Best PlacesNorthern Hills, San Antonio, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Northern Hills, San Antonio, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Northern Hills, San Antonio ranks 2,188th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Northern Hills, San Antonio
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.
Northern Hills, San Antonio's strengths and weaknesses
Where Northern Hills, San Antonio ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$783 a month, better than 90% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Northern Hills, San Antonio ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Northern Hills, San Antonio
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northern Hills, San Antonio home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,582, 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 Northern Hills, San Antonio's effective rate of 1.71%, 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 Northern Hills, San Antonio
Northern Hills, San Antonio runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, 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 Northern Hills, San Antonio.
Who works in Northern Hills, San Antonio, and how
Work in Northern Hills, San Antonio centers on education and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Northern Hills, San Antonio
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Northern Hills, San Antonio.
What the weather is like in Northern Hills, San Antonio, month by month
Northern Hills, San Antonio sees roughly 153 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 53° | 40° |
| April | 84° | 70° | 58° |
| July | 98° | 85° | 76° |
| October | 86° | 72° | 61° |
Flying in and out of Northern Hills, San Antonio
San Antonio International sits about 4 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 87 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Northern Hills, San Antonio
Schools across Northern Hills, San Antonio average a C, better than 41% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Northern Hills ElC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Driscoll MiddleC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Madison H SB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northern Hills, San Antonio school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northern Hills, San Antonio 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 Northern Hills, San Antonio against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Northern Hills, San Antonio
Is Northern Hills, San Antonio a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northern Hills, San Antonio ranks 2,188th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, few empty homes, and fast internet, 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 Northern Hills, San Antonio expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $250,424. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $75,582 median income, cost of living beats 68% of neighborhoods.
Is Northern Hills, San Antonio safe?
Yes, Northern Hills, San Antonio is safer than 71% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $390 per resident a year.
Compare Northern Hills, San Antonio with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northern Hills, San Antonio. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northern Hills, San Antonio 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.
Northern Hills, San Antonio detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northern Hills, San Antonio: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northern Hills, San Antonio: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northern Hills, San Antonio: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northern Hills, San Antonio: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northern Hills, San Antonio 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.