Best PlacesRoanoke, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Roanoke, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Roanoke ranks 174th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Roanoke
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.
Roanoke's strengths and weaknesses
Where Roanoke ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of cities
- Household income$151,867 median, better than 92% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of cities
Where Roanoke ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 17% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 22% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 29% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 30% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Roanoke
A household needs to earn about $154,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Roanoke home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $151,867; 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 Roanoke's effective rate of 1.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Roanoke
Roanoke's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Roanoke.
Who works in Roanoke, and how
Work in Roanoke centers on finance & insurance and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Roanoke
Roanoke has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of cities and more parkland per resident than 88% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Roanoke and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Roanoke, month by month
Roanoke sees roughly 126 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 46° | 36° |
| April | 77° | 66° | 55° |
| July | 98° | 87° | 77° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Roanoke
Dallas-Fort Worth International sits about 14 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 41.3 million passengers in 2025, with 289 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Roanoke
Schools across Roanoke average an A−, better than 87% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Samuel Beck ElA+ · 72% proficient
- Lakeview ElA · 68% proficient
- Florence ElA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Medlin MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Bear Creek IntA · 61% proficient
- John M Tidwell MiddleA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- Argyle H SA+ · 82% proficient
- Keller H SA · 78% proficient
- James M Steele Early College H SA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Roanoke school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Roanoke 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 Roanoke against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Roanoke suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Roanoke
Is Roanoke a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Roanoke ranks 174th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and population health, and lowest on walkability and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Roanoke expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $540,585. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $151,867 median income, cost of living beats 96% of cities.
Is Roanoke safe?
Yes, Roanoke is safer than 77% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $286 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Roanoke?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 36. That works out to about 126 pleasant days a year, more than 72% of cities.
Is Roanoke good for families?
Schools beat 87% of cities, crime safety beats 77%, and childcare runs $882 a month.
Compare Roanoke with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Roanoke. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Roanoke 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.
Roanoke detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Roanoke: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Roanoke: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Roanoke: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Roanoke: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Roanoke 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.