Best PlacesMatagorda, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Matagorda, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Matagorda ranks 44,770th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Matagorda
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.
Matagorda's strengths and weaknesses
Where Matagorda ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 160 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 92% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 82% of towns
Where Matagorda ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Household income$46,721 median, better than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Matagorda
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Matagorda home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $46,721, 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 Matagorda's effective rate of 0.94%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Matagorda
Matagorda 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 Matagorda.
Who works in Matagorda, and how
Work in Matagorda centers on utilities and other services. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Matagorda
The coast is about 18 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Matagorda, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Matagorda, month by month
Matagorda sees roughly 160 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 47. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 56° | 47° |
| April | 80° | 72° | 64° |
| July | 92° | 85° | 80° |
| October | 84° | 74° | 65° |
Flying in and out of Matagorda
The nearest airport, Victoria Regional, is about 59 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is William P Hobby, about 77 miles away.
The best schools in and around Matagorda
Schools across Matagorda average a C+, better than 42% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- East Side IntC+ · 38% proficient
- Van Vleck ElC+ · 38% proficient
- Van Vleck IntC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Palacios J HC · 33% 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 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Matagorda 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 against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Matagorda
Is Matagorda a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Matagorda ranks 44,770th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, the weather, and low taxes, and lowest on summer heat and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Matagorda expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $299,605. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $46,721 median income, cost of living beats 15% of towns.
Is Matagorda safe?
Matagorda is safer than 12% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $615 per resident a year.
Compare Matagorda with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Matagorda. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Matagorda 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Matagorda: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Matagorda: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Matagorda: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Matagorda: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Matagorda 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.