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wharton County, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Matagorda County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Matagorda County, month by month
Matagorda County sees roughly 158 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 55° | 46° |
| April | 80° | 71° | 62° |
| July | 92° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 84° | 72° | 63° |
Flying in and out of Matagorda County
The nearest airport, Victoria Regional, is about 56 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is William P Hobby, about 66 miles away.
The best schools in and around Matagorda County
Schools across Matagorda County average a C+, better than 46% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Markham ElA · 67% proficient
- Port O Connor SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Blessing ElB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tidehaven IntB+ · 48% proficient
- Iago J HB− · 42% proficient
- Bay City J HC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Tidehaven H SB+ · 55% proficient
- Palacios H SB · 48% proficient
- Van Vleck H SB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Matagorda County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Matagorda 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 Matagorda County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Matagorda County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Matagorda County
Is Matagorda County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Matagorda County ranks 2,480th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, low taxes, and big-city access, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Matagorda County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,974. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $61,556 median income, cost of living beats 45% of counties.
Is Matagorda County safe?
Matagorda County is safer than 11% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $664 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Matagorda County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 46. That works out to about 158 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Matagorda County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Palacios, Van Vleck, and Bay City. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Matagorda County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Matagorda County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Matagorda 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.
Matagorda County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Matagorda County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Matagorda County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Matagorda County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Matagorda County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Matagorda 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.