Best PlacesSmiths Bend, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Smiths Bend, 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.
Smiths Bend ranks 19,394th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Smiths Bend
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.
Smiths Bend's strengths and weaknesses
Where Smiths Bend ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 92% of towns
- QuietBetter than 88% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 131 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 81% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 78% of towns
Where Smiths Bend ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 16% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 25% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 25% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Smiths Bend
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Smiths Bend home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,335, 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 Smiths Bend's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 Smiths Bend
Smiths Bend runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Smiths Bend.
Who works in Smiths Bend, and how
Work in Smiths Bend centers on education and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Smiths Bend
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Smiths Bend.
What the weather is like in Smiths Bend, month by month
Smiths Bend sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 47° | 35° |
| April | 80° | 66° | 53° |
| July | 98° | 86° | 75° |
| October | 85° | 69° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Smiths Bend
The nearest airport, Waco Regional, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 75 miles away.
The best schools in and around Smiths Bend
Schools across Smiths Bend average a B−, better than 62% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Whitney IntB− · 40% proficient
- Valley Mills ElC+ · 38% proficient
- Clifton ElC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clifton MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Valley Mills J HC+ · 37% proficient
- Whitney MiddleC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Clifton H SB+ · 55% proficient
- Valley Mills H SB+ · 53% proficient
- Whitney H SB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Smiths Bend school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Smiths Bend 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 Smiths Bend against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Smiths Bend
Is Smiths Bend a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Smiths Bend ranks 19,394th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, quiet, and the weather, and lowest on summer heat and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Smiths Bend expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $215,192. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $72,335 median income, cost of living beats 54% of towns.
Is Smiths Bend safe?
Smiths Bend is safer than 48% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $361 per resident a year.
Compare Smiths Bend with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Smiths Bend. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Smiths Bend 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.
Smiths Bend detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Smiths Bend: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Smiths Bend: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Smiths Bend: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Smiths Bend: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Smiths Bend 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.