Best PlacesNorth, Houston, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North, Houston, 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.
North, Houston ranks 5,682nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 30 minutes away. Its strengths are a stable housing market and state finances. The cost shows up in education levels, thin health care access, and air quality.
The best neighborhoods in North, Houston
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.
North, Houston's strengths and weaknesses
North, Houston ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. A stable housing market, state finances, and low taxes carry most of that.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: education levels, thin health care access, and air quality all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where North, Houston ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$842 a month, better than 83% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 69% of neighborhoods
Where North, Houston ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North, Houston
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North, Houston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $52,713; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 North, Houston's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North, Houston
North, Houston runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North, Houston.
Who works in North, Houston, and how
Work in North, Houston centers on construction 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 85%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in North, Houston
North, Houston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 69% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 30 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North, Houston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North, Houston, month by month
North, Houston sees roughly 117 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 49. The comfortable stretch runs October through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 55° | 49° |
| April | 80° | 71° | 64° |
| July | 94° | 85° | 79° |
| October | 83° | 74° | 67° |
Flying in and out of North, Houston
George Bush Intcntl/Houston sits about 10 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.3 million passengers in 2025, with 214 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around North, Houston
Schools across North, Houston average a D, better than 14% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Moreno ElB− · 41% proficient
- Burbank ElC+ · 36% proficient
- Herrera ElC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hogg MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- Burbank MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Baylor College Of Medicine Biotech Academy At RuskC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- North Houston Early College H SB+ · 58% proficient
- Heights H SB · 48% proficient
- Victory Early College H SB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North, Houston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North, Houston 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 North, Houston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who North, Houston suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in North, Houston
Is North, Houston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North, Houston ranks 5,682nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state finances, and low taxes, and lowest on education levels and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North, Houston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,043. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $52,713 median income, cost of living beats 20% of neighborhoods.
Is North, Houston safe?
North, Houston is safer than 18% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $878 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in North, Houston?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 49. That works out to about 117 pleasant days a year, more than 61% of neighborhoods.
Is North, Houston good for families?
Schools beat 14% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 18%, and childcare runs $842 a month.
Is North, Houston good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 20% of neighborhoods, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 69% of neighborhoods. About 8% of workers already work from home.
Compare North, Houston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North, Houston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North, Houston 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.
North, Houston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North, Houston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North, Houston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North, Houston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North, Houston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North, Houston 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.