Best PlacesMustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi, 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.
Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi ranks 1,763rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi
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.
Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$702 a month, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi
A household needs to earn about $120,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $129,530, 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 Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi's effective rate of 1.41%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi
Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi.
Who works in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi, and how
Work in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi
Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 89% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 3 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi, month by month
Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi sees roughly 178 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 53. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 60° | 53° |
| April | 83° | 75° | 70° |
| July | 92° | 86° | 81° |
| October | 86° | 78° | 72° |
Flying in and out of Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi
The nearest airport, Corpus Christi International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 153 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi
Schools across Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi average a B−, better than 68% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Seashore Learning CenterB · 50% proficient
- Olsen ElB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brundrett MiddleA− · 57% proficient
- Seashore Middle AcadA− · 53% proficient
- Flour Bluff IntB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Port Aransas H SA · 73% proficient
- Flour Bluff H SB+ · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi 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 Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi
Is Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi ranks 1,763rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, quiet, and affordable childcare, 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 Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $423,174. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $129,530 median income, cost of living beats 94% of neighborhoods.
Is Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi safe?
Yes, Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi is safer than 79% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $375 per resident a year.
Compare Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi 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.
Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mustang-Padre Island, Corpus Christi 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.