Best PlacesRockwall County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Rockwall County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Rockwall County ranks 62nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $136,061, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are long commutes, property taxes, and tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in Rockwall 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.
The best areas in Rockwall County
The parts of Rockwall County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Heath
More adults hold degrees, health care is easier to reach, and commutes are shorter.
Fate
More households have young kids and heat risk is lower.
Rockwall
It is quieter and fewer homes sit empty.
Rowlett
Fewer residents vote.
Royse City
Homes cost less, though schools score lower.
Scores across Rockwall County run from about the 34th to the 99th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Rockwall County's strengths and weaknesses
Rockwall County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. High incomes and a strong job market follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Long commutes, property taxes, and tree cover hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Rockwall County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$136,061 median, better than 99% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 98% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of counties
Where Rockwall County ranks low
- Short commute33.8 minutes each way, better than only 6% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 19% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 20% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Rockwall County
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rockwall County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $136,061, 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 Rockwall County's effective rate of 1.43%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rockwall County
Rockwall County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Rockwall County.
Who works in Rockwall County, and how
Work in Rockwall County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Rockwall County
Rockwall County has more late-night spots per resident than 82% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Rockwall County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Rockwall County growing, and who is moving in?
Rockwall County has grown about 57% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Dallas, TX metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Rockwall County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Rockwall County, month by month
Rockwall County sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 46° | 38° |
| April | 76° | 65° | 56° |
| July | 95° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 80° | 68° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Rockwall County
Dallas Love Field sits about 25 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 8.2 million passengers in 2025, with 91 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Rockwall County
Schools across Rockwall County average a B+, better than 83% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Nebbie Williams ElA · 69% proficient
- Amy Parks-heath ElA · 65% proficient
- Linda Lyon ElA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Herman E Utley MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Maurine Cain MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- J W Williams MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Rockwall H SA · 76% proficient
- Rockwall-heath H SA− · 62% proficient
- Pioneer Technology (ptaa) FateB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rockwall County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rockwall 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 Rockwall County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Rockwall County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 18% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Rockwall County
Is Rockwall County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rockwall County ranks 62nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and a strong job market, and lowest on long commutes and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rockwall County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $451,366. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $136,061 median income, cost of living beats 100% of counties.
Is Rockwall County safe?
Yes, Rockwall County is safer than 77% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Rockwall County?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 38. That works out to about 107 pleasant days a year, more than 65% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Rockwall County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Heath, Fate, and Rockwall. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Rockwall County good for families?
Schools beat 83% of counties, crime safety beats 77%, and childcare runs $863 a month.
Is Rockwall County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 89% of counties. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Rockwall County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rockwall County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rockwall 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.
Rockwall County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rockwall County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rockwall County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rockwall County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rockwall County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rockwall 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.