Best PlacesRio Rico, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rio Rico, 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 Rico ranks 49,442nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rio Rico
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 Rico's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rio Rico ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 180 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 92% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 81% of towns
- Short commute23.2 minutes each way, better than 73% of towns
Where Rio Rico ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rio Rico
A household needs to earn about $19,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rio Rico home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $23,805, 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 Rico's effective rate of 1.54%, 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 Rico
Rio Rico 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 Rico.
Who works in Rio Rico, and how
Work in Rio Rico centers on hospitality & food and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Rio Rico
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rio Rico.
What the weather is like in Rio Rico, month by month
Rio Rico sees roughly 180 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 73, with lows near 51. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 73° | 60° | 51° |
| April | 87° | 76° | 68° |
| July | 96° | 85° | 77° |
| October | 89° | 76° | 67° |
Flying in and out of Rio Rico
The nearest airport, Valley International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Antonio International, about 232 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rio Rico
Schools across Rio Rico average a D−, better than 4% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Dr R E Margo ElD · 18% proficient
- Ruben Hinojosa ElD · 17% proficient
- A N Rico ElD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mary Hoge MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Armando Cuellar MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
- Sgt William G Harrell MiddleF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Weslaco East H SC− · 27% proficient
- Edcouch-elsa H SD · 19% proficient
- Mercedes H SD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rio Rico school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rio Rico 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 Rico against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rio Rico
Is Rio Rico a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rio Rico ranks 49,442nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and low taxes, and lowest on thin health care access and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rio Rico expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $66,641. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $23,805 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Rio Rico safe?
Rio Rico is safer than 28% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $444 per resident a year.
Compare Rio Rico with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rio Rico. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rio Rico 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 Rico detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rio Rico: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rio Rico: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rio Rico: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rio Rico: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rio Rico 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.