Best PlacesRowlett, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rowlett, 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.
Rowlett ranks 786th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rowlett
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.
Rowlett's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rowlett ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 95% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 82% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of cities
Where Rowlett ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of cities
- Short commute31.1 minutes each way, better than only 18% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than only 23% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Rowlett
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rowlett home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $114,794, 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 Rowlett's effective rate of 1.50%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rowlett
Rowlett'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 Rowlett.
Who works in Rowlett, and how
Work in Rowlett centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Rowlett
Rowlett has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of cities and more parkland per resident than 86% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Rowlett and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Rowlett, month by month
Rowlett 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 Rowlett
Dallas Love Field sits about 18 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 Rowlett
Schools across Rowlett average a B−, better than 51% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Dorothy Smith Pullen ElB · 48% proficient
- Doris Cullins-lake Pointe ElB− · 41% proficient
- Keeley ElC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Maurine Cain MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- J W Williams MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Vernon Schrade MiddleC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Rockwall-heath H SA− · 62% proficient
- Sachse H SB+ · 53% proficient
- Rowlett H SC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rowlett school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rowlett 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 Rowlett against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Rowlett suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Rowlett
Is Rowlett a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rowlett ranks 786th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a strong job market, low taxes, and state finances, 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 Rowlett expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $372,453. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $114,794 median income, cost of living beats 82% of cities.
Is Rowlett safe?
Rowlett is safer than 23% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $534 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Rowlett?
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 Rowlett good for families?
Schools beat 51% of cities, crime safety beats 23%, and childcare runs $880 a month.
Compare Rowlett with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rowlett. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rowlett 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.
Rowlett detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rowlett: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rowlett: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rowlett: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rowlett: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rowlett 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.