Best PlacesMesa Forest, Austin, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mesa Forest, 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.
Mesa Forest, Austin ranks 159th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Mesa Forest, 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.
Mesa Forest, Austin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mesa Forest, Austin ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.8 minutes each way, better than 90% of neighborhoods
- Household income$142,020 median, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
Where Mesa Forest, Austin ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 29% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 35% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 40% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 42% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Mesa Forest, Austin
A household needs to earn about $227,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mesa Forest, Austin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $142,020, 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 Mesa Forest, Austin's effective rate of 1.19%, 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 Mesa Forest, Austin
Mesa Forest, Austin 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 Mesa Forest, Austin.
Who works in Mesa Forest, Austin, and how
Work in Mesa Forest, Austin centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 38%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Mesa Forest, Austin
Mesa Forest, Austin has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Mesa Forest, Austin and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Mesa Forest, Austin, month by month
Mesa Forest, 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 Mesa Forest, Austin
Austin-Bergstrom International sits about 13 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 Mesa Forest, Austin
Schools across Mesa Forest, Austin average an A−, better than 87% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
Top middle schools
- Murchison MiddleB+ · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Anderson H SA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mesa Forest, Austin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mesa Forest, 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 Mesa Forest, Austin against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Mesa Forest, Austin
Is Mesa Forest, Austin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mesa Forest, Austin ranks 159th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on an educated workforce, what local pay buys, and short commutes, and lowest on summer heat and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mesa Forest, Austin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $823,333. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $142,020 median income, cost of living beats 97% of neighborhoods.
Is Mesa Forest, Austin safe?
Yes, Mesa Forest, Austin is safer than 77% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $358 per resident a year.
Compare Mesa Forest, Austin with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mesa Forest, Austin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mesa Forest, 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.
Mesa Forest, Austin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mesa Forest, Austin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mesa Forest, Austin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mesa Forest, Austin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mesa Forest, Austin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mesa Forest, 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.