Best PlacesReal County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Real County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Real County ranks 2,596th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Real County
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.
Real County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Real County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 176 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of counties
- QuietBetter than 97% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of counties
Where Real County ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Household income$49,952 median, better than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Real County
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Real County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $49,952, 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 Real County's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Real County
Real County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Real County.
Who works in Real County, and how
Work in Real County centers on public administration and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Real County
Real County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Real County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Real County growing, and who is moving in?
Real County has lost about 17% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Houston, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Real County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Real County, month by month
Real County sees roughly 176 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 49° | 40° |
| April | 79° | 66° | 57° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 79° | 68° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Real County
The nearest airport, Del Rio International, is about 71 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around Real County
Schools across Real County average a C+, better than 46% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Nueces Canyon ElC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Nueces Canyon Jh/hsB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Real County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Real County 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 Real County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Real County
Is Real County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Real County ranks 2,596th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and a stable housing market, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Real County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $231,010. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $49,952 median income, cost of living beats 3% of counties.
Is Real County safe?
Real County is safer than 9% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $669 per resident a year.
Compare Real County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Real County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Real County 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.
Real County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Real County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Real County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Real County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Real County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Real County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.