Best PlacesRio Grande City, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rio Grande City, 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.
Rio Grande City ranks 2,082nd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rio Grande City
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.
Rio Grande City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rio Grande City ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of cities
- QuietBetter than 97% of cities
- Cheap childcare$664 a month, better than 92% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 183 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of cities
Where Rio Grande City ranks low
- Household income$44,548 median, better than only 1% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 2% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Rio Grande City
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rio Grande City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $44,548, 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 Rio Grande City's effective rate of 1.31%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rio Grande City
Rio Grande City 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 Rio Grande City.
Who works in Rio Grande City, and how
Work in Rio Grande City centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Rio Grande City
Rio Grande City has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of cities and more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Rio Grande City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Rio Grande City, month by month
Rio Grande City sees roughly 183 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 74, with lows near 52. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74° | 62° | 52° |
| April | 90° | 77° | 69° |
| July | 99° | 87° | 78° |
| October | 90° | 78° | 69° |
Flying in and out of Rio Grande City
The nearest airport, McAllen International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 220 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rio Grande City
Schools across Rio Grande City average a D, better than 5% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Emma Vera ElB · 48% proficient
- San Isidro ElC− · 27% proficient
- Rt Barrera ElD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hebbronville J HD+ · 27% proficient
- Veterans MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
- Ramiro Barrera MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Hebbronville H SB− · 45% proficient
- Preparatory For Early College H SC+ · 35% proficient
- Roma H SC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rio Grande City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rio Grande City 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 Rio Grande City against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Rio Grande City suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Rio Grande City
Is Rio Grande City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rio Grande City ranks 2,082nd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a stable housing market, quiet, and affordable childcare, and lowest on low incomes 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 Rio Grande City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $114,501. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $44,548 median income, cost of living beats 2% of cities.
Is Rio Grande City safe?
Rio Grande City is safer than 4% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $743 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Rio Grande City?
July highs average about 99 degrees, and January highs near 74 with lows near 52. That works out to about 183 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of cities.
Is Rio Grande City good for families?
Schools beat 5% of cities, crime safety beats 4%, and childcare runs $664 a month.
Compare Rio Grande City with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rio Grande City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rio Grande City 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.
Rio Grande City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rio Grande City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rio Grande City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rio Grande City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rio Grande City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rio Grande City 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.