Best PlacesShackelford County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Shackelford County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Shackelford County ranks 1,222nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Shackelford 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.
Shackelford County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Shackelford County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 92% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 86% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 80% of counties
Where Shackelford County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Shackelford County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Shackelford County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,640, 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 Shackelford County's effective rate of 1.20%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Shackelford County
Shackelford County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Shackelford County.
Who works in Shackelford County, and how
Work in Shackelford County centers on agriculture & forestry and mining & oil & gas. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Shackelford County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Shackelford County.
Is Shackelford County growing, and who is moving in?
Shackelford County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Abilene, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Shackelford County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Shackelford County, month by month
Shackelford County sees roughly 106 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 61, 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 | 61° | 46° | 36° |
| April | 81° | 66° | 55° |
| July | 99° | 86° | 76° |
| October | 83° | 69° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Shackelford County
The nearest airport, Abilene Regional, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around Shackelford County
Schools across Shackelford County average a C+, better than 55% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Clyde IntC+ · 37% proficient
- Lueders-avoca El/j HC+ · 37% proficient
- Nancy Smith ElC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clyde J HB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Clyde H SA− · 63% proficient
- Albany Jr-sr H SB− · 45% proficient
- Hawley H SC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Shackelford County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Shackelford 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 Shackelford County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Shackelford County
Is Shackelford County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Shackelford County ranks 1,222nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, low taxes, and a stable housing market, and lowest on summer heat and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Shackelford County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $165,539. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $73,640 median income, cost of living beats 75% of counties.
Is Shackelford County safe?
Shackelford County is safer than 45% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $400 per resident a year.
Compare Shackelford County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Shackelford County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Shackelford 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.
Shackelford County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Shackelford County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Shackelford County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Shackelford County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Shackelford County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Shackelford 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.