Best PlacesRockwall, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rockwall, 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.
Rockwall ranks 419th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on what local pay buys, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Rockwall
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.
Rockwall's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rockwall ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 89% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 85% of cities
- Household income$127,875 median, better than 80% of cities
Where Rockwall ranks low
- Short commute32.7 minutes each way, better than only 12% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 21% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 23% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Rockwall
A household needs to earn about $124,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rockwall home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $127,875, 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's effective rate of 1.36%, 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
Rockwall'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.
Who works in Rockwall, and how
Work in Rockwall centers on health care & social and retail trade. 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 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Rockwall
Rockwall has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of cities and more parkland per resident than 86% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Rockwall and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Rockwall, month by month
Rockwall 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
Dallas Love Field sits about 24 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
Schools across Rockwall average a B+, better than 78% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Nebbie Williams ElA · 69% proficient
- Amy Parks-heath ElA · 65% proficient
- Sherry And Paul Hamm ElA− · 56% 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
- Wylie East H SA · 70% proficient
- Rockwall-heath H SA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rockwall school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rockwall 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 against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Rockwall suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Rockwall
Is Rockwall a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rockwall ranks 419th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on what local pay buys, low taxes, and state finances, and lowest on long commutes and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rockwall expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $441,017. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $127,875 median income, cost of living beats 89% of cities.
Is Rockwall safe?
Yes, Rockwall is safer than 62% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $336 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Rockwall?
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 64% of cities.
Is Rockwall good for families?
Schools beat 78% of cities, crime safety beats 62%, and childcare runs $863 a month.
Compare Rockwall with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rockwall. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rockwall 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rockwall: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rockwall: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rockwall: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rockwall: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rockwall 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.